abdulraheem
The DAILY TRUST newspaper of yesterday, Wednesday, carried on its front page a call by the president of the Christian association of Nigeria (CAN), Most Reverend John Onaiyekan, for fresh elections to be conducted in Nigeria within one year. He said that the level of rigging in the last election was too high for the election tribunals to deal with, and that the process should be by-passed. Most Reverend Onaiyekan said, “It is not impossible to imagine a situation where we all agree to go back and do proper election. That will entail reconstituting a truly Independent National Electoral Commission; such a new body would call Nigerians out to vote for candidates of their choice. The heavens will not fall if this happens”. Such an election “which can be held within a year will help the nation redeem its battered image in the comity of nations”. It is quite clear that the April 2007 elections were so fraudulent that the government that it produced would continue to face a legitimacy crisis no matter how long we paper over the reality. This does not reduce from the very welcome efforts at decency in governance, which the new administration has exhibited especially in the last couple of weeks. But the fundamentals must always be confronted in order for us to develop as a democratic country. The central question is that given the monumental fraud that Obasanjo, INEC and the PDP perpetrated in April, can we accept the status quo today as reflective of the aspirations of the Nigerian people? The answer certainly is no. The next logical question to ask is whether a regime that emerged on the basis of the fraud can then provide a platform for a free and fair, transparent electoral process in the future? Or are we even jumping ahead of ourselves, and not resolving the issue of the illegitimacy at hand? These are the reflections that came to mind on the basis of the interesting points raised by Most Reverend John Onaiyekan this week. It is a very courageous intervention that we have come to identify with the man of God. But who will hearken to the call?
