The Diplomatic Corps and Foreign Observers have made a lot of noise about the Nigerian election, which has been called Africa’s biggest democracy. Sadly, decades of grants from the European Union (EU) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have done little to improve election procedures.
The tribal politics started by Obafemi Awolowo’s Action Group (AG) and S.L. Akintola’s Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP) turned into a national disaster. As required by the Electoral Act as amended, a straightforward task of uploading results to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s server has not been carried out, despite the substantial investment in Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) technology.
There was no good reason for INEC to not start the election on time, and that was a straightforward law. This election has seen ballot box snatching, mutilation and destruction of ballot papers, tribal intimidation, and disenfranchisement across Nigeria, with Rivers, Lagos, Edo, Kano, and Bayelsa states receiving significant attention. Law enforcement has largely aided and abetted these election violations and crimes while doing nothing. This is not a vote. It’s a complete hoax.
Nigeria is composed of three major nations joined together. Specifically, Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba If Nigerians are given the opportunity to vote on whether or not to become a nation through a democratic process known as a referendum, the political unrest that exists in Nigeria would come to an end.
The inquiry is: Why are the Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa forced into one nation while the Germans, French, and English all live in separate nations? Why do the United States of America and Europe view outside interference in their elections as a threat to national security while Africa’s elections are in full swing? Why is the West funding an election in Nigeria when a straightforward referendum will easily resolve issues? Why is a referendum advantageous for Nigeria but not for Scotland and other Western nations?
Since races are non-helpful to the native individuals of Nigeria, for what reason do the Political Corps people group and the Unfamiliar Spectators Favor it over on appeal mandate?
Ogah C. S. Maduabuchi edited Chibueze Daniel’s manuscript for Family Writers Press International.