Reflecting on African elections
Elections are very tricky affairs. Everyone who has cared and dared to contest one would concede to this point.
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There is certainly no art to find the construction of a voter’s mind on his face. Save for the cases where exit polls are pure and pristine, there is simply no way of telling which way an election would go.
There are lots of vested interests at play- some working in cooperation; others working to undermine each other. In a country and continent where party membership is everything one can ever think of being, the stakes cannot be any higher. Party membership is pass card for employment, access to basic health and livelihood and also redemption from prosecution.
In the case of Nigeria, the pundits have had their say. The voters had their day. It remains to be known who would actually have their way- the people or the political financiers.
Some said the nation- state Nigeria was going to explode in anarchy considering how supposedly fertile a ground it is for such activities. Others kept hope and faith.
There would be more time to go on and on and on about the prospects and future of the country Nigeria. But in the meantime, let’s raise a glass to Nigeria for what they have achieved so far.
Of course, no one would be writing about an American or British or Australian election and congratulating the people of these countries for how well they have conducted themselves.
But that is the stage we are in now in our feeble democratic path and we would have to acknowledge the country for the feat it has achieved- a decent and relatively incident-free election.
Having elections on the African continent, Ghana not excluded, is just like taking a child you have little confidence in to go and write an examination. It is always tense.
And more often than not, like the recent case of the Indian family and friends helping out their comrades with extra materials outside an examination hall, so are elections on the continent.
Never is there one without a complaint or two about corruption, abuse of process or misunderstanding of some kind. It is a universal truth that parties would have to be helped extra-electorally on their way to victory.
But here is the icing on the cake- the incumbent president calls the opposition candidate who won the election and congratulates him on his victory; just like the kind of thing you hear on the BBC and elsewhere of leaders doing. Already, the accolades and praises have been coming in thick and fast- deservedly I must point out.
This is the first time a sitting head of state has lost an election in Nigeria. This is the first time power would change hands from one party to another. This gracious move certainly covers a multitude of sins and political blunders.
It is good Nigeria has made history. It is now time to move on beyond the basics and begin to consider elections in its proper perspective. It is a means to an end and not an end in itself.
Many a time, you would hear persons count as part of their achievements the holding of peaceful elections. Elections are used as a barometer for the determination of democratic consolidation.
A democratic country is one which not only boasts but has evidence to prove that it is able to hold and contest elections- seamlessly and flawlessly.
But that is simply the baby stage of democracy. There is more to democracy than elections. There are no immediate dividends reaped from elections. There is nothing special to gain from elections. It is just an election!
Goodluck Jonathan’s supporters would be nursing their wounds. Buhari’s supporters would momentarily be ecstatic as though they have won a lottery.
For elections to be meaningful and relevant, it must produce corporate dividends. In other words, it must produce something that the citizenry as a whole can have access to.
Individuals must feel their lives improve. The ritual of having scores of children dying under the age of five due to causes that are easily treatable must be nipped in the bud.
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The general sense of insecurity that grips the hearts and minds of many must also be attended to. The widening gap between the rich and poor must be stitched together. It is only when these corporate gains are achieved that elections may begin to have some relevance.
Until then, it would just be one old tired ritual that many would be content in having to do. In voting, we ought to keep in mind that elections are not the ultimate purpose. Peaceful elections are not the reason for holding elections.
Elections are held to bring on board men and women with the requisite skill sets and who know how to transform the lives of the citizenry.
We might as well keep the kind words and accolades till they finish their tenure.
politics_today@yahoo.com
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