That our votes may count

 by Alade Fawole.

THERE is a sense in which the July 14 governorship election in Edo State gives us a ray of hope that our fledgling democracy may yet thrive and deepen. I have been quite skeptical for long, but in the Edo case, the will of the people, rather than the might of the federal government and its rigging machine, actually prevailed. That is what popular choice is all about. I’m not sure though that the success of the election and the triumph of the will of the electorate can or should be attributed to President Jonathan’s faithfulness to the promise he made while campaigning in Benin for the PDP candidate, retired General Charles Airhiavbere, that he would ensure a free and fair election in Edo State. I will rather attribute it to the electorate themselves. If anything, the Edo electorate have taught Nigerians two invaluable lessons in democracy, that is, that eternal vigilance is the price that all lovers of democracy and freedom must pay to secure and defend their votes, and that the integrity of elections in our country depends not so much on the impartiality of electoral umpires or security agents alone but on the readiness of the people themselves as the owners of the mandate.
Let me enter a caveat here. I make the above assertions not to undermine or underestimate President Jonathan’s faithfulness, but that even in spite of him, the famous election riggers did try but could not prevail due to the people’s remarkable tenacity to defend their mandate this time around. Neither do I intend to diminish the rigorous preparation and integrity of INEC. It must be stressed that since 1999, the PDP and its members across the nation have been the greatest election-riggers in Nigeria, and the serial reversals of their electoral heists are more than enough to prove my point. Let us remember that the 1999 presidential election that ushered in the Fourth Republic was so fatally rigged that former President Jimmy Carter who headed an election observation team angrily left the country than endorse the results.  Arising from this impressive rigging record, many had expected that the party would, once again, roll out its formidable rigging machine, as it had done back in 2007, when it openly robbed Comrade Adams Oshiomhole of his mandate. It turned out to be an anticlimax, as even the legendary Mr. Fix-it of Edo State couldn’t fix anything, even in his own ward! Because the people wouldn’t let him!
Importantly, of course, the successful conduct of the Edo election and the ultimate triumph of popular will testify pungently to an important fact: that we can actually make our votes count! Permit me to explain. Many people assume, erroneously in my view, that making our votes count simply means that when votes are tallied the results would reflect the actual winners and that they would not be doctored or tinkered with by riggers who do not wish that people’s will prevail. That is only a part of the story. And an important one, I might add. I would address that shortly. For most of our lives, especially since the British deliberately rigged the 1959 elections that ushered us into independence in favour of their preferred parties and candidates, there is hardly any election at the national level that has not attracted widespread opprobrium and condemnation because of deliberate and inexcusable electoral malfeasances. Electoral robbery is so comprehensive and integral to our national political psyche that hardly anyone seriously expects a fair and free poll that would reflect popular choice. That explains why the June 12, 1993 election which M. K. O. Abiola won so overwhelmingly remains exemplary and unique in terms of its integrity and fairness. It is still a reference point as far as free and fair elections go. Since the return of democracy in 1999, the criminal practice under PDP’s supervision has been simply this: rig the election in favour of its candidates first, and let the opponents lick their wounds or go to the courts to seek justice, if they can get it.
The philosophy behind electoral wrongdoing is this: those who vote don’t count, but those who count the votes! What the clever riggers do so remarkably well therefore is to capture the entire electoral process, the electoral umpire and the security forces well ahead of the actual voting day. These range from the compilation of fraudulent voters registers, to printing fake voters cards, under-age and or multiple registration, ballot-box snatching and stuffing prior to the election, suborning electoral officials and police officers before and during the exercise, to brazen alteration of actual results and announcing fake ones, and to sundry other criminal practices that rob the electorate of their right to choose their own leaders. Even when those so brazenly robbed of electoral victory approach the tribunals to seek justice, they are further denied victory by some ingeniously contrived judicial legerdemain. General Muhammadu Buhari, three-time presidential contender, can testify to this. If he had thought that the 2003 presidential election was the worst in Nigeria’s history, he had greater surprises waiting for him in 2007. The electoral heist of that year was so gross that even Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, the ultimate beneficiary of that electoral theft, openly acknowledged that the election that brought him to power was less than perfect. Notwithstanding that honest presidential confession, the courts still ruled in his favour. End of story! The courts having failed him, retired General Buhari had no choice but to stoically lick his wounds. At least, so it was until another election cycle in 2011 when all hell was let lose after he reportedly lost, again. Well, you know the rest of the story.
Now back to the lessons of the recent Edo election and making our votes count. Making our votes count means vastly more than having successful elections, necessary as that may be. It is only just the beginning. Since democracy is all about the people governing themselves through their elected representatives, making our votes count requires that we make our leaders to be accountable to us in the performance of their job of governing us. Governments exist primarily to do the will of the people, and it is the people themselves that must exercise the requisite vigilance to ensure that governments do not violate the sacred mandate to see to the welfare and wellbeing of the people. It is our duty to hold all elected governments to the time honoured maxim: salus populi suprema lex esto (translation: let the welfare of the people be the supreme law). It profits us nothing to go to sleep once elections are over. Governments behave responsibly only when they know that people are vigilant and would hold them to account.
Democracy may not be the only best form of government but it at least offers the most suitable platform for people to be involved in shaping their own destiny. In doing so, they are not likely to opt for anything that would put their welfare and wellbeing in abeyance, and thus would not permit governments to behave unjustly or against their interests. Our democracy must function to deliver the expected benefits for which reasons we had struggled valiantly to get rid of our domestic conquistadors. Let us not forget Reinhold Neibuhr assertion that “man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.” The people of Edo State had voted in 2007 for a governor but were robbed of victory. That governor, having been declared winner much later by the court, went on to perform reasonably to their satisfaction in improving their welfare and wellbeing and thus they decided to renew his mandate for a second term that the constitution allows. Not only did they massively vote to re-elect him but they also resolutely defended their votes from being stolen. Now is the time for them to hold that government to account for its electoral promises in order to make their votes count in governance.
The rest of Nigeria now must take a cue from Edo people and begin to compel all our elected governments to perform so that we can troop out at the next election cycle to rid ourselves of governments that fail us. If we resolve and do this effectively, we will no doubt deal a devastating blow to all the anti-democratic elements currently running our affairs and begin the process of consolidating our democracy to make it work for us. Done well, we would be able to agree with Abraham Lincoln on the importance of “a government of the people, by the people and for the people.” I salute the Edo electorate and their governor who cherished the mandate he received from the people and went on to fulfill his sacred promises to improve their welfare.