THE July 14 governorship election in Edo State conjures up images of a bloody spectacle. The tension is unabated with violent attacks, assassinations, allegations of attempted murder, etc.Ironically, in the face of the looming violence, there is a passionate yearning for a free and fair election. All that came pouring out at a one day (June 18) sensitisation workshop, organised by the Special Adviser to the president on Inter Party Affairs, Senator Ben Obi,for leaders of political parties, supporters, and governorship candidates in Edo.Obi, who acknowledged the escalation of political acrimony ahead of the election, admitted the need 'to arrest the dangerous political atmosphere that has generated serious anxiety. The workshop therefore was a forum to evolve the machinery to sensitise stakeholders on the need to adhere to rules and regulations guiding elections.'The state governor and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) governorship candidate, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, who rescheduled his campaign tours to attend the workshop, raised the cry of 'one-man, one-vote.' The People's Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Gen. Charles Airhiavbere managed to peep in before heading out to his local government to continue his campaign. The other candidates are Gen. Solomon Edebiri, All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Chief Andrew Igwemoh, Labour Party (LP), Chief Roland Izevbuwa, Congress of Progressive Change (CPC), Chief Paul Orumuense, National Conscience Party (NCP) and Chief Frank Ukonga of the Social Democratic Mass Party (SDMP).The questions were asked: Who would ensure that the rules are obeyed' What happens when one party obeys and another flouts them' What are the guarantees that the entire process will favour all parties' And then the governor asked: 'Why are we still doing sensitisation of leaders after over 50 years of our existence as a nation and after having agreed to the exit of the military''According to him, 'Nigeria has to resolve certain paradoxes. The evidence is that civilians cannot conduct elections better than the military. It used to be fashionable in the civil society to argue that the military cannot conduct elections. But Gen. Ibrahim Babangida with Prof. Humphrey Nwosu conducted a free election, it doesn't matter that the child died. The military didn't interfere in that election.'Today, state institutions have become so corrupt that they don't know what to do.There are two institutions that matter in the conduct of an election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the security agencies.'It is therefore INEC, the Police, Army, Presidency that need to be sensitised on the need to conduct free and fair elections.'INEC must be sensitised to watch corrupt officials. The commission has a huge duty to give effect to President Goodluck Jonathan's transformational agenda. There is no reason for Prof Attahiru Jega and INEC to conduct an imperfect election; the learning curve is over.'What has raised the ante in the Edo election is what Professor Sam Oyovbaire identifiedas 'inter party competition.' This, according to him, 'has become a liability to the growth of our democracy,' as the competition and violence are verbalised.'We use words like, 'conquering,' 'enemies' instead of opponents as if elections have become war. It is dangerous as the tone of the language transmits to the followers who translate this into physical violence,' he said.Oyovbaire reminded the stakeholders that the rules start from the internal politics of the parties to the larger rules of the elections, 'and the ability to observe the rules should therefore start from the parties.'As the candidates chorused to Oshiomhole's one-man-one vote mantra, theANPP candidate noted that, 'if the parties agree to follow the rules, there will be a free and fair election. The INEC and the Presidency should use Edo as a case study for free and fair election and all institutions, ruling party in the state and at the centre should create an environment where free and fair election can be conducted.'But the optimism was not as infectious. The LP candidate said with obvious resignation, 'we have seen all this before and nothing has changed. The rules apply to some people and not to all. We can only have a free and fair election if the institutions work as they should and people do their work.'That sense of dj vu was shared by the NCP candidate, who admitted that, 'recent events in the state are scaring. We know how INEC and the security forces connive to rig elections, but we should let the winner emerge through the principle of one-man-one vote. No one can do away with the wishes of the people this time.'What concerned theSDMP candidate was the survival of the parties, after the votes are cast. Amidst wild applause from the audience, he warned of 'the collapse of the nation's democracy in the nearest future if the government does not support the parties financially, because winners of elections have access to funds while losers have nothing.'The CPC candidate who repeatedly drew laughter from the audience each time he harped on the 'peace loving' nature of the CPC, said, 'we are happy that the president and others are aware that there might not a free and fair election in Edo, and this is because of INEC. The commission supports rigging, and the threats of violence, is all because of the manipulation of the electoral process.Let us look inward and do the right thing.'The chairman of INEC Prof. Jega, who was represented by the commission's Director of Inter Party Affairs, Mrs. Omo Agege reminded the candidates of previous attempts by the commission to address electoral issues in Edo. He stated that the workshop was 'part of the overall process of confidence building and reaffirmation of our collective commitment to scale down the level of tension in the state so as to enable the conduct of credible elections.'Jega noted, 'more than the laws, it is the personal commitment of political parties and candidates that can create the kind