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Deceit Begets Fraud! Fraud Begets Distrust!!
Distrust Begets Anger!!! Failure to Control Anger Begets Pandemonium!!!!
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by
Obinna Okoro
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Like a dream, it came to pass, that Nigerians, then United or was the Unity Tribal? But for the first time ever,
Nigerian Civilians were going to carry out a civil rule to civil rule transition, the stage was set, the elections
took place quiet alright, but disregards of the results and shouts of fraud rented the air, more pronounced was
the war of words between the then incumbent Premier of the Western Region, Sir, Akintola and Chief Adegbeinro,
the country was tense; there was an Operation Wetie and the Tiv Uprising, led by J.S. Tarka against the Hausa-Fulani
political dominance; there was a swearing-in ceremony and the commencement of another legislative and executive
government, and from no where, the first ever Martial Music of the Khaki Boys rented the air, what was the music
for; oh� it is a new trend of leadership, it was a �coup. That tall dream of having arrived in the world of Democracy
ended abruptly.
It was like a game played under the moonlight, a game based on ferry tales and fantasy.
In 1979, we felt it was a joker by the military, may be the military won�t keep to their earlier promise; we didn�t
know what happened or how it happened; we didn�t know if it was due to pressure as some people then speculated,
or out of fear for their lives as some quarters believed, or by sheer pressure from some international powers that
be, but be it as it may, the truth still remains that Democracy or was it �Dem all Crazy� (apologies to the Abami
Eda himself, Fela Anikulakpo Kuti), whichever one it was came to be; whether it was Army Arrangement or not, we
witnessed it right inside the Tafawa Belewa Square, Lagos, Date was 1st October, 1979, among pump and pageantry,
Nigerians watched live on Television how the then Head of State, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo beautifully amidst smile
(whether it came from the heart or not) handed over Power to Alhaji Shehu Aliu Shagari to pave way for the proclaimed
2nd Republic. And like in 1966, we again prepared for another civil rule to civil rule transition in 1983; again,
there were elections, there was swearing-in and normal business commenced after the judgment of the various electoral
tribunals set-up to hear complains, especially the disagreement in Ondo and Oyo States with the feud between the
then incumbent Governor of Ondo State, Chief Michael Ajasin of the UPN and Chief Akin Omoboriowo of the NPN. December
31, 1983, preparations were on top gear for a very pleasant New Year (1984), hope of the new administrative year
to commence was on top gear, but on a smooth manner of what was referred to as �Change of Power�, we heard once
again, the renting of the air by Martial music and the Khaki boys or was it Khaki men came with the now famous
�Fellow Countrymen or was it Quantrymen�, and against all predictions, the streets were filled with jubilant civilians
for what they called the FEDECO shortcomings, end of another era for the now experimental but jinxed Civil rule
to Civil rule transition.
All these while the problem had being the same, the failure of any civilian Government to conduct a transparent
election from civil rule to civil rule; due to their greed and SIT TIGHT SYNDROME.
Like in the 1966 & 1983 cases, the ever reoccurring shout of We can�t accept the results; the results are falsified;
there will be no swearing-in after May 29, 2003, cancel the elections and form an Interim National Government (ING)
have started renting the air once more, and one more, the �Favoured ones� are ignoring the numerous threats with
the wave of the hand, currently the various constituted Tribunals have started seating all over the country, while
some of the aggrieved persons have gone to the Tribunals for redress, others have refused to attend for the very
reasons that the required items to be presented before these Tribunals are not available, like the Forms EC8A,
Forms EC8A (1) etc. most of the offended are stressing that, like in the past, the electoral Tribunals would only
seat and at the end of their seating, come up to justify the frauds of the elections, so they see it as another
avenue of trying to justify the violence, malpractices, thuggery and the rest of the ill practices witnessed during
the elections.
