Nigerians sense it more than they know it that it is another season to protect Nigeria fledgling democracy and fragile electoral process from the machinations of those who would rather Nigeria was a free-for-all for the experimentation of their antidemocratic antics.
In a bid to do this, Nigerians know that the sanctity of electoral materials and staff cannot be overemphasized. In this wise the recent judgment of the Federal High Court which put paid albeit temporarily to the quest of Musiliu Akinsanya popularly known as MC Oluomo to be engaged by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to distribute electoral materials is telling. The Labour Party and two other political parties had rushed to court in a bid to prevent Musiliu Akinsanya AKA MC Oluomo, who is the chairman of the Lagos State Parks Management Committee and a staunch loyalist to the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Ahmed Tinubu,from participating in the distribution of materials among electoral other issues.
What propelled the Labour Party,the African Democratic Congress and the Boot Party to lead the other political parties to rush to court is not immediately clear but it should have a lot to do with MC Oluomo’s reputation which precedes him. In effect, having one over him in the court of law over the conduct of the polls equates to a little but not insignificant victory in an attempt to ensure that the polls will not just be free and fair but are percieved to be so.
MC Oluomo’s reputation precedes him.For everything that Lagos is to Nigeria and the world,the second worst city to live in is dense with people and crime.All manner of men and matters are found in Lagos.A full range of criminals prowl Lagos. There are petty thieves and there are their more sophisticated counterparts.
In spite or the heroic efforts of security agents in Lagos,it remains a city of crime.A big contributory to the toxicity of Nigeria’s commercial capital is the presence of thugs popularly called ‘Agberos’ in the local palace. A tradition which spans generations finds expression in the Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers NURTW.In Lagos State,the NURTW has been banned for the past two years ago.But who is to say that its members in the state have not simply been absolved into other transport groups.
In many states in the Southwest, the NURTW commands quite the influence.Boasting many members many of who are as rough and tough as they come,motor parks across many states of the Southwest have so far failed to contain their members whose influence stretch into the corridors of power.
Because they are always ready to do anything for the powers that be, politicians in the Southwest have been known to engage them for their dirty jobs. They have become willing tools for intimidating opponents, rigging elections. Given that murder or grievous bodily harm is not all that revolting to them, they are much feared.
Indeed,it was only a while ago that the Lagos State Deputy Governor described ‘agberos’ as their ‘ brothers and cousins’. There is no gainsaying that they enjoy some kind of support and even legitimacy from the powers that be in Lagos State.
When they are not rigging elections for their paymasters or intimidating political opponents, they steal from passengers, rape ,impose taxes as well as confiscate land.
This nod to thuggery and toutism and how MC Oluomo has come to be perceived as a kingpin in Lagos with his membership of the All Progressives Congress and his unabashed links to Tinubu must have sent alarm bells tolling for the Labour party as well as other parties when it emerged that INEC was planning to engage his services over election logistics.
While the Commission has since sought to frantically clarify that it was engaging park drivers and not MC Oluomo per say,many have remained unconvinced.
Nigeria’s democracy has continued to flourish in spite of everything thrown its way by those who feasted and fattened themselves when the country stuttered under various military administrations.Since 1999, Nigeria’s electoral landscape has witnessed an invasion of thuggery.Thugs have often been deployed by politicians to intimidate political opponents,rig elections and even scare away voters on election days.Given that nothing is often beyond them,they have been used to do much worse.
As Nigeria’s electoral process has taken shape, there has been an increased sensitization targeted at young people urging them not to allow themselves be used as tools by unscrupulous politicians. The sensitization has yielded fruits of course but in a country where youth are riven by poverty and unemployment, there are always those willing to be used by the agents of chaos.
As in Lagos, it is clear to see what has so strongly alarmed the political parties to go to court. With pivotal elections firmly on the horizon, Nigerians must remain hard at work to ensure that the conduct of elections continue to improve until they get to the day when they will no longer be amenable to the whims and caprices of thugs, touts and their sponsors.
Kene Obiezu,
Twitter:@keneobiezu
