The widely anticipated general election of the “Largest Democracy” in Africa began on February 25, 2023. Before that, diplomats and government officials, most of whom were from Western nations, were seen posting brief videos and tweets to encourage people to go out and exercise their voting rights. Anyone who attempts to “disrupt” the electoral process would face sanctions and visa bans from Western diplomats.
Mr. Anthony Blinken, the Secretary of State of the United States of America, Mrs. Catriona Liang, the British ambassador to Nigeria, and Mrs. Samuela Isopi, the Chief Envoy of the European Union to Nigeria, among others, were all involved in the marketing of the Nigerian election to the already battered Nigerian population.
Even Norway, Austria, Japan, and other nations expressed opinions regarding the Nigerian election. One might think, “Oh, all these are messages of goodwill from all these countries!” at such a time. But then we saw Victoria Nuland, another US diplomat, meet with high-ranking northern Nigerian politicians and talk about the “Election.” This suggests that the overwhelming support and encouragement coming from these Western nations is far from purely for the benefit of democracy. And to top it all off, US President Joe Biden went to the Nigerian elections two days before them and told all parties and people to follow the results, no matter how skewed or tampered with they might be.
The fact of the matter is that the current events in Nigeria, from the electoral processes to the results and the general geopolitical events in Nigeria, should not come as a surprise. Irredeemably ignorant or suffering from amnesia (memory loss), anyone feigning amazement is either. Colonial Britain was a massive structure in which her political and economic interests were concisely represented and safeguarded. The joke is on the average Nigerian who believes he or she can change the Nigerian system by using the same system (electioneering). All of the aforementioned parties have become direct beneficiaries of the extremely corrupt Nigerian system.
One thing is certain, regardless of how these elections turn out: they were rigged, and the independent national electoral Commission (INEC), run by the ruling oligarchs of Nigeria and their Western allies, orchestrated it.
Indeginous People of Biafra (IPOB), led by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has been attempting to point Nigerians in this direction for the past ten years, but they have been unable to do so. Instead, the people have supported Nigerian politicians and West conspirators in their desperate efforts to protect their cash cow and to criminally indict IPOB on the pretext that they oppose democracy.
Fortunately, the IPOB leadership exempted herself from the conspiracy to blackmail and destroy IPOB and chose to remain neutral in the elections so that the people could learn the hard way. However, we must all be on the lookout for what the Nigerian people will do if they so choose.
Anyone advocating for electioneering as a means of sustaining a viable change in Nigeria is not only deceptive but also dubious, or acutely ignorant. Nigeria can never be changed using the same system.
The fact of the matter is that the political class and their neocolonial allies will continue to manipulate and exploit the region’s human and mineral resources for their own benefit until the end of time unless Nigerians make the conscious decision to look into the in-depth issues that surround Nigeria’s perpetually fragile existence.
Only a referendum is a viable and long-lasting option.
Enenienwite Ikechukwu is the author.