After months of serious electioneering, political fireworks, heated campaigns, intrigues and anxiety all snowballing into a major contest between Governor Seriake Dickson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Governor Timipre Sylva of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Independent National Electoral Commission Last Sunday declared the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, and incumbent governor, Seriake Dickson, winner of the election.
The announcement ordinarily ought to have put paid to months of political bickering and acrimony between the two major contenders in the state, but Nigerians are still ruminating over what transpired before, during and after the polls and opinions are diverse.
First, during the campaigns, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari wants to take over all the states in the federation for the APC and that the new INEC Chairman, was appointed to do just that. Acting Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State, Chief Serena Dokubo-Spiff, had raised an alarm over what he termed “plot by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to rig the December 5 governorship election in the state”.
Dokubo-Spiff had alleged that the APC was planning to use cloned Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) to rig the governorship election.
Dokubo-Spiff, said “APC was not ready to contest the election but only interested in finding a way to rig and take over the state.
According to him, the PDP uncovered the rigging plot following intelligence gathering as he claimed that some elements in the APC willingly gave information about the planned use of the cloned PVCs.
But from the announced result, where laid these allegations? It was clear that Dokubo-Spiff and his PDP were hallucinating and as such exhibited a high sense of melancholy by their wild allegations.
Secondly, the Bayelsa Governorship election was characterised by unnecessary bloodletting as over 12 persons were reportedly killed during the election, while several other citizens suffered various degrees of injury, some currently on danger list. This calls to mind the question of desperation of the political class in the country. Election is not a matter of do or die. Offering oneself for an elective office is a request to serve the people and not a license to kill.
Dickson that was declared winner is not going to be governor of the dead, but that of the living. A former PDP leader came up with the “Do or Die” approach and spirit which most PDP politicians still carry on till date. But we must eschew violence in our electoral process going forward.
It is also heartwarming to note that a former Federal Commissioner for Information who is also an Ijaw Leader, Chief Edwin Clark, last week described the Bayelsa State governorship election as “not only a disgrace but a brazen and open show of shame”. Clark posits that political violence in the state was due to desperation and greed and I agree totally with him. Clark, who is also the Chairman, Board of Trustees, Ijaw National Congress, said it was time for the Ijaw nation to look inward and I also concur with him. Ijaws must refrain from frequent resort to violence in their struggles for social and political emancipation in the country because there is certainly no meaningful progress or development in a community frequently buffeted with violence. The North East that has been allowed to be pounded by Boko Haram, will take several decades, if not centuries for that part of the country to regain itself for development.
Any right thinking and forward looking Nigerian would condemn the kind of violence visited on Bayelsa by desperate politicians. It is really sad that machetes, battle axes, guns and other weapons became the voting tools rather than the Permanent Voter Cards in an election that was manned by over 20,000 security personnel drawn from different security agencies. This requires that our security agents need to be properly trained and re-trained for future elections. Also, citizens must know that killing to acquire power is needless after all former President Goodluck Jonathan once posited that “His election or re-election didn’t require the blood of any Nigerian. Even when he lost the Presidential election, he pulled a call across to the winner, Muhammadu Buhari to congratulate him in the spirit of a good sportsmanship, Bayelsans and indeed Nigerians have a lot to learn from his disposition to elections.
Thirdly, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress Chief Timipre Sylva, said he would challenge the result of the election in court. He said he had officially complained, prior to the election, that the present structure of INEC in the state would not conduct a credible election.
According to him, the INEC officials were assembled by the immediate-past administration to deliver the state to PDP in last general elections. In my considered opinion, Chief Timipre Sylva has every right to seek justice in court given his observations.
But it is only needful at this point to appeal to my Comrade, Sylva to accept the result of the election in the interest of Bayelsa people, and Nigerian democracy. If for no other reason, for the very fact that the declared result has disproved the PDP’s wild allegation that the APC-led federal government had perfected plans to rig the election in his favour. Nigerians watching from the outside knew that it would be an uphill task for Sylva given the fact that Bayelsa is the home state of the immediate Past President Goodluck Jonathan and the base of the Late Governor-General of the Ijaw people, Diepriye Alamiyeseigha all of whom are of the PDP. But what happens in the next two three years when President Muhammadu Buhari rolls in the change agenda will likely alter all of these equation that would see the Ijaw nation keying into the train of massive developments that will come as Nigerians look forward to majority of Ijaws becoming keen apostles of the change agenda.
It is, therefore obvious to all Nigerians that President Muhammadu Buhari and indeed, the All Progressives Congress remain committed to free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria. It goes to show that Nigerian democracy has grown beyond the levels where elections would be brazenly rigged or manipulated by the party in power. The PDP must now learn their lessons from the Bayelsa poll to be constructive in criticising the ruling APC in future polls.
• Mr. Dan Owegie is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Edo State.
