EsinIslam Portal Media Network
12 March 2014
By Taofeek Ramat
taofeekramat@yahoo.com
Welcome to Nigeria, a pseudo democratic republic where
in all sorts of absurdities goes on in the name of
democracy.
First for the purpose of clarification, let's have
some definitions.
In the manner peculiar to Nigeria and Nigerians, let's
go to the United States of America to borrow a more
apt and popular definition of democracy as rendered by
Abraham Lincoln in that well-praised Gettysburg
address of November 19, 1863. In that short memorable
speech, Lincoln defined democracy as "the government
of the people, by the people, for the people".
That done, let's proceed to our second definition,
crucial for conveying fully the import of this
rendition.
Let's define election. According to the Wikipedia
"An election is a formal decision-making process by
which a population chooses an individual to hold
public office". Wikipedia further stated that
"Elections have been the usual mechanism by which
modern representative democracy has operated since the
17th century". Imagine, a system as old 400 years is
what Nigerian dealers of misfortune keep alluding to
as nascent. I wonder why their insatiable quests for
meaningless materialism and aggrandizement are not
cautioned by the same yardstick, in the same manner of
the tails of nascent democracy with which they regale
us to explain their inefficiencies. Tweak your
imaginations dear readers! The latest of technological
gargets are the eternal cravings of this folks who
keep rationalizing political and leadership failure.
Why are they not going softly-softly in their wanton
wastes of our God given resources, just as they want
us to take the path of gradualism when it comes to
putting their feet to fire, scrutinizing their
worthiness for political office?
On the final leg of the definition meandering, let's
take on the peskiest of the definition task defining
scientific rigging. Bear with me dear reader, that
combination of words which has been introduced,
possibly first by Nigeria into the world's democracy
or governance vocabulary is far more tasking than the
WAEC English essay.
Where do I start? You know the Nigerian pseudo
democracy we have been practicing since 1999 has
introduced lots of word or complex words into the
world governance lexis. Quite bizarre you will say
mediocre politicians who are not even adept as
providing the least of the political responsibility in
Nigeria have also taken on the task of becoming
lexicologist. Well, maybe some of them are called
technocrats like the folks hired for Bretton-Woods
institutions. They have introduced all sorts of words,
complex words, expressions and phrases into the
English language.
The Nigerian democratic lexicon will be a quite
interesting task for a linguist who wants to explore
the other worst that Nigeria and Nigerians have gifted
the world, particularly the English speaking world.
You know, some of this introduced words or expressions
are at best, the worst application of oxymoron. Tell
me, what is dividend of democracy? That, dear reader
we call a bland attempt at utilizing the figure of
speech in the English language. Some other crass
disingenuous in lexicography by the Nigerian
politicians are actually malapropism defined by
Wikipedia as "the use of an incorrect word in place of
a word with a similar sound, resulting in a
nonsensical, often humorous utterance".
Forgive me dear readers for this tortuous meandering.
Getting to fully grasp the linguistics of the Nigerian
democracy is crucial for us to understand why, where
and when we went wrong since 1999. I just hope the
Nigerian English language and linguistics experts will
devote more time to demystifying the distasteful and
disingenuous introduction of lexicons which are all
attempts t blurring mediocrity. If we must move
forward, these experts must utilize their various
media platforms to help deconstruct these series of
well padded deceits. They are useless! They are
meaningless!! In working societies, service
provisioning and guarantying the inalienable rights of
citizens are not coated in flowery and meaningless
words.
Now, back to our attempt at defining scientific
rigging! Let's just do with anecdotes. And please
don't accuse me of an attempt to avoid giving a
definition. Let me confess, my primary school English
training, which was the best I had as far as language
training is concerned, and was delivered under the
tree in that now decrepit primary school in my
village, is insufficient to dissect the ambiguities
and complex lexicons the mediocre in the Nigerian
political space keep churning out. Thank my primary
school teachers if you think my attempt is fair.
So, to our first story! Cast your mind back to the
Kogi gubernatorial election of third December 2011.
After that election, which the PDP candidate won, the
ACN and their candidate in that election, Prince
Abubakar Audu alleged that the PDP had deployed
scientific rigging techniques. After Idris Wada was
declared winner by INEC, the ACN candidate's chief
campaign strategist in that election, Mr. Dino Melaye
was reported to have accused PDP of using scientific
rigging. Mr Melaye did not give us succinct definition
of what scientific rigging means, but perhaps his
explanations will suffice for our purpose here. Here
him: "It is pathetic, painful and disheartening that
the PDP in Kogi State has graduated from the use of
violence, from the use of the military, from the use
of the police, they've graduated from the use of these
methods now to the scientific method of rigging". If
that his submission is not clear enough, try this
other quote from him on the same election as reported
by the http://ondostatevoice.com: "The ACN in Kogi
State rejects in its entirety the manipulated,
malicious, fabricated and totally untrue election
results just announced by INEC".
By the way, the Judiciary abracadabra that led to the
conduct of that election, at the time, December, is
still not fully demystified. I heard tales of some
head boy in Aso Rock and his wife wanting to do away
with some pesky and ungrateful fellow at helms of
affairs in Bayelsa. They got judiciary pronouncements
that set 3 governors packing. So much for the
judiciary contribution to destroying a democracy won
by blood and sweat of patriots!
