The stage is set for epic bouts that will determine those who would lead
Nigeria for the next four years. Political activities are already
picking up waves and gladiators are strategising and mobilising their
structures to ensure that their chosen candidates prevail in the various
elective contests, and more importantly, for the presidential seat,
which is up for tussle in the February 16, 2019 poll.
Expectedly,
the two leading political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC)
and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have fielded candidates for the
available positions, and are locked in a stringent battle to outwit each
other and outmanoeuvre the electorate to settle for their candidates
when they cast their ballots. The political atmosphere is becoming
torrid, in terms of whether the APC will retain power at the centre or
the PDP will outdo its setback and reclaim the power it lost four years
ago.
However, a few weeks into the conduct of the general
elections, the integrity of the polls is facing severe questions. The
main opposition PDP was the first to raise dust, querying the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s readiness to deliver
free and fair elections. The party’s doubt may have started from the
appointment of a national commissioner of the electoral umpire, Amina
Zakari, to head INEC’s Advisory Committee and Presidential Election
Collation Centre Committee.
PDP was succinct in pointing out that
Amina Zakari shared a blood relationship with President Muhammadu
Buhari, who will be on the ballot for the February 16, 2019 presidential
election, protesting that having her in such role in the election
supported its consistent alarm that INEC may be collaborating with
certain interests in the APC and the Presidency to compromise the
election and manipulate its outcome to favour Buhari.
In a clear
tone that questioned the integrity of the general polls, the Peoples
Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation (PPCO) spokesman,
Kola Ologbondiyan said “You will recall that we have been raising the
flag on how the Buhari Presidency, the All Progressives Congress (APC)
and some individuals at the echelon of INEC have been seeking ways to
compromise our electoral processes and open the way for the allocation
of fictitious votes to President Muhammadu Buhari, having realised that
he cannot win in a credible, free and fair polls.”
“Today, we
have been informed that Chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu,
apparently in furtherance of the plots to rig the presidential election,
has appointed Mrs. Amina Zakari, a blood relation (niece) of the APC
candidate, President Muhammadu Buhari, as the Chairperson of INEC
Advisory Committee and Presidential election Collation Centre
Committee,” he added.
This disclosure evoked protests from
Nigerians, who wondered why INEC, a supposedly independent umpire, would
make such a decision and expect citizens to be assured of its
impartiality. Many Nigerians, including the Coalition of United
Political Parties (CUPP), rejected any role for Amina Zakari in the
presidential election, alerting that her involvement may compromise the
integrity of the results that may be derived from the electioneering
process. There were also trends on social media platforms impressing on
INEC to recuse Amina Zakari from having any impact on the 2019 polls,
and even more properly, advised her withdrawal from the electoral
umpire, to restore confidence in INEC’s neutrality and commitment to
free and credible polls.
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Obviously lost on an
answer to the relationship between Buhari and Amina Zakari, INEC tried
to allay fears of the influence of the controversial senior officer of
the Commission, in relation to the 2019 presidential poll. While it
could not deny that Amina and Buhari are indeed related, INEC, through
its director of voter education and publicity, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, said
on Channels Television’s “Sunrise Daily” that, “The committee is
primarily in charge of welfare. She (Zakari) was also very involved in
negotiating with ICC management in 2015 for the use of the facility so
her duty is to ensure the facility is ready. She has no role whatsoever
with the process of collation.”
In another unsuccessful attempt
to wave off the opposition that had trailed Amina Zakari’s appointment,
the Presidency struggled to dispute linkages between President Buhari
and the INEC commissioner. In fact, a statement issued by presidential
spokesman, Garba Shehu, gave credence to the controversy, as he noted
that “President Buhari and Commissioner Amina Kazaure don’t share a
family relationship. An inter-marriage occurred in their extended
families, so the imputation of blood relationship between the president
and the electoral commissioner is a simple lie.”
How more
confusing can the Presidency sound with this lame defence?
Inter-marriage is beyond ordinary, especially in Africa, where it has
created bonds that have lasted generations. Even in time of war or
dispute, inter-marriage is one potent tool that is readily explored to
restore peace and stability. So, if the Presidency is trying to pass off
“inter-marriage” as a no issue that should not warrant the criticisms
that trailed the appointment of Amina Zakari in the presidential
election, maybe it could explain how she (Amina Zakari) featured
prominently in the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) under Buhari. Or, was it
just mere coincidence, as her appointment in INEC is?
As the
controversy lingers, there is no denying the fact that Buhari and Amina
Zakari share some relationship. Even when the INEC commissioner moved to
quash the upsurge of voices against her appointment by telling the BBC
that, “I’m not [Buhari’s] niece,” she was swiftly countered by a
professor of Communication, Farooq Kperogi, who pointed out that
Buhari’s biological sister was once married to Mrs. Amina Zakari’s
father. Kperogi stressed that, “At some point in his youth, Buhari, who
lost his father at young age, came under the guardianship of Amina’s
father, the late Alhaji Hussaini Adamu, who was emir of Kazaure, Daura’s
‘next-door neighbour’”, shedding more light on how deep the connection
of the duo is.
The foregoing is a weighty revelation that INEC
cannot easily sweep aside, except it wants to reinforce the perception
of the opposition on its commitment to free and fair elections. From the
available information so far, there is no disputing the linkage between
Amina Zakari and Buhari as being strong enough to compromise the
upcoming elections. Unless the electoral umpire is creating an
impression of oncoming skewed polls, there is no defence strong enough
that could sufficiently assure Nigerians on the integrity of INEC when
Amina Zakari plays a critical role in the election delivery process.
INEC’s
insistence on retaining Amina Zakari casts doubt on its integrity and
commitment to credible polls. Or, would it be ideal for a referee with
an “inter-marriage” tie to, say, Portugal to be handed the whistle in a
football match between the European country and Argentina? What happens
to conflict of interest if INEC is ignoring wise counsel on its fatal
and indecorous choice of retaining Amina Zakari for the general
elections? Her linkage to Buhari is enough motivation for bias and
invariably, the distortion of fairness and equity in the discharge of
her duty.
The argument that Amina Zakari won’t be able to sway
poll results in favour of Buhari and his party, APC, is not tenable.
Nigerian democracy is still in a developmental process and allowing such
unthinkable anomaly to taint the electoral umpire is something INEC
must seriously avoid. This is why Amina Zakari should be excused from
the elections, so that INEC can maintain its impartiality. The 2019
general election is another litmus test for our democracy and INEC
should not be the albatross to its entrenchment.
Oke Umurhohwo is a political analyst and strategist. He tweets @Stalyf
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