Now, the polls

No, it’s no longer the time of  going on the roof top to holler piercingly thus: “unprecedented crowd at APC’s rally,’’ “voluminous crowd at PDP’s rally,’’ “sea of heads at...’’ the time is gone. It’s time for action and results. Not the politics of crowd. It’s time to make wise use of your PVC, that is, if those ‘sea of heads’ that thronged those rallies have one. I won’t be surprised if some of them do not possess the Voter Cards. Did you just yawn in wonderment? No, don’t be taken aback. It’s possible!

Let’s fast forward to the Saturday polls. Very quickly, for the presidency, it’s a straight fight between the much vilified Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and  the current Aso Rock landlord and ex shoeless Otuoke born soft spoken politician, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). All the parties have upped the ante and are seriously in last ditch efforts to sway the minds of the people anyhow and with anything. 

Of course, you can’t afford to be dormant at this crucial time. You must go all out to nick the bull’s eye. Nobody wants to lose without a fight. Though, the general belief in many quarters is that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, will, by virtue of being in control of the reins of power coast to victory. They are very confident that victory is theirs for the taking. They can’t be overly wrong here or faulted since they are in charge of the levers of government right at the centre. On the other hand, the main opposition and the party that has visibly given them headache, the APC, are not losing sleep over the seeming superiority of the ruling party. To them, they will dislodge PDP from the top and claim power, come rain or sun. They are very committed and focused in this mandate.  By their rigorous campaigns across the federation, the tale tell signs are there to give credence to this aspiration. 

But how will they possibly dislodge PDP from this high horse? Do they have the formula to match them toe to toe? Do they possess the wherewithal and financial clout to beat the ruling party at their game? Not a few people are in doubt of the opposition’s ability to ride to victory at the expense of the PDP. Those in this category are of the opinion that the APC do not have what it takes to win the coming polls beginning this Saturday with the presidential contest, Senatorial and House of Representatives elections. So, come Saturday, the country will be tensed. It will. Don’t be deceived. Already, security operatives have been drafted in to ensure a peaceful voting exercise across the states. The ruling party says the military must be involved but the opposition smell a rat. They say the idea to deploy the military for the elections is to scare and intimidate voters and ultimately skew the votes in favour of the ruling party. How true this allegation is remains in the realm of conjecture to many. 

 

 
To reinforce their fears, the APC have used the last governorship election in Ekiti state where the incumbent governor Dr. Kayode Fayemi lost to the maverick Segun Oni of the PDP who has recently become a torn in the flesh of the APC and its presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, maintaining at every fora, with an air of finality, that the former military administrator is old, sick and at best, senile. To the APC, he is an evil genius but for the ruling class, he is a beautiful bride. In the complaints, the APC maintains that the Goodluck Jonathan led government deployed the military in Ekiti with intent to harass its members and ultimately use them to rig the polls in favour of the PDP. Whether that allegation was true or not, the end result is that PDP won the election. Initially, Fayemi accepted his fate and took the defeat in his stride but later on, he kicked against the result. His efforts proved abortive. Today, they are only biding their time in hope that when the next election comes around, they can reclaim the state. 

What we are yet to really establish is whether the military will play their constitutional role of protecting the nation and it territories or if they will be partisan as alleged and work for a particular party? While we were about coming to terms with the fact that the military will be around for the polls, news filtered in from the Police Headquarters that voters should immediately leave for their homes after casting their votes. The order was given by Suleiman Abba, the Inspector General of Police. He dropped the bombshell just days after the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC Professor Attahiru Jega told Nigerians to remain after casting their votes to ensure that their votes are counted and results announced at the centre. Jega was only doing his constitutional duty as the head of INEC in sensitising Nigerians on how to conduct themselves during the elections but the Police chief had other ideas. He came out and said without blinking an eyelid “vote band go.’’ That did not go down well with the opposition camps as they have quickly accused security agencies of pandering to the side of the PDP but as it is their wont, the ruling party have denied accusations that it wants to rig the elections with the ‘vote and go’ order.

As it is, it is a moment of accusations and counter accusations here and there. Many are worried though by the IGP’s order. They see it as a ploy to aid the ruling party win the elections. Some have remained adamant, insisting they will vote and stay till their votes are counted and announced. By their clear obstinacy, the belief in political circles is that they are daring the security agencies order of going home after voting. But, come to think of it, when did staying around after voting became a crime? In previous polls, voters voted and remained there to see their votes count. But why has that suddenly changed today? We may never know. But one hopes that the order is not a calculated attempt to favour any party in the elections. This is because one cannot immediately rationalise the order as given by the IG. One also hopes that he is not working in collusion with the PDP as alleged.

