Former INEC chairman Maurice Iwu once hinted that he would not welcome election monitors to Nigeria in 2007. Only election observers, he said, would be allowed. Not claiming to be an authority on the use of English words, however, the professor of pharmacy later accepted the fact that an election monitor was the same as an election observer.
I had Iwu at the back of my mind when I travelled to the south-east and south-south to see things for myself during the presidential election. To avoid a confrontation with my kinsmen who had stoutly discredited my prediction that APC candidate Muhammadu Buhari would emerge victorious, I chose to “observe” and not “monitor” the election. My findings? I have waited until this day because my testimony would no longer damage any candidate’s chances, nor would I be invited by a kangaroo election tribunal.
In a number of polling booths I visited in the south-east, result sheets were missing. Voting commenced about noon or later because party stalwarts, drinking and smoking at hidden places, were filling the result sheets and thumb-printing on the side of the umbrella symbol. What eventually reached polling stations were photocopies of the manual register. The stalwarts were not perturbed by the malfunctioning card readers – manual “accreditation” was going on smoothly. The agents of opposition parties could not utter a word for fear of being killed. Nor could I say anything – as an observer!
Across the country, however, such vote stealing was commonplace. Every party that could rig did. My guess is that the final outcome of the poll therefore reflected the wishes of Nigerians.
By Sunday, March 29, morning, I had gathered that Buhari had won fair and square. I re-established contacts through text messages to my brother stalwarts who had sworn to me, long before the poll, that it would be business as usual. “False information,” one of them wrote. “Wait for INEC.” Another told me that they were working and that I would be stunned in the end.
As it turned out, peace and fair play spoke through INEC chairman Attahiru Jega. I’m sure the electoral umpire would have voided the results from Rivers and Delta states, if Kano, Kaduna, Katsina and other states in the north had not delivered equally incredible vote numbers to the other party. And, had the card readers worked as planned – by recognising only accredited voters – the total votes cast in either Enugu or Jigawa wouldn’t have come near 200, 000.
Parts of the south-east and south-south were like a graveyard after the announcement of the final result. Once again, Ndigbo have been boxed into a corner. As the pattern of the presidential election result showed, the only states Buhari could not muster 25 per cent were those that once belonged to Biafran territory. After May 2015, there will be no APC senator or House of Reps member from the south-east, thus automatically denying the Igbo the position of Senate president or House speaker. The old cry of “marginalisation” is being resurrected even before the end of the Goodluck Jonathan presidency.
The incoming APC government would do well to ignore the protests of selfish Igbo champions. We warned them in advance. They put all their eggs in one basket and now the basket has fallen from their head.
In the early days of the Jonathan administration, the Yoruba said they were marginalised in appointments; in the Buhari regime, the Igbo should not hope to get any of the topmost 20 appointments. Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State may get a position in the top 10, but the Ikwerre do not regard themselves as Igbo. Once more, Ndigbo may be left in the cold. It will be the necessary antidote to the thoughtlessness of self-appointed Igbo leaders. Even in the 21st century, Ndigbo have failed to recognise one person as their leader: Were they to be asked to produce a Nigerian president, no fewer than 2,000 aspirants would emerge.
President Jonathan showered the Igbo with political appointments. The next president should shower Igbo-land with projects instead. The Igbo states got nothing tangible from appointees in the Jonathan regime. They were busy accumulating illicit money or giving miserable civil-service jobs to unemployed graduates from their home villages. The second Niger Bridge has remained on the drawing board. Not even Zik’s mausoleum has been completed. Roads in the south-east remain the worst in the country. No new airport has been built; the Enugu airport was simply upgraded. No government policy has favoured traders most of whom are Ndigbo.
One man that is also curing the Igbo of their malady is Oba of Lagos Rilwan Akiolu. When Oba Akiolu threatened to deal with Ndigbo who failed to vote for APC governorship candidate Akinwunmi Ambode, he really meant business. Even before the election took place, the Lagos king had started carrying out his threat: he ordered that shops be shut down at Idumota on a day the APC candidate had a rally at Orile. More of such directives should be expected in the next four years.
No matter how provoked Ndigbo living in Lagos have been, they could not have changed the result of the governorship poll held yesterday. Many of them had been prevented from collecting their permanent voter cards because the indigenous Lagosians knew their voting characteristics. But for the Igbo, Jonathan wouldn’t have got up to 15 per cent in Lagos.
Let the Igbo continue to lick their wounds until they realise the strength hidden in unity. Obasanjo knew what he was doing when he replaced credible Igbo leaders with riffraff and money-miss-road during his presidency. Now, another Yoruba has emerged vice-president of Nigeria (and may become president) after Obasanjo’s eight years, while no president of Igbo extraction is still in sight.
