In an exclusive interview 29th December, 2021 with Arise News and as seen in various social media handle, you justified the action of the President of Nigeria withholding assent to the Electoral Amendment Bill; an issue of serious controversy that has rocked the entire Nigerian State. This Electoral Amendment Bill to a very large extent is vital to the entire psephological process of our democratic consolidation in Nigeria. In the interview I saw the passion as you made frantic effort to justify the position of your Principal (President Muhammadu Buhari) whom you have been working with since 2011 as a political ally. I loved the way you cleared the air by letting Nigerians know that President Muhammadu Buhari is a democrat and would do anything to promote a democratic culture were direct primaries can, and will augment for our democratic consolidation. In fact, I was very happy when you said President Muhammadu Buhari will likely sign the bill because you know what he feels about direct primaries....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
The exposition and argumentation of the benefits of direct primaries as enumerated by you at the introduction of your interview gives me a very strong impression you indeed understand the dynamics and benefits of direct primaries. Even though, the direct primaries are not all about the Electoral Amendment Bill. This again gives a background to your justification for President Muhammadu Buhari’s position not to have signed the Electoral Amendment Bill; but, you indeed gave us hope as a people that one day he will sign the bill; since like you said he is likely to sign the bill. What we do not know is when will the bill be signed? This question is not the crux of this articulated piece; but, the desperation of Nigerians for the Electoral Amendment Bill to pass assent and duly signed by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is and will be a major breakthrough for our democracy; and this you believe very strongly with every conviction that President Buhari is an ardent advocate of the direct primaries.
The conditions or justification for your position or the reason you gave for vetoing the President’s decision can be itemized thus: (a) An Open Membership Registration (b) Party Biometric Cards (c) Confidence in Vote Counting (d) (In)Security. These conditions in your opinion are necessary to set the stage for direct primaries. Your Excellency, I thought these conditions as anticipated were going to be extraordinary conditions; but to my greatest surprise these conditions seems to me the basic challeneges Nigerians have always had even before the discussions on the Electoral Amendment Bill that began long before now and only concluded with the present Parliamentarians. It is important your conditions are not taken for granted; at the same time I would have been surprised if you did not veto or justified the position of your Principal whom you have worked with for close to eleven (11) years right from the days of CPC as you also attest to. In fact, it will take an intelligent mind to know your position on this matter from the manner you introduced the subject matter; and anyone who interprets you rightly or wrongly should be responsible for their interpretation. I should as well be responsible for my interpretation because these four conditions enumerated are smokes screen. Nonetheless, you have established the fact that direct primaries are the way to go so as to open the political air and space for active participation. For me, any other conditions given is not really a challenge; but, before proceeding to the solution of your four (4) conditions let me take the conditions one by one.
(In)security is a global challenge and this you always admit when you try to explain the current Nigerian situation in relation to banditry, kidnapping etc. Even in the indirect primaries as we have it today insecurity during elections is like part and parcel of our political culture. A political culture in dire need of political change from the political gladiators in Nigeria. Elections in Nigeria is another level of ‘electoral banditry’ and ‘kidnapping and hijacking’ of ballot box, sporadic killings of voters, kidnapping of agents and forcing them to rig the elections. These is an underlying ailment in the Nigerian electoral process and not necessary a problem of direct primaries. Your Excellency Sir, I will agree with you if this problem of security or insecurity is pinned down to the general problem of elections in Nigeria; but, for a direct primary elections I can assure you that there is a solution that can ameliorate the situation.
Your Excellency, you made mention of confidence in vote counting; and I ask the question thus: why should vote counting be a problem at this point? Your Excellency Sir, you will agree with me that one of the problems associated with trust deficit in the Nigeria political culture is the fact that there is a popular opinion that our votes do not count. Most Nigerians believe that our votes do not count and as such many do not even attempt to go and vote. Here again is an aged long problem that has brought many politicians to power. Are we operating direct primaries currently to have these problems because even with the Indirect Primaries these problems have always been there and have been enjoyed till date? I remember the late President Umaru Yar’adua of blessed memory who once questioned the very elections that brought him to power and did call for a review of the electoral process. Again, like I said your conditions are not out of place; but I can assure you that these conditions affects the whole electoral process that even brought you to power (I am not saying you rigged elections; but the fact that most elections in Nigeria are questionable).
Open Party Membership Registration and the issues of Party Biometrics Cards can be addressed and synchronized together; not just as a problem related to direct primaries; it is a problem associated with our electoral culture in Nigeria; even with the indirect primaries did we have Open Party Membership in place when we actually were supposed to have done that before now; we did not. As such, this is not just associated with direct primaries but the general problem associated with membership registration both with Indirect and Direct Primaries. This is the reason the Nigerian people are saying and which is, with the Electoral Amendment Bill duly signed or assented to this conditions can be put in place if we have the political will.
Your Excellency, the solution to these four (4) conditions is very simple and which is Political education, Technology or Digitalization. In the interview, His Excellency agreed that Kaduna State had the technology and the electronic voting machines which have been tried and tested; they worked in Kaduna State and Kaduna state as you said already achieve this perfectly amongst one of the conditions met. How can this be achieved in Nigeria if it can be achieved in Kaduna State?
Your Excellency, I do not want to bring out the contradictions in the interview so as not to bore my readers in a culture were reading is not considered a value by most people; but I think as I interpret your words you are a strong ardent supporter of the direct primaries but at the same time trying to justify the position of your Principal. Nonetheless, we could harmonize all these divergent views by considering these four (4) conditions as a process of solving the electoral challenges. We might not achieve this overnight; but, we can begin the process of ensuring that these four (4) conditions are part of a process of rebuilding, re-engineering, restructuring, reconstructing, and redirecting our energy towards a democratic culture that is open to free and fair elections in Nigeria.
It is very obvious Your Excellency from the excerpt of the interview you are very passionate about the direct primaries and considering that you have begun the process in Kaduna State as you rightly said. This again gives me a very strong impression that you are indeed ahead of others in promoting a democratic culture that is friendly and acceptable to all. It is again very obvious that despite the fears and worries of those who feel the direct primaries will not work in Nigeria believing that the refusal of the Presidential assent can make it possible for their political devilish wish to penetrate through the indirect primaries, you have again by setting the templates in Kaduna State re-echoed the voice of reason to believe that this is very possible. If it can work in Kaduna State it can also work anywhere in Nigeria.
Nonetheless, Your Excellency no political ideology is perfect. The indirect primary is not a perfect system in itself and the direct primaries as well are not perfect system in themselves. They both have their flaws; but again which of these have a more people oriented and people friendly ideology that can add value to participatory democracy and social engineering? Your answer to this question should help us draw a conclusion on the matters arising.
Your Excellency, I wish you a wonderful New Year in Advance.
ADIDI, Dokpesi Timothy
Kaduna State Resident
30th December, 2021