In all, the security agencies must guard against allowing themselves to be used as instruments to scuttle the peace of the elections. They must not be seen trying to take sides before, during and after the elections. They should simply go about ensuring security of life and property and resist the temptation of being used by desperate and crude politicians to cause heartache for Nigerians who truly desire a change in the way things are done in their country. Please, do not misinterpret my idea of change here. When there’s hunger in the land, is it not a change from that state that a discerning mind will desire? If you are suffocating under the weight of debilitating poverty and squalor, is it not ideal that you seek for a change from that condition? If graduates are roaming the streets with faces drenched in balls of sweat, looking laggard and haggard with no end in sight, will such a fellow, not crave for a change in fortunes? Your guess is as good as mine. 

For the electorate who are always used as easy pawns to sell their future for a piece of cake, they must take a stand this time round. The era of voting blindly with eyes wide open should be relegated to the dustbin of history. The electorate must refuse to be cowed into short-changing their future for peanuts that will always get exhausted even before the word go. It is high time the electorate redefined their thinking and disposition towards voting during elections. Times like this presents us with ample opportunity to better our society and make certain, with our votes that the right persons are voted into positions of authority so that those areas that are lying fallow in our country and the components states under it will improve. We need a government that will put the people first and not this culture of callous stealing and reckless pilfering of the public till while the citizenry wallow in penury and devastating hunger.

At the various voting units in Akwa Ibom it is being widely speculated that lump cash will be on hand to be dished out to voters in order to have them vote for their paymasters and against their innermost wishes. Can these voters read between the lines and see that they are being seen as not just beggars but nitwits if not fools that can easily be pushed around with the wave of those minted notes. As you collect that pittance to vote for someone other than whom you had in mind, remember that the next elections will be in four years time. So, the question now should be, if you hearken to the temptation for ephemeral gratification and sacrifice the next four years, what will be the essence of that money you got? That money, to me, is akin to the biblical story of Esau and Jacob. After selling his birthright for a plate of food, he regretted his action soon after the poisoned chalice but it was too late in the day. He discovered to his chagrin that he had lost his revered position to a plate of food. That is the same fate that befalls those who, for the sake of quenching their thirst, pander to the alluring and magnetic force of crispy notes. Will we ever learn?

The other day, some misguided, beastly and mindless elements went berserk in Nkek village, Ukanafun Local Government Area when they wickedly and in the most savage of ways, bared their evil fangs by snuffing life out of Rt. Hon. Okon Uwah, the former Deputy Speaker of the Akwa Ibom state House of Assembly who went on a peaceful and harmless tour of his constituents to solicit for supports ahead of the April 11 House of Assembly polls. He was the candidate for Ukanafun state constituency on the platform of the APC before some hooligans went on the rampage and committed a monstrous crime that should ordinarily be a thing of the past but they did not work within the confines of their senses but pandered to the evil shenanigans of their paymasters and desperate but cowardly politicians who are taking advantage of these ones whom they see as mere appendage and expendable species to cause mayhem. Their action, to say the least, is not only reprehensible but only goes to show that some persons do not deserve to come close to where issues of leadership are being discussed let alone presenting themselves to lead the people.

These guys should not have anything to do near the corridors of power. If you desire to lead or represent your people in any capacity, must you take the life of another to actualise your aspiration? By killing those who are ostensibly contesting the same position you are eyeing, must you take the crude way of maiming in order to win? No. that’s not good for democracy. We must outlive this politics of bad blood and antiquated tactics. Those who killed the humble and jovial but easy going politician, I dare say, will not escape the wrath of God. The Akwa Ibom state Police command has reportedly made four arrests, but the State commissioner of Police, Mr. Gabriel Achong refused to divulge the identity of those arrested. That aside, it is the belief of peace loving and good spirited people of Akwa Ibom state that those behind the heinous crime will be brought to face justice if not now then, surely, tomorrow will not leave them free from facing the music. They must pay for their wickedness and their paymasters must not be spared either. The police must handle this case with the seriousness it deserves and not treat it with kid gloves. It’s a murder case and must be treated with utmost seriousness with the perpetrators reined in.

For the polls, let’s go out and vote wisely for candidates that will understand the essence of leadership and when they eventually win, go on to work for the people and not go to sleep as soon as they coast to victory. All the showmanship that has engulfed the political space should not stop after the polls, we pray. Today, politicians have suddenly become very friendly, humane and humble. They are found in the market mixing freely with the people with gay abandon. While we know that these are all electoral gimmicks, we implore them to at least remember their numerous electoral promises made to the people. Whether it’s Buhari, Jonathan or any other person that will win, what we want is positive change and total transformation of this country. That is our collective wish. At the end of the elections, will the winners be magnanimous in victory and the losers sport manly in defeat? Let’s wait for the results to trickle in first.