‘We Are Deeply Concerned About America’s Unguarded Statements On Our Election’ – Presidency

‘We Are Deeply Concerned About America’s Unguarded Statements On Our Election’ – Presidency

The presidency in a statement through Festus Keyamo, the Director
of Strategic Communications for APC Presidential Campaign Council has
raised concerns about America’s interest regarding the forthcoming
general elections in Nigeria.

The statement reads, ‘we are deeply concerned about many of the
expressions of the United States’ Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador W.
Stuart Symington and other Western Diplomats which have been directed
towards Nigeria’s upcoming elections. Whilst we laud and whole-heartedly
welcome their interests in the elections, many of these expressions
have been notably off- key’.

The continued warnings about ‘flawed elections’ is capable of casting
an unwarranted cloud over the process. Instead of encouraging our
country toward credible elections, such statements undermine public
confidence. It would appear that these envoys seem to have discredited
the election before it has even taken place.

We truly hope some of the statements attributed to these diplomats
are inaccurate. For instance, the Premium News reported that Ambassador
W. Stuart Symington threatened to “hold to account” anyone whose speech,
no matter the motivation of that speech, engendered hatred. We all
agree that any speech willfully intended to trigger violence is
condemnable. However, in condemning other forms of political speech, the
American envoy overstepped his ambassadorial brief. For instance, the
American Ambassador was reported to have condemned a situation where a
candidate says that his opponent’s political and economic policies are
abhorrent and dangerous to the greater welfare of the people and calls
on the citizens to hate and reject such policies. In our view, this is a
correct statement because it is the duty of the candidate to tell the
people these truths to protect the nation from subsequent calamity. But
Ambassador Symington says his country would punish such necessary
political speeches.

For us it is significant to note that such strong political speeches
are not unlawful in the United States, but Ambassador Symington is
seeking to penalize such speeches by Nigerians. He seeks to shrink our
ambit of free speech so that we may behave in accordance with their
vision of well-behaved Africans, rather than in consonance with our
vision of our own democracy, no matter how tumultuous and dramatic we
may be. It would appear that his position seeks to prohibit forms of
expression integral to our political discourse. These forms of
expression have time and time again been adjudged to be
constitutionally-protected speeches by the United States Supreme Court.

However, Ambassador Symington intentionally issued his threats to
place a chilling effect on speeches in Nigeria that, if uttered in
America, would be constitutionally protected. Unfounded allegations and
threats to penalize people for constitutionally-protected free speech is
improper interference in our internal affairs. Sadly, what Ambassador
Symington and some other western diplomats are doing border on the
improper.

We take the view that the constant statements by Ambassador Symington
and the other diplomats are implicit attacks against the government of
Nigeria. These statements imply the Nigerian government is inclined to
rig the election in favour of President Muhammadu Buhari. This is unfair
and unacceptable to us. President Muhammadu Buhari has never been
accused of electoral malpractice all his life. However, in contrast,
former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar publicly boasted a few
months ago that he rigged the 2003 election in the Southwest States.
Here, we have an open confession of blatant electoral malfeasance by the
PDP candidate. But in all of these, there seem to be no concern by
Ambassador Symington and other diplomats about this well-acknowledged
proclivity of the main opposition.

We expected that such open confession to rigging in the past would
have drawn condemnation from the United States. Rather what we witnessed
recently was the ignoble act of giving such a self-confessed rigger
with a decade-old indictment in America for corruption hanging over his
head a special status to enter the U.S for a few days. Such is the
double standard that America now displays for the whole world to see.

It is unfortunate that most of these countries that sermonize about
free and fair elections have ugly histories of denial of voting right to
people because of their colour and are still facing many challenges
with their electoral systems till date.

The continued reference and praise of the 2015 election by Ambassador
Symington clearly shows he needs further briefing about the Nigerian
situation. For his information, the 2015 presidential election, at the
end of the day, produced the correct outcome, but with flawed figures in
many areas. Though they lost, the figures attributed to the PDP were
inflated in many places, especially in the South South, to save the face
of the past President and to reduce the margin of his defeat. President
Buhari is determined to improve on the 2015 elections and so it cannot
even be our benchmark.

An American ambassador has a great responsibility in representing the
strongest economic and military power in the world. His comments carry
weight because of the status of his nation. This means his comments
should reflect a deep knowledge of the subject. Sadly, Ambassador
Symington has not shown the deep knowledge of Nigerian situation. The
impression he creates by constantly harping on suspected government
interference with the electoral process is that President Buhari cannot
win without tipping the results. He seems to be saying that only a PDP
victory will be evidence of a fair election.

Again, he is in great error. From all of the information at our
disposal, President Buhari can and should win a free and fair election.
However, it appears to us that Ambassador Symington is substituting his
subjective conclusions for the sovereign will of the Nigerian people. In
doing so, he has abandoned the impartiality of a true envoy and has
trespassed into interfering in our electoral process.

Instead of encouraging free and fair elections, these judgmental
statements and threats only cast an unnecessary pall over the elections
and the nation. This is an international disservice and not
international diplomacy. The days of unquestioned condescension to
Western powers are long gone and we are not prepared at this time in
Nigeria to recede to that era.

Nigerians will define Nigeria’s democracy. We shall hold fair and
just elections, not because of scolding by diplomats, but because we
have sufficient intelligence and morality to do what is right for
ourselves. If Ambassador Symington has familiarized himself with
Nigeria’s history from 1999 till date, he would have realized that those
in the main opposition are being haunted by their past: they think
President Buhari would behave exactly like they did all these years when
they consistently rigged elections and denied Nigerians the right to
choose their leaders

If Ambassador Symington truly intends to be impartial, his statements
should acknowledge that both Government and Opposition (particularly in
States where the opposition have Governors in place) must respect the
process and refrain from rigging. We expect him to counsel both
governing party and the Opposition from any form of electoral
malpractice. After all, it is not only Governments at the center that
rig elections. Elections can also be rigged in opposition-controlled
areas.

It is not too late for Ambassador Symington to repair the damage of
his uninformed statements. He needs to speak as an impartial envoy
instead of a person who appears to have prejudged the quality of the
process and the outcome. Until he attains that level of informed
impartiality, whatever good he seeks is better achieved by his silence
than by tendentious utterances.

Thank you.

FESTUS KEYAMO, SAN, FCIArb (UK)
Director, Strategic Communications,
APC Presidential Campaign Council,
(Official Spokesperson)