A Thought on the 2023 Presidential Election Results
By Abdulrasheed Ibrahim, LL. M, Notary Public
With the eventual announcement of the 2023 Presidential Election Results by the Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmud Yakubu on 1st March 2023, I believe the cold war by the supporters of the various political parties’ candidates in the media particularly in the social media will now undergo a ceasefire. By the INEC official results, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressive Congress (APC) scored 8, 794, 726; Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the People Democratic Party (PDP) scored 6,984,520; Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) 6,101,533 while Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People Party scored 1, 496.687. With the results, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC was declared the President-elect and certificate of return issued to him and his Vice President – elect, Senator Kashim Shettima. As at the time of putting up of this write-up, none of the other contenders in the election has sent a congratulatory message to the President-elect, unlike in 2015, when Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan put up a phone call to President Muhammadu Buhari congratulating him on his victory in that election even before the result was officially announced. This singular act has made Dr. Jonathan one of the most respected leaders in Africa.
Honestly speaking , the man of the moment is no other than Mr. Peter Obi, the flagbearer of the Labour Party (LP) who has changed the narrative in the political history of election in this country. Running the race as a presidential candidate for the first time, he made a remarkable impact that will long remains a point of discussion. If I were Peter Obi, I would be the first person to congratulate the winner of the election. Some people have expressed the view that Mr. Obi congratulating the winner would amount to accepting the defeat and as such would not have the moral right to challenge the outcome of the election in the court of law. I have contended that one of the problems with African politicians is their refusal to throw in the towel when it becomes necessary in any election considered to be free and fair. There is no doubt that there are people still doubting credibility of the just concluded presidential election, but I personally aligned myself with the position of the international observers that the election was to a large extent very peaceful and credibile.There is no completely perfect election in any part of the world.
Some political parties’ supporters called for the suspension of the collation of the results in the mid way.This school of thought seemed to have been led Chief Olusegun Obasanjo , a former President of Nigeria who wrote a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari asking him to instruct the Chairman of INEC to stop the collation of results. I aligned myself with those that disagreed with Chief Obasanjo on his position. Since Obasanjo had earlier declared support for a particular candidate in the election, I believe the elder statesman he has no moral right to take such position. An elder statesman should always be neutral and see all the candidates in such race as his children. The likes of Generals Gowon, Babangida and Abdulsalam are also elder statesmen but you hardly hear them commenting publicly on national issues as usually done by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.The suspension of collation of results that was called for by some people was a valid proof that African politicians, particularly in this part of the world have not learnt enough lessons from history. When the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola won the June 12 , 1993 Presidential election, some politicians conspired with the military then under the leadership of IBB who was not willing to relinguish power to annul that election. Ironically, the same IBB who about 30 years ago annulled the popular Will of Nigerians, has been reported in the news to have sent congratulatory message to the winner of 2023 presidential election. In Egypt, when Dr. Muhammad Morsi won the Presdential election, the politicians in opposition conspired with General Abdulazeez Sisi to take over power in a military coup and subsequently the man made himself the President of that country.
I still continue to be baffled by the dust being raised by some people that the election was rigged and compromised.When you have a political party (APC) in power that indirectly wanting to settle scores and towards the election period introduced a wrong policy at a wrong time such as fuel scarcity or disallowing people access to their money in bank which inflicted pain and hardship on the common man on the street ;and you have the political parties in opposition rejoicing on such wrong policy that it would be to their advantage during election, how do you expect me to take those political parties very serious? When an election was conducted and the prominent leaders of the ruling political party (APC) including the sitting President could not deliver their respective States to their political party, then how do you expect me to accept the argument that the Presidential election was rigged?
The policy of currency change to disallow politicians from using Naira for vote buying later proved to be a farce, as a member of a political party was caught with foreign currency meant for that purpose while some criminal elements were caught with the INEC Election materials including Bvas .There are various allegations that some political parties despite the curreny change still able to induce voters with money and other kinds of incentives at some poll booths.