Dear reader, forgive me just again for the diversion.
Now, to our second story! The scene is set in Ondo
State during the October 20, 2012 gubernatorial
elections for the state. Before that election, there
were allegations by the same ACN of an attempt by the
ruling Labour Party to infiltrate the voter list with
new names. Hundreds of thousands of voters names were
alleged to have be inserted through the back door. It
was alleged that the Vice Chancellor of Adekunle
Ajasin University Professor Femi Mimiko, who is the
younger brother of the incumbent governor, contesting
in the elections colluded with INEC staff to insert
fake names, thereby bloating the voters list for the
state ahead of the election.
Following the pre-election allegations, that insertion
of fake names into the voter register featured
prominently in the election tribunal, even to the
final adjudication at the Supreme Court. The eminent
judges by popular vote declare the issue of scientific
rigging as a pre-election matter. The story I guess
you all know how it ended.
So much for the application of scientific skills of a
Professor of Political Science, and Vice Chancellor of
a state university: putting his disingenuity to use to
buy his brother a discredited victory. Sadly, that
victory has become a debacle on the neck of the lone
ranger governor. And the people of Ondo state,
particularly the diehard supporter of Labour Party are
now nursing a deep wound inflicted by deception and
betrayer. I wonder how an entire state of over 3
million people could get sucked in by a conman.
Hopefully, the professor will after coming clean like
some others will publish the Nigerian first book on
scientific rigging. It might be a-must-have guide for
the garrison commanders and learners in scientific
rigging.
The second anecdote also shows how the judiciary,
willingly has thrown us all as a nation into further
democratic darkness than help us find the path to
truth and true democracy. In the second story, the
Judiciary pronouncements opened sound legal footing
for scientific rigging.
The third anecdote would have been the recent Anambra
governorship election. I better not get into that for
lack of space. Let's spear ourselves the pain of
taking the journey forward on the definition of the
Nigerian worthless contribution to the English
lexicon.
Now to the point of all these meanderings: The new
party, the APC, not so new going by the fact that the
colorations and symbolisms emerging from the
coalescing parties' do not tell us anything new. Even
these symbols and colours have not been expounded into
what they mean in terms of political ideology, how
they correctly, or even attempt at capturing the
dreams and aspirations of desponded Nigerians,
particularly the teeming despaired unemployed youths.
One would think a new party or let's say a
reinvigorated coalescing of parties will venture out
on proper membership wooing drive, organizing town
halls and community meetings, trade union discourses,
making presentations to youths, students and
professionals across the country. Presenting and
testing their ill-conceived manifesto. But NO! APC is
strategizing for scientific rigging. They are not even
using the social media platforms to truly convince and
win the hearts and minds of the youths that are 24/7
glued to facebook, whatsapp, 2go, among others.
Nigerians have been fooled severally since 1999.
Parties came bearing all sorts of colour and logos
that bears no explanation nor give direction to the
pursuits of basic aspirations of ordinary Nigerians.
Tell me, what allegiance will I have to a party I
signed up for just because it has been mouthed as
mega? No ideology mentioned for us to start
questioning; you know giving life to that core aspect
of true democracy citizen's right to ask and
continue to ask questions on how they are or will be
governed. No dreams, goals or vision broken down into
what folks like me whose only education is not beyond
the primal garnered under a long dead Odan' tree.
So fellow Nigerians, beware of further deceits. The
vultures are gathering to finish up the remaining
carcass of a battered Nigeria. PDP equals APC, PDP
equals LP, PDP equals APGA, PDP equals Accord. These
folks have let us all down without showing any remorse
nor even rendering anything remotely close to apology.
As far as we know, there is no opposition party in
Nigeria as of now. Not to talk of a third force. Let
me leave the youths with an encouragement to go forth
and take their destinies into their hands as the 2015
elections approach. Scientific rigging has become part
and parcel of the pseudo democracy we practice in
Nigeria. It is left for us youths, who have been
cheated and robbed of our precious dreams to move en
masse and take the bull by horn. Wrestle power from
the old guards who have wasted the last fifteen years
singing nascent democracy. Fifteen years is enough to
make a mark and set the path to the glorious dawn of a
Nigeria that attends to the welfare and aspirations of
all citizens, not some cabals and elites.
A good and credible party that will save Nigeria and
Nigerians, helping to reverse the nation's march to
perdition does not need 12 million Nigerians to
register as members of the party. May be we need to be
reminded that our membership cards in ACN, CPC, ANPP,
mattered nothing when it came to key decision making
regarding election of the parties' leadership and
candidates for general elections. Not to even talk
about consulting members on every policy and statement
that the parties press secretaries roll out in our
name. The APC's manner of talking down on the people,
even in the advert calling for membership registration
is a condescending habit of APC that will not go away.
The Nigerian pseudo democracy has been all about
hijacking political space and platforms for selfish
reasons. Millions of voters do not fancy partisan
engagements. Those are the people who decide a winner
in an election.
Taofeek Ramat -- Ramat is a cassava farmer who has
never tasted cassava bread.
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