of peaceful atmosphere for the conduct of free, fair and credible elections that we desire as a nation.'Former Director General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) Ambassador George Obiozor pointed out that the absence of institutionalised political process is the bane of elections in the country. Of concern to him also is the consequence of a faulty electoral process, which is the fact that most election results are overturned in the law courts.Wondering if the nation's politics has gone 'court crazy,' or if the courts have taken over the role of the electoral commissions,he stated, 'sometimes it seems disturbingly so, as judges also take over the role of the electorates, the people, (voters) and announce the winners...All the rigmarole, circumlocutions and electoral maneuverings occur because elections in Nigeria have no solid basis that is, they have no strong institutional structure. Consequently, elections become vulnerable to manipulations and other foul machinations and suspicious mechanism.'Obiozor noted that electionis not problem, the problem is the non-observance of institutionalised rules and guidelines as a 'properly instituted electoral administration would take care of the crucial stages of elections and ensure free, fair and transparency buy considering certain factors' in the pre-election, election day and post election stages.'Our electoral processes must be institution driven and not individual driven. Personalisation of power, and godfathers are bad. We have a paradox of the elite in Nigeria. The elite who have everything to lose are the ones who are causing problem, not the poor, who have nothing to lose.'Former Director General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Aremo Taiwo Alimi harped on the consequences of the failure of the media to present to the public the conflicts in the society as the 'quality of democracy a society enjoys is reflected in and determined by its media practice.'A glimpse of the spontaneity of Edo politics might have been put on display when the crowd protested the attempt of the governor to take to the podium more than once. The governor, in his remarks as guest of honour, was taking his time at the podium. And when the chairman tried to restrain him, the governor jocularly insisted that since he was not listed as a candidate in the programme, he might as well speak as governor and candidate. No one argued.Trouble however started when after the candidates had made their remarks, Oshimohole was allowed by Ukiwe to speak again. The audience objected and looked set to physically restrain the governor. A bemused governor looked stranded as armed security men stepped in.Earlier, the same audience stopped Senator Roland Ovwie from speaking on behalf of the PDP candidate.When peace finally prevailed, the governor made his remarks, and in short hurried steps, departed.A PDP chieftain who had sat beside the governor observed, 'this is good for our democracy. When he spoke as governor, no one objected, but when he chose to speak again as a candidate, the stakeholders bared their teeth.'The LP national chairman, Chief Dan Nwanyanwu described the situation as 'a reflection of what we have in Edo,' as he called on theINEC to improve on the situation they had in 2007. 'No special treatment is given anyone,' he insisted.Most stakeholders never stopped blamingsecurity agencies for the manipulation of the process, 'after all they know the thugs who cause trouble. We should not only preach one-man, one-vote, we should also practice it. The supremacy of the voters must be recognised in any process. They are the reasons the election was conducted in the first place.The citizens must be allowed therefore to decide according to their conscience.'The national chairman of ACN, Chief Bisi Akande, who was unavoidably absent, noted his delight at the conduct of the workshop, which he said was timely. A chieftain of the party in Edo, Ize Iyamu noted, 'all of us will be glad if the Edo polls will be free and fair. But we all know the history of polls and that is why we are sounding this alarm, people rely on the courts to win elections and this is all part of the problem.This poll should not be a do-or-die affair. INEC and the security agents should ensure that all is done not to overheat the polity in Edo.'Others at the event were Chief Tom Ikimi, Minister of Police Affairs, Mr. Caleb Olubolade, the Vice-Chairman South-South of the CPC, Alex Hart, Prof ABC Nwosu, minister of state for works bashir yugudaThe significance of the Edo election should not be lost on the INEC. First, President Goodluck Jonathan set aside a day for stakeholders in Edo to discuss what and how things could be done differently in the conduct of the governorship election. Secondly, ifprevious elections in Anambra and Delta states ahead of the 2011 general elections were test cases for Jega, perhaps, and certainly, the time has come for INEC to conduct a more acceptable election. Is the learning process over for INEC'Amidst the challenges of credibility Edo poses for Jega and his team, the workshop summed up the reality that the process of an election could be as transparent as the leadership of the institutions entrusted with the process wants it to be.INEC should perhaps bear in mind Oshimohole's reminder to the other candidates that, 'who wins the Edo election is not as important as the process that will bring forth the winner.'Thechairman of the workshop, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe had stated: 'When election is not free and fair, people's faith and confidence in the system are eroded, bad and unwanted leaders are sanctimoniously and ignominiously selected, democracy dividends are denied, crisis of unimaginable proportions with its concomitant violence are enthroned, development is distorted and lives are lost. Hence, Edo and her people cannot afford to play into the awaiting hands of anarchy that befalls manipulated elections...'This is the scenario that stares Edo in the face.
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