But to be candid, unlike the events of 1966 & 1983, the current electoral problems is a new dimension into
electoral malpractices and rigging; the spate of violence witnessed this time around was like the civil wars of
Liberia and Sera Leone, were people were maiming and killing for what they do not understand or have any justification
for; the rigging, we would all agree, was something new compared to what was taking place in the past as this was
an aspect of electoral commission rigging for the ruling party (PDP) beyond all imaginable electoral malpractices
theories, it was a true combination of Political Algebra, Arithmetic, Statistics and Drama, we heard the commissioner
in some States announcing results which were bigger than the actual number of voters, enormous and bogus figures
were released while actually people traveled out from city centers for the Easter celebrations coupled with the
facts that some people could not vote due to not being able to find their names in the voters� registers after
having actually registered, so many did not vote on April 19, 2003 elections due to factors rising from fear of
being attacked like on the April 12, 2003 violent elections, to the fact that, after the torrential rain of April
19, 2003 ended at about 12 noon, many polling booths after the rain did not open and some opened at about 1.30
pm and 2.00 pm am and did not stay up to 3.00 pm or exceeded the 3.00 pm deadline for voting.
Once again, like in the past, the pronouncements like Cancel the elections, the elections was a fraud, let the
electoral Commission Chairman resign, let this person resign, let that minister resign, there will be no Government
after May 29, 2003, form an Interim National Government, the Tribunals will not give proper judgments, no swearing-in
ceremony come May 29, 2003, we shall call for mass actions etc and the counter-pronouncements like those are the
rantings of frustrated bunch, concede to election for peace to reign, we did not rig elections, I accepted results
from the State electoral commissioners, there shall be swearing-in come May 29, 2003, will shall arrest and prosecute
for treasonable statements and so on are ranging on without any group conceding to the truth. Some are saying let
there be Peace, but I ask, who or what, guarantees the much sort after PEACE? I s it PEACE we want or the truth?
Shall we overlook the frauds of the April 2003 election because we want PEACE? Don�t we think that the RIGHT thing
should be done?
The truth is that people are always asking for peace anytime they do something wrong in other to paint the offended
a trouble shooter; but I believe that if the wrongs of any process are not righted it shall become an everyday
and time occurrences and the reference would always be that the past wrongs were allowed to be because we wanted
peace, so the want of peace always would now usher into the society wrong doings that would be forgone for the
need for PEACE to reign supreme.
I posit that what are problems are and what we need is not the highly sort about PEACE but just EQUAL RIGHT and
JUSTICE; a society where equity REIGNS supreme will be a just and rightful society where peace would come to reside
permanently.
So our song shall not be FOR PEACE TO REIGN but for EQUAL RIGHTS and JUSTICE.
We all seem to be thinking about two things only, which are if there will be swearing-in ceremony or country wide
mass actions; nobody is thinking about the other solution which have become a very big virus in our life which
as long as we are concerned have not gotten any answer or solution to it and that is the �Almighty Martial Music�.
Did I hear some quarters saying Impossible; don�t talk or think about that; it can�t happen in Nigeria again; I
hope all these schools of taught were right but I believe in HISTORY, and the History of Nigeria had never at any
time been unpredicted; with the little the Politicians are doing to reconcile, I won�t be surprised and I believe
that not much of the Nigeria society would be surprised either, if we hear Martial Music and you see people, the
very populace whose mandates have been subverted, diverted and trampled upon throng unto the streets in wild jubilations,
and praises for the emergence once more of the �Fellow Countrymen� gang into Office while we hear the familiar
�All Borders Remain Close� and the �Long Live the Federal Republic Of Nigeria� soothing words. In other to avoid
these ugly occurrences of the past, please I plead on behalf of the general masses, let the �Power to the People
or is it Power to the Ruling Class� Politicians tread with wisdom and try to resolve the ragging political un-passes
that is threatening the Nigerian society or allow for the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference (SNC)
for the betterment of the various Ethnic Nationalities in this country to be able to sought-out the problems facing
this ailing country; the 1914 mistake of Amalgamation should be corrected by Nigerians once and for all. Please
the �Barracks Capons� should remain where they are and allow the �Bloody Civilians� to correct this current political
crisis themselves.
DO THE RIGHT THING FOR THE SAKE OF THE MASSES.
Obinna Okoro
Rescue Chambers, Port Harcourt.
Deceit Begets Fraud! Fraud Begets Distrust!!
Distrust Begets Anger!!! Failure to Control Anger Begets Pandemonium!!!!
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