What is your impression of the February 23 and March 9 general elections?
In that of February 23 I will say it was the best Presidential elections we have had in this country since 1999 in that it received the approval rating of all local and international observers. The outcome of the election State by state showed some surprises which election of such a magnitude suppose to be. Nobody should be able to predict how people would vote and the sentiment that would follow.
Anybody going into an election will do so hoping to submit himself to the popular will of the voters. I think what happened in the presidential, national assembly; governorship and house of assembly elections was that some people had expected to win, such category of persons were sure of victory even before the elections were held. It didn’t happen like that. Particularly for the presidential elections there were also surprises. For instance the presidential candidate of the PDP Atiku Abubakar winning in places like Oyo and Ondo and having narrow margins in the south west generally. So it showed some bit of balance. That is my impression about that one. But I wouldn’t say the same about the elections of March 9 where politicians became more desperate and deployed some of the things that couldn’t be seen in the earlier election. So the stakes were very high. It was like everybody wanted to be part of it: money, thuggery…at times I begin to wonder what the situation would have been if the president had not threatened to deal ruthlessly with ballot box snatchers and those who will violate the electoral process.
I believe that warning or threat deterred some people. But in spite of that it didn’t stop the politicians from engaging die-hard thugs.
During the governorship and house of assembly elections, there was voter apathy, compared to the Presidential election. People felt that their votes didn’t count in the earlier poll and so what was the need of coming out again to vote?
No! That’s the propaganda of losers. The thing was that the presidential election was keenly contested. The stakes were so high. In fact the campaigns didn’t deal much on issues. Everybody wanted to be part of it and so it happened. A situation were 11 million Nigerians were not satisfied with the outcome of the election, that’s quite a huge number. But on the other hand you have 15 million Nigerians celebrating that their votes counted and that the their voting was not in vain. Some people were more vociferous than the others.
Come to think of it, I do not know how some people who lost in the election thought that they could have won against the run of play. Run of play in the sense that APC had the majority in the National Assembly election. Even if you look at the governors that were elected, you are looking at over 20 APC governors that have been elected. Even at that seven states didn’t go for election. And then you have overwhelming majority of the states house of Assembly being elected on the platform of the APC. So why would any reasonable person think that with the performance of APC from the lowest level, the state House of Assembly to the highest level- the national Assembly level that it is only at the presidential level that there would be a turn around. That would have been against the run of play. If the presidential election had been awarded to him, because that is the only way Atiku could have won, this country would have gone up in flames and any person contesting it even from outside would have said it was against the run of play.
That is why I said Atiku going to the tribunal is an avoidable national distraction. I have never seen an election where traditional rulers of all persuasions, north and south, have called congratulated the winner and have urged the loser not to distract everybody by going to the tribunal.
But he remains stubborn. So there could be a number of reasons why there was a low voter turnout. Some people could say they have voted in the presidential and do not want to vote again coupled with the threat of what will happen and what will not happen during the second election. So many people went back to save their lives because the threats were too much.
This is why it has become necessary for the nation to go back to what the UPP has been championing since 2012. When we implement electronic voting there will be more participation and our democracy will have a better expression. That is my thinking.
Are you advocating for electoral reforms?
It is on record that in 2012, UPP produced a strong and detailed memo on the benefits of electronic voting. We not only gave then President Goodluck Jonathan at that time, we submitted the memo to the National Assembly. We made sure that every member of the the Senate and the House of Representatives got a copy. They debated it at that time and said the arguments were enough to embark on it. Since that time they have been tinkering on it and every opportunity we have we never miss to emphasise electronic voting. in 2015, I led the National Executive Committee of our party the UPP to congratulate President Buhari. The party made three demands.
One was the electronic voting. The other two were that a state of emergency should be declared on the power sector and the third one was anti corruption crusade to recover all stolen funds. At that time he had not been inaugurated as the President. That is to show you the passion with which UPP had pursued it. I have always known that the party that has popular candidates but does not have funds would not be able to win elections except it is by electronic voting, among other reasons. I am vindicated that at the end of this election, every Dick, Tom and Harry, even those who do not know what electronic voting is are now singing it.
I have heard many of those who won election, saying this is what they will do. Even INEC Chairman short of calling it electronic voting, requested that actions should be hastened in the review of electoral laws so that the commission will be in a better position to adopt the technology that is trending all over the world.
But some are saying if the President had signed the amendments in the electoral laws as done by the National Assembly, some of these issues would not have occurred
I would rather blame the National Assembly more because these things have been on since 2012 during President Jonathan’s era and PDP had full control of the two chambers.
But they were not interested in it because they felt it would deny them the opportunity to rig elections. And when President Buhari came he also made a promise that he would go for the improved technology in the electoral process. He appreciated the fact that it was the card reader that contributed largely to his victory. But when did the national Assembly come up with the amendment almost at the time we were close to election. So the president thought that to sign it at that time may not provide the electorate with sufficient time to adapt to the changes. The confusion that may arise is what we are suffering now. Some people may hack into a system they do not know about.