President-elect Buhari has promised to be president of all Nigeria. I know he will keep his word. But how I wish he were a more ruthless leader! Persecution of the Igbo on account of their recklessness would have been potent medicine: they would be united by grief.
Now that the PDP stronghold has been restricted to the south-east and south-south, should we expect a virile opposition? Not likely. Nigerian politicians (not just Igbo politicians) are known for opportunism. Before long, they would all migrate to the ruling APC. May God save Nigeria from selfish, unprincipled politicians.
LEADERSHIP
MADNESS AT BEST
One thing is missing here and i do think it should be addressed, even in some northern states GEJ was still able to pull some reasonable numbers of vote but what I’m concerned about is that are we saying we don’t have a sizeable amount numberd of people in the SE & SS to warrant this embarrasing numbers of votes that should be credited to party like KOWA nitably Enugu which has like 14,000 for APC? I can only think of kne thing going on down there and it is either the electiin is massively rigged or which i want to beileve or our Igbo brothers and sisters don’t really wish this country well in anyway as i can”t fathom what a right thinking person will be going to a polling statiin thinking everything is right with our country!!!
A masterpiece. Uncle Jimi disregard the rantings of those who cannot forgive themselves for their shameless choices
My people,
Little since I was a teenager and politically knowledgeable, have I wondered if Igbo tribe in Nigeria was created never to agree on business and domestic or political issues. I lived all my life among this tribe and their behavioral pattern can be easily predicted before occurrence of any event. It is synonymous with a house that will soon collapse due to bad work of different greedy construction workers that fed their pockets first before the main project.
it is high time Igbos changed their ways before they finally become political scapegoat in Nigeria’s political landscape.
Very unfortunate for my brothers from the SE, what amaze me most is that, they put total tribal sentiment and bigotry in supporting GEJ. I asked few of my brothers why they are putting all your eggs in one basket, what I always hear was that GEJ is our brother, if he has not done much to the country because he is from SS, we should let him continue since other tribes had used two terms when they were in that position. On ABGAJE issue, few of them said we do not what JAGABONE Empire again in Lagos and that they need a CHANGE despite the fact that Fashola of APC has two of their brothers in his cabinet and is performing very well in Lagos.
We hope our brothers will change their characters and nature of perception of Nigeria politic
Perhaps this is the wake up call the igbos need instead of sitting in their shops and crying marginalization all the time. Work and be united for once!Aquila non capit muscas!
People fail to understand the stand of the author, he clearly states that the elections were rigged in the SE to favour the PDP. He only wished the perpetrators of this act had balanced between parties. They lacked the prerogative to calculate Federal character opportunities, hence his problem and mine with the political touts in the SE calling themselves leaders.
The very day an Igbo man speaks truly for his brother and not for what he stands to benefit for doing such, then we can be rest assured of a future Igbo president. The Igbo oligarchs have successfully galvanized support for GEJ with hope of more and possible larger share of the national cake. The result..? Laughable! Its not about Igbos, Yorubas, Hausas nor any other tribes but about Nigeria and Nigerians.
Our Ibo people should see the strength in unity especially in political strategy. There is a political angle to every organization where majority carries the vote but history has proved that you people unite in minorities. Imagine now; how can you unite to vote a failing party in Lagos as if you make a majority? You must change from being seen as mere uncoordinated rebels. Just saying
The igbo should stop playing the victim every time things do not go in there way. They spoke with one voice through their votes and lost out in the power game. They should not expect the spoils of the war. I love them most are my friends, but then we must call a spade a spade.
If the Igbos really believe in the PDP cause,I expect them to reorganise themselves into a credible opposition and put APC on its toes in the next four years just like the APC did to PDP in the recent past. That way, we will have a virile democracy and perhaps PDP may win the Presidency back. Right now, it is futile assessing the propriety or otherwise of how the Ndigbos voted.The way they voted is their unquestionable perogative. That is water under the bridge.
APC (ACN and CPC) spent 16 years in opposition. They really have a long wait.
…And hopefully PDP will field GEJ in 2019 since he’s the best!
This Igbo are doing what we Yoruba can not do in there town they are bitten d fingers dat are feeding them well is not there fault is asiwaju dat gave them dat opportunity in Lagos come to think of it dey should just be
Mama nobody is feeding anybody.
Aniebo Nwamu you will be disappointed, no political post for you.
Every man has the right to decide his own destiny. This is the first time south west is voting for the government at the center and that is good, so please let be peace.
General Buhari has a mind of his own and that’s why most people voted for him. Whether political south east or geographical south east voted against him is a non-issue.
The issue before us today is that there are two agendas before General Buhari, the northern agenda and the Nigerian agenda, the one him decides to pursue will make or break him.
I know that General Buhari will love to be remembered as a Nigerian leader and not APC President or Northern Nigerian President.
