The Ogun State local government elections of July 21, 2012 have come and gone, leaving behind so many concerns about the future of the democratic process in Nigeria, especially as it pertains to credible, free and fair elections, under the purview of the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs). The elections and the behind the scene manipulations did not come to some of us as a surprise given the fact that over the past few years, elections at that level have been reduced to a 'do me, I do you' comedy arrangement. It is marvelous to see how a party still teething in a state can sweep 98 per cent of the poll in a state that even the blind knows is divided almost equally between the party in government at the state level, that is the ACN and the two major opposition parties, PDP and PPN.For me, the only shock was the fact that I thought the state governor was a new breed politician. I was roundly proved wrong, especially with the unrestrained speed at which the governor rushed to swear-in the beneficiaries of that selection less than 48 hours after the results were announced by the Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC). The whole charade was thespian and well rehearsed. The swearing-in costumes, white lace with red caps and wrappers to match, for chairmen, women and councilors were obviously ready, days before the election, which was held on a Saturday. The swearing-in took place early on Monday the 23rd of July, 2012.The Ogun local councils election was indeed a far cry from the one held a week earlier and conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Edo State. The Edo gubernatorial elections of July 14, 2012 that returned incumbent Governor Adams Oshiomole was acknowledged as credible and fair by almost all parties in that election. Even the Comrade/Governor testified that the President Jonathan played the role of a stateman in that election. The whole nation was aware that the resource of state was fully deployed in that election which was eventually won by the ACN to make it credible, free and fair.Looking back at the trend of events, especially the conduct of local council polls across the states in Nigeria, it will not be out of place for one to say we still have a long way to go with elections conducted by State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) as against those by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). I think there is a huge disconnection here and the problem lies squarely on the doorsteps of state governors, their advisers and Houses of Assembly.With due respect, and I say this with all sense of decorum, I think majority of our governors and House of Assembly members don't understand the tenets of democracy at all. And this cuts across all the political parties and states. It is such a sad development in a dangerous direction. The danger is in the reality that this daylight conspiracy is a deliberate partnership between the executives and legislators at the state level. The other angle is the subtle co-option of the judiciary into this arrangement. And remotely, we are gradually creating craters on the road to enduring democracy.What does anyone stand to gain by deliberately suppressing the wishes of the people' Of what use is the allocation of huge state resources to elections that are similar to doctored party primaries of the results are out before the elections are conducted' Why do we like to fool ourselves in this country and turn around to blame other people for our woes' If we cannot have the liberty to choose our ward councilors and local government chairmen, how on earth do we think general elections will be free and fair' The fact that a previous government erred and bastardised the council election process during her tenure, does not imply that it should continue as a tradition with incumbents. We need to tell ourselves the truth; else we will only continue to have 'change without progress.'If we lay a fraudulent electoral foundation at the local council level, then we have already tilted the outcome of our general elections to be unfair. We have already made the field unleveled. We have technically killed the democratic system from afar. We make a lot of mistakes by thinking there is no connection between local and national elections. Again, it is interesting that the apostles of free and fair general elections at national levels subtly turn a blind eye at manipulated elections at local government level. This is the norm especially when opposition parties are in power at the state level.This issue brings us to the debate of having local government autonomy as a critical amendment in the Constitution. The case is very clear. For us to have even development at every nook and cranny of this country, we must remove the administration of local councils far from the whims and caprices of the state executives and legislators. Collaborations between states and local councils should be voluntary and mutual, not imposed. The autonomy of local councils will generate competition in terms of development and this may eventually trigger balanced economic growth. One of the strong reasons why our economy appears stagnant is because local councils are hampered from growing inside-out. This trend is equally related to the geometric death of SMEs that ordinarily should enjoy local patronage and the result of course, is the massive unemployment and rural-urban migration we are currently facing. I think it is also proper to say here that it is wrong for state governments to recruit workers on behalf of local governments. It is an aberration for state governments to recruit thousands of youths as sweepers of our streets and sanitary officers for local councils and tag it empowerment. It creates a lot of imbalance in the system when a state government uses the allocation meant for the development of rural communities to engage thousands of street sweepers to clean and beautify urban centres. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and other professional bodies should also play a prominent role as independent election observers during local government elections in all states. They should not only cry and yell during general elections. The Police and State Security Service should also be neutral during local elections so as to be able to expose undemocratic practices and deal appropriately with electoral offenders irrespective of their status.Those fiddling with our democratic system and structure are not doing themselves, their patrons or political parties any good, they are only sowing to the wind and eventually they will reap the whirlwind. Awolowo had told us that 'there are no permanent friends in politics but permanent interest.' It is true, and I just hope those state governors who are yet to conduct council elections in their states will heed the voice of reason and tow the part of honour which some have elected to ignore.Kolawole wrote in from Ibadan.
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