All Those Court Cases!

Nothing less than 500 court cases or processes ambushed the 2011 general elections! INEC chair had to cry out recently, that the commission was being distracted. It got so bad that courageous judges had to truncate several of those misadventures as abuse of the judicial process/system.

Okay, we have the right to go to court to fight for our rights. But many of these cases are really frivolous and some outrightly ridiculous. It strikes one as though some politicians would rather bring down the nation than lose their election bid! They fight their opponents, they fight their parties, they fight the umpire, they fight their own shadows and think little of patriotism! You just wonder.

After these elections, the Legal System(Bench and Bar plus AG) must work with parliament to tidy things up. It is just too depressing, the extant practice and the mindless abuse.

I rest my case.

Election Spendings of Parties & Contestants

This cycle is gone. The kind of funds being deployed and expended for the 2011 elections is truly mind-boggling by any measure. And you ask yourself, where is all this coming from? Yet, no-one is counting, so, no-one will account. Sad.

In the face of harrowing poverty and unemployment, not to mention decayed infrastructure and absence of electricity, the political class has been truly obscene! The spendings need to tell us the truth: Looting is alive and well, despite EFCC and in spite of ICPC! We mock prudence and decency. Period.

Here is my private thought: Those who lose and those who knew they would lose, where will they recoup from? If what they deployed didn't matter, how did they make the huge pile that produced this "chicken change", then? What is their tax profile? Why are elections so heavily monetized in this country? Who will stop this deviancy?

Since all have sinned and there is no saint in this matter, we pass.

In 2011, there is no capacity or time or incentive for INEC to look this way. Come 2015, we must enforce the law on election expenditure. Must.

This Matter of Incumbency

Whatever we believe, the power of incumbency exists and, in may cases, thrives. But there is a caveat: You must perform to get reelected. Alternative? Use your power and access to circumvent, muscle, bribe, defraud and rig the elections. If you can't run on your miserable record, you mastermind a massive fraud!

Now, if the umpire is incorruptible and the voters mass for change, tough luck! In which case the opposition has less work to do. When you have credibility and the opposition is disunited, your chances brighten up and the election is yours to lose.

On an even keel, the power of persuasion carries the day. You can't unseat an incumbent otherwise.

2011 is thus a study in incumbency as it comes. Many are losing, many are gaining, based on both perception and reality - image is everything! When the chips are down, the casualties will be thrown. And it will be telling.

We wait.

2011: My Predictions (Part 1)

I can see the Goodluck/Sambo ticket running away with the presidential tally in April. It is a gift the opposition parties willfully and willingly granted!

But voting Jonathan is not the same as voting PDP - he has promised one-term tenure and an inclusive administration!

I can see a hugely reduced majority of the ruling PDP at all levels. It is a voters’ reward for their blatant and ballistic denial of true democracy and sustainable development in the party’s rule since 1999!

I can see many new faces and vibrant voices emerging nationwide. It is the time of the heavens to intervene!

I can sense the pain and drain that will accompany all them losers, especially the masters and beneficiaries of the busted brigands. It is the proverbial crumbling of the cookies, alas!

I can see the media celebrating the celebrants, crucifying the crushed. Then, the clincher: Oh, let them see Farida Waziri on their way out. EFCC, boon be your day!