Many Nigerians are upset at video, audio, and text materials asking for them to remain calm after the apparent electoral thievery that happened in numerous polling units across Nigeria during last Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections. Reasons for such anger are not far-fetched. Â
After several years of hearing appeals against voter apathy in Nigeria and seeing that a presidential candidate with a proven dislike of using public resources for self-enrichment (H.E. Peter Obi), was in the race, many Nigerians who had never voted thought they had reached voting age (of 18) years ago, people who stopped voting in 2011 and numerous youths who just reached the age of voting marched out to vote in the presidential and National Assembly elections of February 25, 2023. They had believed our anti-voter apathy campaigns as we convinced them their votes would count if they stepped out to vote. They joined the people who have always stepped out for elections so they too can exercise their electoral franchise. (It is, therefore, highly possible that the percentage of Nigerians who went out to vote last Saturday will surpass previous records since 1999).
Then, the unimaginable happened! Right before the eyes of regular voters and newly converted voters, broad-day electoral illegalities were hurled into the electoral system by usually cowardly electoral thieves who dare not publicly open up to their atrocities. They would, rather, use their positions and riches to ensure that they are not publicly exposed while they impose their evil will on the masses.Â
Unfortunately for them, as James Hadley Chase wrote in one of his novels, “There is no perfect crime”. Therefore, their foot soldiers always leave sufficient ‘foot trails’ that tell who and who has done what. We are seeing this play out in a number of ways already.Â
Back to the videos and audio messages. In my view, there is nothing wrong with messages calling for calm. If it’s possible to adhere to, this approach is the best way to begin our push to overturn the electoral illegalities in virtually every state of the country. Plus, that is the approach our principals, H.E. Peter Obi and Senator Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed will prefer. Peter Obi is already showing this as seen in his calm attitude, as seen in a video when local and international journalists visited him in his hometown two days after the presidential election. Â
Peter Obi knows that the people carrying out the illegalities of overturning our electoral mandate are expecting Nigerians, especially youths, to spill into the streets and cause mayhem. And, being a man of peace who values human life, he would rather drop or delay his well-intentioned presidential aspiration than see scores or hundreds of people die because of it. Â
Of course, spilling into the streets may not be stopped entirely but from our experience during the ‘#EndSARS’ protests of 2020, the enemies of this country’s future won’t mind killing again and again! Perhaps, this time, with more calculated vehemence because, this time, they want to recover and make immense gains from what they consider ‘huge, personal financial electoral investments’! Â
To me, therefore, there should be a balance between the legal and the civil because both the legal approach and the civil protests are necessary. However, both should be adequately planned and implemented diligently so that no one can take undue advantage of them to put lives and property at risk. Of course, we must ensure that civil protests do not include the destruction of lives or property anywhere.Â
In considering these, let’s bear in mind that as it was during the ‘#EndSARS’ protests, the people harvesting from the stealing of our electoral mandate will send hundreds of mindless youths to destroy property massively and make it look like our people did. Of course, we know that those young men and women who will play this role have traded or never had the capacity to look strategically into the future to see how their self-serving pay-masters are spending millions on the education of their own children in saner climes in order to prepare them to be knowledgeable leaders of the future! We also have the responsibility of clearly highlighting this truth so that most of such young men and women will withdraw their services from those pay-masters.Â
This is why we need to plan and implement adequately and strategically. Fortunately, the international community is giving much attention to the shameful drama the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is dishing out. By God’s grace, really soon, local and international pressure will give ascendance to the presidential electoral choice of the majority of Nigerians that are being so provocatively and maliciously stolen from state to state!Â
This is why Nigerians must not boil over in respect of calls to remain calm. We must not play into the hands of the people pulling the strings of electoral illegalities; people who no longer treasure the promptings of their conscience.Â
The bottom line is that no matter how long it takes from February 25, 2023, H.E. Peter Obi will be officially sworn in as President and Commander-in-Chief of the (People’s) Federal Republic of Nigeria! This should encourage us to do the needful and not to do anything that would further delay this reality.
Story was written by: Dodoiyi Deinbo William-West
(DD William-West is a public affairs commentator and social media influencer)
And posted by Dr. Harry Choms
