We all grew up to cram and master the famous definition of "Democracy" postulated by the 16th American president Abraham Lincoln a...
We all grew up to cram and master the famous definition of "Democracy" postulated by the 16th American president Abraham Lincoln as; "a government of the people by the people and for the people". The definition is so popular that even the dumbest kid in class can boldly recite it verbatim with ease, except, of course, there are a few exceptions.
Well, I am certain, the major import and intent of Lincoln's definition (which we tend to ignore) is to give "the people" absolute power and control of the government. The will and aspirations of the people are paramount and should always prevail. Thus, the people should be able to approbate and reprobate the affairs of "their government". Simply put, the government belongs to the people, all actions and inactions of their superiors are geared towards them.
We were also taught that for democracy to be in place, there MUST be FREE AND FAIR ELECTION. The electorate should allowed to elect their preferred candidate to govern them. That is, there should be fairness in the electoral process, and the process should be devoid of any form of malpractice. The people MUST also not be subjected to undue hardship or intimidation throughout the process. This is the major distinguishing feature between Democracy and Dictatorial/Military government. In the latter, people obey "government" policies blindly without questioning its legality or Validity. While In the former, government policies are the results of collective will and represent the aspirations of the public.
It is in the spirit of this type of democracy we imported the concept and domesticated it with the intent of safeguarding the core values, tenants and purpose of Democracy. In a democracy, whatever applies to Caesar must apply to Caesar. You can't take one attribute and discard the other. Democracy can not be said to be in place without FREE AND FAIR ELECTION.
In recent years, elections In Nigeria have been majorly characterized by different forms of electoral malpractice– from ballot snatching and over-voting to underaged voting. The story took a different turn during the recent Local Government election in Kaduna state, where the electorate were out in mass to make their voices heard by exercising their franchise and constitutional right leaving behind their daily endeavors only for the process to be hijacked by "wolves" who don't want to lose the grip.
In Kaduna state, voters were already in the queue as early as 8am waiting for the electoral officials and the election materials to arrive at their polling unit. However, in what seems to be like a "usual delay", voters were kept under the scorching sun for several hours without the sight of the election materials. After a few hours of waiting and a little inquiry from colleagues from other parts of the state, I was convinced that the election process was hijacked. The opposition party were helplessly protesting and threatening to boycott the election if the process was not tidied up. The masses were frustrated and suddenly, KADSIECOM added salt to the injury by declaring APC the winner of the Local Government election, winning 23 chairmanship seats and 255 councillors, How? Only God knows.
In some polling units electoral officers arrived with election materials without result sheets, in other places they arrived empty-handed without election materials, where the election was "conducted" it was rushed like a do-or-die affair and only a few people were allowed to vote. I am yet to see a single person who has voted during the recent election!
The recent Kaduna state local government election was an utter disgrace to the Center of Learning and a mockery of our revered DEMOCRACY. There is indeed no difference between what happened and military dispensation, where sole administrators were appointed and imposed on the people.
This act if left unchecked, will continue to hunt the state for many years to come. Besides, the law of Karma is patiently waiting in its lane.
Sometimes one gets weary of writing daily about national issues when nothing seems to be done, we will nevertheless continue writing as posterity will judge us as people who advocated for accountability, transparency and good governance in Nigeria.
I must call on Civil society organizations, INEC, Federal Government, the National Assembly and other well-meaning Nigerians to rise up to the recent development in Kaduna state. If the situation continues unchecked, it doesn't look good for the nation. I foresee dark hours ahead, It's midnight in Kaduna state!
- Sani Bello Hamza writes from Zaria, Kaduna State.
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