Ejike Anyaduba
Since the conclusion of the February 6th governorship election in Anambra State, it has been a season of commentary on the upshot of that exercise. Opinions have persistently varied as there are interests. The currency of commentaries whether in support or against, refuses to wane many months after the results were declared.
Brooding over the merit or lack of it; what made it difficult for commentators on the trot to refuse to surrender all opinions on the matter to the decision of the tribunal; we may be tempted to conclude that politics in the State is still an ordeal.
For a state which had had the indignity of negative press reportage on account of its troubled political past, it may be glossed over as normal. However, it ought to bother no less a patriotic citizen that an election adjudged by many as free and fair will continue to elicit such biased analysis. But again, our intelligence may be called to question, if failing to take cognizance of the acephalous nature of the people, (which hardly abides the kingship culture of some of the other ethnic nationalities in Nigeria) we continue to worry about the situation unduly.
Going by the fairness and order associated with the conduct of that poll, the State is expected to move on regardless of distractions from acclaimed past masters on election matters.
The interpretations so far given, especially by elements claiming greater knowledge on this issue than those assigned the task, is once again putting the State on a reverse gear even as their submissions on the matter is quite broad-brush.
Reading through an interview granted Daily Independent newspaper by one Mr. Pat Anyadubalu and others of his ilk makes one wonder for how long these people would continue to bother us with their analysis. The banality of such exercise is sickening.
If you don’t hear them say that the incumbent governor was re-elected by minority, they are ever ready to argue that there were selective disenfranchisement of voters by INEC in areas where their preferred candidate has his political strength. Such conclusions smack of unreasoning bias since Ndi Anambra and indeed Nigerians, would want to know when these men became experts in addressing election issues. Or what percentage of votes constitutes in their view, an acceptable standard?
For the record, the vexed issue of minority voting had played itself out two years earlier with none of today’s experts kicking up some dust. The two bye elections for the Anambra South Senatorial district and the Nnewi North/Nnewi South/Ekwusigo Federal Constituency returned Senator Ikechukwu Obiora and C.I.D Maduabum respectively. In those elections, the percentage of votes cast vis-a-vis the registered number was quite insignificant. For the senate, the total number of registered voters stood at 585,385 while total valid votes cast were 68,030 meaning that Obiora won that election on 11.6% voter turnout. Maduabum on his part, won on a total valid votes of 27,767 as against 221,522 registered voters and 11.9% turnout. Neither of them made 25% of the total votes cast and nobody has hounded them out of the National Assembly.
The areas mentioned as the stronghold of their principal and selectively disenfranchised by INEC are Idemili North, South and the Onitsha axis. But the result showed that Ngige, the AC candidate won in Idemili North and South, losing as it were in Onitsha area. Except, they are saying that the margin with which he would have won in those areas was whittled down by INEC’s alleged disenfranchisement, in that case, advocating simple majority instead of 2/3 majority which was the issue in the election. If the two council areas of Idemili claimed by Anyadubalu to be disenfranchised by INEC were still won by AC then his argument is puerile.
As to whether the result should be based on total votes cast as expressly stated in the Constitution, or on the basis of valid votes cast, we should be content to leave this to the tribunal. Belabouring this aspect on which basis the aggrieved party is already in court is deemed sub judice. However, Anyadubalu was gracious enough to admit that in determining the 1979 election logjam, the Apex Court stated that its judgment on 2/3 of 19 States which it gave as 12 should not be used as judicial precedent. Whatever informed the decision of the Apex Court on that matter is not in the court of public opinion here, but what consolations do Anyadubalu and his cohorts have that there won’t be a repeat performance.
Elsewhere in countries with advanced democracy, the issue of invalid votes hardly constitutes any cog in the wheel of election results. Be it in Tallahassee, Florida or elsewhere, there has always been a pattern but since it will serve no purpose for now, let Mr. Anyadubalu and others of his kind continue to indulge themselves until the appointed date.
Still talking about disenfranchisement of voters in areas of strength of the opposition, Mr. Anyadubalu must be saying that INEC was privy to organized rigging to the advantage of the incumbent. Hopefully, he is not imputing that the electoral body is without brain, for if disenfranchisement was devised for the purpose for which it is attacked today, the issue of tribunal would not arise. For it is difficult to see where a man availed the opportunity of victory by the State as alleged by the theory of select disenfranchisement, would nibble at such offer only to surrender himself afterwards, to the harrowing experience of a tribunal to reach the same goal.
The silence that greeted the election of Mr. Peter Obi which Anyadubalu considered as equivalent to mourning is an affront on the people of the State. From his analysis, 301,000 people voted and out of this number, Obi polled 97,000, while all the other candidates shared the balance of 204,000 votes.
This analysis will suffice. A commander in a military campaign who surrenders to a conquering army with a pledge of loyalty is expected to yield his men to the services of the victor to which there is no rancour. That was virtually what all the candidates in the contest did almost immediately the results were declared. Apart from his principal and one other candidate which both performances in the said election did not aggregate to 85,000 votes, the rest are silent and happy on the turnout. If Anyadubalu is still in doubt, the intimidating crowd at Ekwueme square, venue of the inauguration, on the 17th of March was not rented neither is the hoard of congratulatory messages being placed daily in the newspapers any less a sign of jubilation.
Ejike AnyadubaLagos
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