Two years after the last general election and two clear years away from 2027 general elections, the nation is already overwhelmed and gripped by fear as to what to expect.
It’s interesting seeing the manoeuvring, defections and gravitation toward the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC), by opposition politicians.
Does this trend bode well for the nation? I do not think so, but should it really give us sleepless nights? Not really, if only our votes would be made to count, come 2027.
Our politics has always been bogged down by the bandwagon effect where the ruling party always attracts self-serving and fortune-seeking politicians just to enjoy their own share of the spoils of office. It did not start today nor will it end anytime soon.
During the 16-year rule of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the party felt so secure that in their erroneous belief that they had completely decimated the opposition, the then party chairman, Vincent Ogbulafor of blessed memory, boasted that the PDP would rule for another 60 years.
However, what is most unfortunate of it all is that the APC is committing the very same blunders that was the undoing of the PDP. They’re celebrating with so much energy and funfair the defections of political office holders, governors and legislators alike, as though just having the so-called heavyweights is a sure-fire ticket to winning the elections in 2027.
The latest and still the talk of the town is that of former Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, and his successor, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s move to the APC from the PDP.
Speaking at a ceremony held at the Cenotaph in Asaba last Monday, where they were formally received into the APC, Okowa said the decision was taken in the best interest of Delta State and its people.
He said, “People wondered why, but one thing is very important: in the history of a people there is always a time to change their path for the common good of the people, and whatever decision we took was based on that common good and the need to change our path in the best interest of our state.”
According to Okowa, the move was necessary to enable Delta State to better connect with the Federal Government and benefit from the resources and goodwill available in Abuja.
That clearly is a lie. They both left the PDP for the same reasons Nigerian politicians change camps: to further their nests and to position themselves and as well remain relevant and to keep our so-called anti-corruption agents off their backs. These are the only reasons politicians change camps. It happened during the reign of the PDP and it is happening now.
For politicians it is always about self alone. The least of their worries is the interest of the people.
With the politics of President Bola Tinubu, Delta and Rivers, two states that have remained PDP since 1999 would become APC come 2027. Oborevwori would have suffered defeat if he had not decamped.
As for Rivers, suspended Gov Sim Fubara would return to his seat only when it is guaranteed that he would either work for the APC, as his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, did or he too will have to defect to the APC to secure his seat.
As for Okowa, he has his worries and the only way to save his neck is to align with the centre or he will remain a regular guest of the EFCC.
In all of this game plan, all parties involved are clear about the fact that 2027 is at the heart of it all. Okowa will also not want to remain jobless in 2027.
Should the ordinary man on the streets be disturbed by a governor or political office holders chasing their selfish interests? Yes.
They have to because the votes of the people have never counted and they still will not count as long as the INEC remains complicit and a willing tool to be manipulated by politicians. The only reason politicians do not care or do not even involve the people in decisions as vital as changing political parties is because they simply know that their votes would be of no significance? Why would they bother when they know that INEC and the judiciary would always be at their beck and call?
INEC is happy at every electoral cycle to defend the sham they have been giving us since 1999 as elections. They are satisfied that whereas the rest of the world is deepening adaptation of technology in their electoral processes, they are happy with our stories of ballot box snatches, outbreaks of violence, falsification of results and under utilisation of the technology they have so far adopted.
INEC pretends like its hands are tired and therefore helpless and when in actual fact it’s a willing accomplice. How do you organise an election as an unbiased umpire and still not be forthcoming with the opposition in their quest to seek justice?
So, to the extent that our electoral process remains shambolic, these politicians would continue to ride the people roughshod.
I am not in any way worried by the fear of a one-party state. Because I believe that, should the vote of the people be made to count, anyone who appeals to the voter can be voted into office irrespective of their political party.
Since the rest of the world is beginning to show us how things are done, we can either choose to move with the times or we continue to make mockery of ourselves.
Is it not strange that while we rank high in technology adoption in our financial institutions, business places and in our homes, we still remain happy with manual collation of electoral results and the magic that occurs at those collation centres?
Come 2027, the biggest threat to our democracy would not be the leading party APC, nor will it be our tainted judiciary but the umpire, INEC. Because if INEC delivers on its mandate, there will be little room for manipulation. There will be less rancour and there will be little or no violence.
I know some may want to argue that INEC is hampered by lack of electoral reform. But pray, with the little reforms so far made with the Electoral Acts and its guidelines, has INEC maximised them? Did INEC deliver on its promises at the last election? The answer is an emphatic no.
We should not be bothered where our leaders come from or which party they belong to or are about to defect to if only we know that on election day the wisdom or otherwise of their choices would be put to the test.
How can two men with just two votes wake up one day and say they have moved the entire political structure and voters of a state to another without due consultations?