The world has left us behind because of the Sectional, Tribal, Religious and Divisive Politics we have been playing and are still playing.
GOD BLESS NIGERIA
Aniebo, you are wrong on so many things that if I could highlight them, my write-up will be longer than yours. Firstly, you contradicted yourself by claiming that the mandate of the SE is stolen through rigging yet you claimed as well that the voting outcome represents mind of the Igbos. Secondly, you insinuate that the Victory of APC at the centre is that of everyone except the Igbos. You are not a deep thinker and your wishes for the people of SE is so devilish and divisive. You are not worth talking to.
hmm, truth they say its bitter.our igbo brothers needs to re-strategised and
learn not to put all their eggs in one basket.
I have said this over again we have touts from the South East running our political affairs while the elite have been sidelined. Touts sell to the highest bidder and enrich themselves over society. Until Ibos celebrate integrity over money we’ll be stuck in this political backwardness. We have economic might but lack political might. No matter how much money we acquire one bad policy and its all gone. Those who have ears, let them hear.
The comment by Okechukwu Bennett has again portrayed the jaundiced mind of most Nigerians. As Jimi Disu has often commented that people like okechukwu will rather focus on the messenger rather than the message. He took the messenger for Jimi. Had he read it without having Jimi at the back of his mind as the writer, he probably would be nodding his head in agreement.
As bitter as the piece may be, it’s the stark truth. The Ibos should translate the self assessment of a cliche, ‘Yoruba Ronu’ adopted by the Yorubas into clear meaning and work well at it.
First of all let me respond to the man who said that igbo made mistake in voting for pdp,may i remind you that we have a free will to make our choice,you who is supporting him let him favour you,,we do not care whether he formulate policy that will favour igbos or not.
But may i put it straight to you and Jimi Disu that APC government will be worse than PDP in terms of impunity and so on.The man that won PDP Amuwo Odofin Federal Constituency,they attempted to assassinate him in mile,we will see a lot of political assassination on this apc era which we did not see in the past government.
Jimi you are partisan,i have stoped listening to your newspaper review in classic.If they repeat the Presidential election today i will still vote for PDP.
GLAD TO HAVE U OFF MY FAN LIST
Uncle Jimi, Don’t worry you still have me! ( I resume work at 7am but I usually stay back in my car till 7.30am to listen to you, Bukola, Sly and Yinka!)
I second your gladness abeg.
Its a pity that you have refused to appreciate the writers consern and assessement.
It is not politically prudent to put all your eggs in a basket. If you look at the voting pattern for the South West, PDP still had 25% in their States.
In your own case, APC couldnt get 10% in any of South East & South South.
Well you guys dont care! Thats called “being responsible for your action”
For the next 8 years you guys had better get a good cooler to stay in ‘cos when actions start the best you will be is OBSERVER STATUS!
Sorry o!
The truth is bitter but the writter has only said the TRUTH!
This paper was not written by Jimi Disu so why the attack
Truth is bitter. God bless the writer of that piece. He nailed it directly on the head. The Igbos should accept the consequences of the choice they made. I don’t envy their political ingenuity at all. I hope they will pick vital lesson from the present scenario. God bless Nigera.
I’m afraid you spoke the truth, but I know that you have just incurred the wrath of our people from the SE & SS. They hate objective assessment of situations even with regards to family affairs.
Thank you for your courage.
SA
I am both speechless n appalled at this piece by you,especially your direct approval of Oba Akiolu’s behaviour,encouraging President Buhari to persecute Ndi-Igbo, Jimmy this is ridiculous coming from you….had a lot of respect for you, but it’s all gone now, With your ego though I know it won’t bother you,but 1 by 1 we will bother you.
lol,you obviously didnt read the piece well to see it wasnt written by me
The piece of info was not written by uncle Jimmy…it is high time we stop this victimization mentality and be objective in our analysis of national issues
Jimmy,
It is high time you filter some commentators so that matured minds will only have access to your blog. If this guy take the pain to read just 2 lines of this fantastic and brilliant piece, he would have had something sensible to write. Keep doing the good work.
Please don’t mind the guy,his sentiment has already blinded him, he didn’t see road again. The article was written by his kinsman.
He did not even read at all…thats the problem…think ahead before you act, not otherwise.
Kudos to Aniebo Nwamu for the excellent write up. Let’s hope that there would be lessons learned here and the Igbos do not continue to make strategic political blunders. Ndigbo – think outside the box, you are your own worst enemy.
Okechukwu
Bennet, it’s so unfortunate that you can write but can’t read. Why is it that anytime someone/anyone dare write an objective criticism of the Igbos, the only reaction from you guys is to attack the messenger?(A fellow Igbo, not uncle JD) Politics is a game of permutation and projection, not a game of “here and now” or i dare say “buy and sell” (no porn intended) as being practiced by our Igbo brothers.