— J. S. OKUTEPA, SAN
It will be difficult, if not impossible, to eradicate corruption and the corrupt ways of doing things in Nigeria. The ongoing [2023] selection otherwise called [2023] election is a case in point. Everyone is involved. No one can claim to be pure. Even those who have good intentions and purity of heart, still have around them, people with impurity of heart and impunity.
I have said times without numbers that while the introduction of Bimodal Verification Accreditation system BVAS is well-intentioned, the human elements would undermine its benefits. We can see that thugs and electoral fraudsters are at their best in these [2023] elections. Those who have public duties and responsibilities to do what is right according to law and the dictates of democracy, are either afraid of doing so or they have refused to do so owing to their commercial interests.
INEC as a body has proven to not be as independent as it ought to. Besides, INEC does not have sufficient staff (permanent and ad hoc) to manage elections and to effectively mann the polling stations. Majority of the INEC Adhoc staff members are the same corrupt or heavily compromised Nigerians of the Nigerian blood who are experts in the Nigerian ways of doing things. And there appears to be no consequences for these misconduct and misbehavour. How then, one may ask, can we grow and develop as a nation with this kind attitude?
It’s obvious that the political class just does not want the will of the people to prevail. And, given the crooked manner these things are done, plus the fact that the will of the people is not respected, one wonders whether there’s really any need to continue with organizing elections in Nigeria. Why don’t we avoid this waste of funds in the name of organizing elections?
Why don’t we just adopt a selection of leadership instead of continuing to perpetrate crookedness and corruption in the name of elections?
Further, since it has become obvious that thugs and their corrupt sponsors have made genuine democratic elections impossible in Nigeria, and the governments have not been able to think out of the box, on how to effectively nip these atrocities in the bud in order to offer Nigerians genuine democratic elections that reflect the will of the people, why not let us meet at our various villages squares, periodically, and select our representatives who will then be our leaders, to govern over our affairs? I make this suggestion, because the public funds being wasted to organize these sham elections in Nigeria can be channeled to more profitable ventures, including provisions of social amenities, etc. Finally, and from all indications, there appears to be no democracy in Nigeria yet. We’d better stop pretending that there is.
@ Jibrin S. Okutepa, SAN