That is why the INEC Chairman and the National Assembly during the presentation of certificates of return to the National Assembly members said it is better that this is test run before the elections that would be coming in seven states including the bye elections in the National Assembly that may arise from the decisions based of the judgments of the tribunal so that Nigerians would be conversant with its application.
And the militarisation of democracy as witnessed in Rivers. What is your take?
it is unfortunate that we are being forced by circumstances and situations created by politicians themselves to have recourse to military intervention. it is not something to celebrate at all. But then you begin to wonder what would have happened if the military were not there at all? There would have been carnage here and there. Human bodies would have been littered everywhere, especially in those places that are regarded as flash-points.
The number of weapons in private hands in this country is enormous. At one time the Minister of interior estimated the number of weapons in private hands at 350 million- different kinds of arms and ammunition. If you don’t bring in the military in this kind of situation where ballot boxes are snatched at will then you are preparing a ground for total anarchy.
The full implementation of electronic voting will send the military back to the barracks because there would be no need of snatching ballot boxes. A greater percentage of Nigerians who are registered would be able to cast their votes using their smart phones to cast their votes and there would be no public holidays; there would be no restriction of movements.
People can go about their businesses and cast their votes without molestation as is done in most advanced countries. Political thugs will now find other things to do and campaigns will go back to the people. In fact the issue of vote-buying is a recognition of the importance of the electorate that their votes have started counting. But if you apply electronic voting there would be too many people ready to vote that you don’t even know where to start buying. And how much money would you have to reach out to so many people-about 80 million Nigerians who are eligible to vote? But because of the system we are adopting, many people couldn’t go to places where there registered to vote.
There are people who registered in the market places where they do their business es, but on the day of election they could not leave their places of residence to their places of registration. That also account for low turn out of voters. Look at the Igbo people many went home to register and during the election, not many could afford to travel back to vote.
The Igbo people had the lowest turn out of voters. Less than 30 percent out of the he national average of of 35 percent. For me as an Igbo man I am very pained by this.
What areas do you think the President should focus on in this second and last term?
He has his job already cut out for him. What he has to do that that he didn’t do before is to have balanced appointments. Not only for ministerial but for departments and agencies. The federal character as enshrined in our Constitution ought to be addressed to the letter. He didn’t do that before and that tended to bring a lot of bad blood. Nobody can defend him on that; not even his strongest supporters.
I would want him to address that immediately as this new government is taken place. That would help to douse tension.
Having said that, I think his job is already cut-out. On infrastructure development, he should go ahead and complete all the abandoned projects left by the last administration. Before he came to office, Nigeria was littered with abandoned projects here and there. Even if you give him three terms, it may not be enough to complete the projects abandoned. Instead of initiating new projects, he should just concentrate and complete the abandoned ones.
And It is very patriotic of him to use the same contractors that his predecessor used, but only insisting that the right quality of job be done.
The railway project is also very critical to economic development. I also want him to look into the loosening up of the seaports. The concentration in Lagos is creating so many problems. The economy is not developing or expanding across board. Every body that has any business to do with importation and exportation would be forced to go to Lagos. This is not helping our economy. This concentration has also created a lot of tension in the area of who is occupying which space and who is marginalizing the other, including the issue of indigeneship. If these issues are not properly handled, they could blow up into things that we may not be able to handle.
In the 16 years of PDP they did not deem it fit to open up all the other ports. These ports were allowed to rot deteriorate without being put into any use. But if you open up the ports it will lead to greater economic development.
This administration has also done well in agricultural revolution and in internally generated revenue(IGR). They can do better.
I also want him to look into the issue of ranching. Ranching is what is being practiced all over the world. It will help to resolve the issue of herdsmen and farmers clash. There is so much expanse of land in the north for ranching to be implemented. It also comes with a lot of benefits. The herdsmen who are of school age but who could not go to school because of the culture of carrying cows from one place to the other would now have the opportunity of going to school. And with more educated Nigerians, the country will be better for it.
Again, these cattle will be in healthier environment and would have the capacity to produce more beef and and more milk. If he doesn’t do that now, I will be disappointed, because it will be distracting from everything he’s been doing in agriculture revolution, because at the end of every cultivation, the cattle will come and destroy everything the farmers have done.
Given the latest political developments, what do you think will become the position of Ndigbo in Nigeria?
Ndigbo I can tell you have almost surrendered. I have been in the forefront of arousing the Igbo political consciousness for years, but it seems we have achieved little. Even at that , the new awareness that we are noticing is wrongly headed, about trying to play up ethnicity which is no longer in trend now.
I would continue to do my best with my associates in promoting Igbo political consciousness. We have the number, we have the spread, we have everything it will take to be politically relevant and to decide who wins elections, particularly presidential elections.