The questions that are yet to be satisfactorily answered are that : if the election was truly rigged, how did Mr. Peter Obi manage to defeat Asiwaju Bola Ahmad Tinubu in Lagos State his home state? Why could Alhaji Adamu Muazu, the Chairman of APC and a former Governor of Nassarawa State not deliver the state to APC and LP won there? Why did Alhaji Atiku Abubakar win Katsina State, the home state of the sitting President? In the just concluded Presidential election, the supporters of a political party that won election in a particular state want us to believe that wherever they won the election was not rigged but wherever they lose the election was rigged? To me that argument is repugnant to reason. As I said earlier if I were Mr. Obi, I would have been the first person to congratulate the winner in the spirit of sportsmanship as once done by Dr. Jonathan. As far as politics is concerned in this country today, Obi has started on a very good note with his ground breaking achievement in the just concluded election. But in a situation where you have people that claim to love you more than yourself, they will be cheering you up to go and challenge the outcome of the election in the court of law. There is nothing bad in challenging what one believes to be wrong, but the argument of some people including lawyers now is that going to the court is a waste of time. Is going to court not better than inciting people to violence as some people are unfortunately doing presently? If you have your facts ,figures and concrete evidence why must you be afraid of going to the court and test the law?
There is no doubt and I agreed with Mr. Babajide Kolade Otitoju of TVC that Mr. Obi in the just concluded Presidential election coasted to victory through the sympathy of the youths clamouring for the #EndSars# and as well those not happy with the government because of the bad governance.Obi equally enjoyed the sympathy and support of the people including the church leaders that were opposed to and preached against the APC’s Muslim-Muslim Ticket in the Presidential race. The bulky of people from the Eastern part of the country who have been clamouring for the presidency to come to their side also supported his aspiration going by the pattern of voting from different areas where he won election testified to this fact. But now that the victory has gone otherwise, there are alot of lessons to be learnt from this latest development. If Mr. Peter Obi remains focus,very engaging and accommodating to all regardless of ethnic or religious affiliation or discrimination, he has the potential to spring up a big surprise in the nearest future as he will surely become a formidable politician figure to be reckoned with in the scheme of things. Obi has now become a new janitor in the hall of Nigerian politics. If those in the control of government now are not living up to their responsibilities and promises, Obi may likely be the new alternative. Another lesson is that political parties must learn to respect the concept of power shift when it becomes necessary.
What the country needs now is how to heal the wounds and reconcile the different parts of the country. Blowing the trumpets of violence will achieve nothing as the country already has enough problems contending with. It is very unfortunate the way some people are going about this issue as it is becoming too embarrassing for this country.Some people who claim to be Nigerians but living abroad with their own families have taken up the job of inciters inciting Nigerians living in Nigeria to go violent in the name of freedom fighting. Will it not be proper to asking them to come home to share in experiences we have been going through here in Nigeria? Many of us have no other country to call ours unlike they (inciters) that have acquired citizenships of other countries. I do not see sense in some Nigerians living in foreign land but continue to incite we in Nigeria against one another or urging us pull our country down. We all need to guide ourselves against unguided and provocative statements on the just concluded Presidential election. If election did not go our own way ,must we tear the country apart? Those that are aggrieved should go to court to ventilate their grievances?
Some people still go about unnecessarily condemning the Chairman of the INEC for performing his duties. The best those people can do is to go to court to challenge the results he has announced.We have had situations in the past where those who believed their mandates were stolen went to court and retrieved them. The supporters of the political parties that did not make it this time around should go back to the drawing board to strategize as 2027 is another election year.A loser today may be a winner tomorrow. Politics must not be do or die as propounded by a former President of this country.
The election has again shown that many people particularly the elites are not taking their civic responsibility and franchise very serious as citizens of this country. Many of them did not vote in the election.We have a situation in this part of the world where less than 10 or 20 percent of total registered voters determine the President of the country. On Election Day you see adult people in some parts of the country playing football on the streets rather than going to the poll booths. I know of a very senior lawyer between the age of 55 and 60 who said it openly that he voted for the first time for a particular in this last Presidential election. Is this the kind of legacy people want to leave for the upcoming generation? What is the justification of the elites that have apathy for election but derive pleasure in condemning bad governance?
There are very interesting periods ahead. Will those threatening to go to Election Petition Tribunal succeed in chasing out the APC from the Aso Rock? Will Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and other prominent members of the PDP retire from politics? Will PDP succeed in luring Peter Obi back to the PDP in preparation for 2027? Will some of PDP member return to APC or form strong alliance with the Labour Party ( the new bride in town) to engage APC in 2027? Will Peter Obi abandon LP for PDP? These are interesting questions to be answered by the passage of Time!
NOTE: Anyone is at liberty to disagree with my above submissions as I will surely appreciate a balanced, fair and objective rebuttal.
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