Nigeria is a familiar story. Those who understand its story do not shudder when anything strange is happening or is about to happen in Nigeria. They simply shrug it off. They know it falls within the realm of the familiar. Those who are given to supplanting the Nigerian system are even more at home with the Nigerian story. They know that matters Nigerian do not spring surprises. They evaporate and fizzle out sooner than anyone can imagine.
The impunity that has just taken place over the Electoral Act(Amendment) 2026 falls within this beaten track. When Godswill Akpabio who rules over the Senate like Lord of the Manor received instructions from his principal, President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, to the effect that real-time transmission of election results should not be part of the amended bill, both of them must have entertained themselves with scornful laughter. They knew that some elements in the polity would oppose its expungement. But that was not to be an issue. They were sure that the naysayers would end up just with their nays. Their rejection or denunciation of what was to come would come to naught. The conspirators know too well that Nigerians will not go beyond verbal punches. That they would burn themselves out in no time. And the wielders of power will have their way. They will impose their preferred version of the Bill on the country and the people will do nothing. And that is what has happened.
To demonstrate that what transpired at the National Assembly was his brainchild, President Tinubu signed into law the amended Bill with astonishing speed. His foot soldiers have delivered. They have bullied the recalcitrant ones into submission. In pushing through the Bill without its real-time component, the sellouts in the legislative house did not care a hoot about what the people wanted. They ignored the voice of the people. And in order not to create room for further agitation over the matter, the president acted with the speed of light. The contentious piece of legislation is now law. What does it matter if Nigerians are angry? They know that the people’s anger will not endure. It will be blown away by the wind. They must be right.
They made this same calculation in 2023. When Bola Tinubu entered the race for the presidency then, his calculation was that he would have an easy sail to power as the candidate of the government in power. But when the magic of the Peter Obi candidacy began to unfold, both Tinubu and the Presidency were no longer at ease. What could be done about this sudden surge towards Obi? They began to wonder. Then, something told them to go for subversion. Overlook the results when they roll in. Shut down the election viewing portal. Carry out as much manipulation as required. Turn the table in favour of Tinubu. Then begin to release the figures. The conspirators knew that Nigerians would shout. But they were quick to dismiss that as a futile pastime. Nigerians do not go beyond condemnation and denunciation.
The mood of the people then favoured real change, not the cosmetic ones they have been used to. They wanted a clean break from the rapacious order that has held the country down for decades. However, sensing that Nigerians were determined to vote out the roguish bad order, the government of the day, in cahoots with the conspirators, told the electoral commission to thwart the people’s will. When the conspirators were perfecting their plans, they saw beyond that moment. What would happen if we steal the mandate? The rogue elements, relying on their good understanding of the Nigerian psyche, declared that nothing would happen. The people will just grumble. They will condemn. They will taunt. In the end, those who have thwarted their will will have their way. And that was what happened.
The electoral robbery of 2023 went through the furnace of criticisms. It was buffeted by the anger of the people. But it stood. Those holding Nigeria by the jugular know this. And they will always cash in on it. There they go again. Another election year is close by and the conspirators have oiled the engine of manipulation. Will this be an interminable cycle? Is Nigeria condemned to Sisyphean stagnation?
I have made the point time and time again that the President Tinubu arrangement is the strangest thing that has ever happened to Nigerian politics. This man used to tell us that he is a democrat. He flaunted fraudulent democratic credentials that appeared real in the eyes of the people. It was this bare-faced deception that he used to worm his way into the seat of power. But no sooner had he ascended the presidential seat than his democratic pretensions collapsed like a pack of cards. They were not there in the first place. The people saw through the lies. The real Tinubu has since been unveiled. And those who believed him in the past are in shock, including a section of the conspirators that installed him in 2023.
Is it not strange that it is under Tinubu that almost all the governors of the 36 states are coerced into joining the ruling party? Then, you ask: what are they looking for? What manner of deal did the president strike with them? Before Tinubu, we had state governors who joined issues with the president if they had good reason to do so. But not anymore. Almost all of them have collapsed under an arrangement that is eating Nigeria up.
The same thing is true of members of the National Assembly. An overwhelming majority of them have sold their consciences to the devil. They have no mind or voice of their own. The brouhaha that we witnessed at the National Assembly over the Electoral Act shows that what we have in the two chambers are not representatives of the people. They are apologists for a ruling party that has stolen their souls. Why did it not matter to the legislators that those whose mandate they are holding are watching and taking note? Of course it wouldn’t matter because a good majority of them are products of fraud. What about the interest of the country? Do they care? They certainly do not. They are just sanguinary opportunists who have sold their souls for a mess of pottage. We need to pity this Nigeria for being cursed with this rapacious breed.
Is it not strange that after conquering almost all the states of the federation, the president and his ruling party are still scared stiff of free and fair political contest? What is the point of acquiring state governors and still be afraid that they will not win election for you? The desperation that we are seeing from the Tinubu presidency is an expression of lack of confidence in itself. If Tinubu believes that he has done well, he will not be embarking on a destruction binge as he is doing. He will not free up the political space because he is afraid of losing control of it. That is the man that used to make a singsong of democracy. Now the chips are down. What we see now is a jay in borrowed plumes. A pretender to the throne of democracy.
QUOTE:
“Is it not strange that after conquering almost all the states of the federation, the president and his ruling party are still scared stiff of free and fair contest? What is the point of acquiring state governors and still be afraid that they will not win election for you?”
