The struggle for political power have been the greatest challenge to national unity,little wonder a Chinese scholar defined “POLITICS AS WAR WITHOUT BLOODSHED AND WAR IS POLITICS WITH BLOODSHED”
The 2023 general elections have come and gone,yet we are still standing,Nigerians elected a new president, Governor’s,senator’s, house of representatives and state houses of assembly members,except for some state’s were the tenure of the governor’s are yet to be completed.
It is quiet worrisome that the Nigerian electroal system is dangerously retrogressive in most front,we will all agree that Nigeria have not been able to conduct free fair and generally acceptable election since the return of democracy in 1999.
Let me narrow my experience in Rivers state,where I live and voted as a stakeholder, believing that my experience and observation will be noted in this circumstance.
I will say that both the presidential,national assembly,Governorship and state houses of assembly election took place on 25th February and March 18th 2023 as announced by the independent national electroal commission INEC,the incumbent Governor SIM FUBARA AND HIS WIFE VOTED IN OPOBO,THE RIVERS APC GOVERNORSHIP CANDIDATE ARCH PASTOR TONYE COLE MNI AND WIFE VOTED IN AKUKU TORU, MYSELF VOTED IN IKWERRE AND MANY OTHERS,but election rigging was very high.
My experience of the 2023 general elections was the worse of it all,if as one voter I say that the Rivers election was free and fair than I lied,the election of Rivers state was between INEC, security agents and Apc,as the context was not among political parties,members of opposition political parties in Rivers state were harassed, beaten,shot,arrested, killed,injured and intimidated,before, during and after the election.town criers sounded across villages and town’s of Rivers state through traditional rulers and there community development committees,on the directives of the Rivers led pdp government,warning the residents not to come out to vote.
INEC promise of free and fair context was a scam,the promise to transmit election results from the polling units with the use BVAS was not obtained,INEC adhoc staff’s (presiding officers)were helpless as BVAS code for uploading unit results to I_REV were not given to them,ballot box snatching were recorded by political thugs.
The Rivers Apc cried out against what it considered as unholy relationship between pdp inec and security agents,the Rivers Apc was ignored, AFTER THE FRAUD AND SCAM CALLED ELECTION,sim fubara,the three senator’s,eleven house of representatives members and thirty-two state houses of assembly members all of pdp was declared winners,what a shame on democracy and election
Further more the 2023 Rivers election was over militarized,there was large cache of arm and animation all over the state, even that is a good and acceptable reason for the cancellation of the election.
ONE WILL BE FORCED TO ASK IS RIVERS PEOPLE SO MINDLESS THAT THEY WILL NOT SEE GOOD REASONS OF VOTING APC TONYE COLE AND OTHER OF HER CANDIDATES, LET ME NOT PRE_EMPT THE TRIBUNAL BUT THE POINT WE MUST MAKE IS THAT THERE IS AN URGENT NEED TO CRITICALLY LOOK INTO RIVERS ELECTIONS AND INSURE JUSTICE iS DONE,to further encourage the electorates in subsequent elections
Finally Rivers people and Nigerians will want to see if the judiciary will gloss over the robberies or stand to resist the institutionalization of electoral frauds by reversing this injustice,the worse electoral crime is the subversion of the will of the people.
The judiciary owe her self honor as they should urgently restore it by itself,as this can be her finest or darkest moment,even president Bola Ahmed Tinubu have a duty of not interfering with the judiciary processss,he should toll the path of late former president Alahaji umaru musa yar_Adua who openly confessed to Nigerians that the election that brought him as president in 2007 was characterized with fraud.
