The Impudent Notional Electoral Complicitors in Nigeria

Sowing for a harvest of unrest

Does one begin to consider the possibility that Nigeria being the most populous in Africa might in May 2007 begin to produce refugees because the dare-devilry of people who just want to create the most untenable situation in relation to our elections?

The list of eligible presidential candidates was published today with the convenience of the Vice President having been out in London getting his knee bandaged.

The Vice President who is running on a ticket quite different from the party in which he was elected to be the running mate of the out-going President Olusegun Obasanjo has had woe betide him since the time he refused to support the president's seemingly reluctant but no doubt aggressive to utmost corrupt bid for a third term.

The rule of law and lawlessness

The rule of law prevailed on this folly of assuming ones leadership presents the best brains, mission and vision that can be afforded by the great country of Nigeria, unfortunately this folly persists in Zimbabwe where patriarchy, gerontocracy, megalomania, outright mendacity and exuberant dementia of a rare strain prevails to the destruction of a once prosperous country because they are getting back at the once white leaders - Chippla's World best exemplifies this state of affairs.

However, in Nigeria, the rule of law has been assailed by instruments of the executive branch claiming independence but fomenting chaos and fudge to perpetrate an enthronement of a frail successor to the president who intends to meddle well beyond when he should pre-occupied with throwing grain at his pigs on his piggery in Sango-Otta.

Organs of discord

First, it is the EFCC which is an anti-graft organisation that is supposed to investigate and present findings for prosecution exceeding its brief that offering a list of presumably corrupt politicians to parties without having exercised due process of law. This most got rubbished by the courts.

Now the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that has once been told by the courts that it cannot disqualify candidates, has gone beyond itself to exclude the presidential candidate who has merely been accused but hardly been convicted or even tried for any of the so-called charges which no court has been able to accept as evidence that passes the muster of admissible for judicial deliberation.

Do not be fooled by the moniker of Independent, none of the so-called independence bears the semblance of impartiality and probity apart from trying to exercise independence of the court rulings to meet a particular end that does not serve the best interests of Nigeria.

Lest I forget, another one of our learned Nigerian professors is in charge of the commission whose acts of commission and omission leave the title of academic professor open to derisive mockery.

Hook and crook is the game

It would appear the ruling party would rather not put their breathless candidate against the crippled vice President just in case the election garners enough votes to spite the out-going president who now thinks he can decide who can best rule Nigeria after him.

This all does not augur well such that Nigerians might have to prepare themselves for a time to go out and get their votes and universal suffrage recognised even if it involves hitting the streets with whatever colour of revolution they choose.

I would hope we would not have to undergo a Bush-Gore electoral debacle where a good 60 million votes get tossed up in the legal submissions of an odd number of judges not numbering 10.

The unrecognised Nigerian English

As usual the poorly edited ThisDay Online witnessed the arrival of the Vice President from London walking with the aid of crutches and wearing a black trouser rather than a black pair of trousers.

Suddenly, I find that I might need both the spelling and grammar checkers for English (Nigeria), at least if South Africa and Zimbabwe are featured, the Nigerian version needs to be recognised, until then, any usage outside internationally accepted usage of English is incorrect and subject to ridicule.

Before the exuberant and facetious take issue with this by commenting illiberally, I am not perfect, but ThisDay Online should really have employed proof-readers to sort these misuses out.