Welcome to 2023. This year, like it or not, is the year that we have to decide, or if you like, prove to the rest of the world whether or not we are serious people. In time past, we have decided the fate of this nation based on sentiment and other mundane considerations. It is time we took the future of this country seriously and put her on the trajectory to prosperity, growth, democracy of majority rule and a nation where the rule of law is entrenched and all shall be equal before the law.
It was Barack Obama, who as President of the United States of America, on a trip to Africa, advised that Africa’s progress can also be seen in the institutions that bring us together, adding that Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.
This singular failure of building institutions, under which all shall be subjected, is the reason that the continent, more so Nigeria, has continued to grope in the dark. It is for this reason that we have people who are above the law and who have perfected the art of circumventing the law. Therefore, all attempts at entrenching a society where the rule of law prevails, where institutions would serve as check on the excesses of the citizens have continued to fail because those who are the direct beneficiaries of our crooked arrangement which currently subsists would do all it takes to ensure that the status quo remains.
The singular and most significant way of placing the nation on this trajectory to greatness remains a strong democratic process, where the rule of law and wish of the people prevail. A strong democratic institution would ensure that the people have the right to decide the fate of its leaders and can vote and vote out whoever they desire.
Of course, without debate the two strongest institutions that can ensure that we make the necessary and conscious leap to greatness in Nigeria remain the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) and the judiciary. It is no wonder then that each time we get into another electoral season, those who have literally placed a knee to the neck of the nation, would stop at nothing to cow these institutions, just so that they can carry out their nefarious activity of subverting the wishes of the people .
And for all I care, these two institutions have been cowed. They have been cowed because they have been deliberately denied their constitutionally-guaranteed independence in which case they have depended on the federal government for funding and appointments. Since he who pays the piper reserves the right to dictate the tunes, our electoral umpire and the judiciary have been tied to the apron strings of the presidency. To all intents and purposes, INEC and the judicial headship are string puppets of the federal government.
For instance, the presidency appoints the INEC chairman and rather than allow the INEC to determine how best they will conduct the election to meet with best international practice, the commission is left at the mercy of the rogue national assembly and presidency to determine the mode and manner elections are conducted.
That is why, for instance, it became a big issue approving electronic transmission of election results. It is for the same reason that it required relentless pressure from Nigerians for the national assembly and the executive to approve and assent to the 2022 Electoral Act. Their argument being that Nigeria is not ripe enough for electronic transmission of results but this thieving group of people use telephones in those areas they claimed lack connectivity and the ruling APC makes it sound like only their supporters live in those places.
In the run-up to the 2019 general elections, the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen, was booted out of office with less than 30 days to presidential election and a more pliable replacement was put in his stead.
Onnoghen, who spoke at a book launch he attended with his wife, said he has booted out of office over a false allegation that he held a secret meeting with former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, prior to the 2019 general elections.
Atiku was the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and a major threat to the re-election bid of President Buhari who was the standard-bearer of the ruling APC.
At the end, the APC whose first tenure was nothing to write home about claimed it won the election eventually and so President Buhari was given a questionable second term.
With the presidential election coming up February 25, and the president pledging commitment to ensure that the will of the people prevails, there have been attempts again aimed at scuttling the process. The primary targets being the INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu and the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele. Emefiele, who was enjoying enormous goodwill from the government he serves, is suddenly accused amongst others, of funding terrorism. He was also accused of looting N89 trillion stamp duty funds.
With the reform efforts especially the new currency redesign and cash withdrawal limit policies that are believed will help achieve President Buhari’s promise of a credible election in 2023, Emefiele has suddenly stolen N89 trillion stamp duty and now sponsors terrorism.
And for the INEC chairman, the failed attempts to scuttle the planned use of electronic transmission of results and use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation (BVAS) machines, has ensured sleepless nights of rogue politicians who now feel the only way to achieve their aim is to get him out of the way altogether.
A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja last Wednesday had dismissed a suit seeking the removal of Prof. Yakubu, over an allegation of false assets declaration against him.
The court also stopped security agencies from investigating him.
One Somadina Uzoabaka, in an originating summons marked FCT/HC/GAR/CV/47/2022 filed against the Attorney-General of the Federation and Yakubu, sought, among other things, an order of mandatory injunction directing and compelling the INEC chairman to recuse, excuse, exclude himself, or step down as chairman, pending the investigation and consideration of the various allegations against him by the various law enforcement agencies.
The plaintiff also sought an order of the court stopping him from holding or assuming any public office for a period of10 years.
Delivering his judgment, Justice M. A. Hassan held that the declaration of assets by Yakubu was lawful, valid and in compliance with the law.
According to him, the INEC chairman cannot be investigated by any of the security agencies listed by the claimant.
The real sin of INEC is that there will be no manual accreditation, no use of incident forms, all accreditation is electronic, accreditation is Bimodal meaning facial recognition and fingerprinting and also, all results must be uploaded to INEC official website at the polling units etc.
Unfortunately, for this group of politicians, the judiciary, with the outcome of the Emefiele travail and now Yakubu, may have decided to stand up and be counted and prepared to dispense justice without fear or favour. The INEC chairman too has continued to pledge that the vote of the people would count and that there is no going back on the use of the BVAS. These developments may serve as indication that we might as well be on the road to the nation of our dreams.
