I posted this on Funmi Iyanda's blog in response to her posting about the elections. My objection is to the foreign observers and media. I now need to lie down for a while.
Funmi thanks for your observations but I beg to disagree. I am very wary of all these foreign observers and their claims of irregularities etc. We all know, and expected , that there would be shenanigans along the way. If people chose not to exercise their right to vote surely that in itself is part of being in a democracy? The right to choose? Nigeria is on a journey. This is part of the journey.
The expectation was that there would be massive violence and widespread loss of lives. That did not happen. Is this not something to be commended?
The US & UK can cry foul all they like but I am sure their Ambassadors will be in Aso rock the day after the coronation to ensure that their interests are maintained. And who gives them the right to judge us anyway? What is the voter turnout in the UK? Are there no voting irregularities in the US?
I am sick of the meddling. The election is over. A winner declared. Let's move on to building the country. The opposition have four years to gather evidence against the newly elected government and prepare their battle plans. All part of the democratic process.
Despite all my cynicism about him I was very impressed with Yar Adua's calm demeanour at the press conference yesterday. I was especially impressed with the way he handled the questions from the foreign correspondents who were all fixated with allegations of this and that? Is it that Tony Blair and George Bush's administrations have exemplary records? Or is it not true that they would have set new lows in standards for "democratically" elected governments? Puh leeez.
We have a situation where one democratically elected government has handed over to another. That in my view is progress. Onward and upward. For those trying to give Nigeria a complex and want to continue tarring us with the same old brush. Good luck to you. I will not assist you with your objectives.
The expectation was that there would be massive violence and widespread loss of lives. That did not happen. Is this not something to be commended?
The US & UK can cry foul all they like but I am sure their Ambassadors will be in Aso rock the day after the coronation to ensure that their interests are maintained. And who gives them the right to judge us anyway? What is the voter turnout in the UK? Are there no voting irregularities in the US?
I am sick of the meddling. The election is over. A winner declared. Let's move on to building the country. The opposition have four years to gather evidence against the newly elected government and prepare their battle plans. All part of the democratic process.
Despite all my cynicism about him I was very impressed with Yar Adua's calm demeanour at the press conference yesterday. I was especially impressed with the way he handled the questions from the foreign correspondents who were all fixated with allegations of this and that? Is it that Tony Blair and George Bush's administrations have exemplary records? Or is it not true that they would have set new lows in standards for "democratically" elected governments? Puh leeez.
We have a situation where one democratically elected government has handed over to another. That in my view is progress. Onward and upward. For those trying to give Nigeria a complex and want to continue tarring us with the same old brush. Good luck to you. I will not assist you with your objectives.
If you really want to help Nigeria why don't you go back to your countries and get your governments to release all the funds that have illegally transferred there by all the previous military dictators whom you were very happy to support and even assist? How about all those loans you granted Nigeria that got us into a serious financial mess and from which nothing was gained?
Viva Nigeria.
Viva Nigeria.
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15 comments:
Toks, I too was very impressed by Yar'Adua last night.
Lie down, but don't be deflated - yours is certainly not 'a voice in the wilderness'.
Somehow your post never made Funmi's page. Comment moderation is a bitch isn't it?
I echo April
I was impressed by Yara'Adua speech last night. I hope he does Nigeria proud.
I too am pertubed by the foreign journalists and obeservers and you are right. Maybe Yara'Adua needs to review the British and America interest in the oil in Nigeria
An uncharacteristically defensive post TB. What is wrong with using global standard criteria to monitor elections? Just because government agencies all over the world always fail in some degree to organise 100% free and fair elections does not mean that applying those criteria by external 3rd parties should not take place, does it?
As we are seeing, the private sector in Nigeria is increasingly hitting global best practice standards, while the public sector lags woefully behind. Public sector reform is crucial, in order that private sector initiatives can compete globally. Public sector reform will not happen without strong internal and external criticism. 3rd party international observers in the public sector (principally the donors) therefore must continue to play a role in Nigeria in encouraging public sector reform. Any comment in the direction that they should stop criticising risks returning Nigeria to the isolisationism of the 1980s and early 1990s.
Jeremy you miss my point. My point is that judging us by international standards should not be the be all and end all.
We have had a relatively violence free elections. That should be acknowledged. We had very weak opposition parties and candidates. That should be acknowledged. Even with rigging and what not millions still turned out to vote. That should be acknowledged.
I am just fed up with outsiders telling us how bad we are whilst at the same time stuffing themselves silly from our trough. Was there really any chance that these headlines would not have come out? I bet you some were even written before the elections.
Don't get me wrong. I am the first person to want the best for Nigeria and want to stick to the highest standards but I am just sick to the back teeth of the negative PR and carping. Give us a break.
(I posted this on Funmi Iyanda's blog)
Thank you Toks-boy. In fact God bless you for your comments. As far as I am concerned these forigners want us to fail.
You know the way people look at Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes or Angelina Jolie and Brad Pit and wish and hope for them to fail so that they can do a happy dance on their graves? That is the way I see these people. At the last Ontario Canadian elections ( I am not sure which area of government it was) There was chaos in Woodbridge. I mean chaos, people were saying that they believed the mafia was going to come into the situation (because apaprently memebers of the Mafia live in Woodbridge) But they had the audacity to call Canadian elections free and fair.
When the Canadian sponsorship scandal broke people's jaws dropped down in shock and then they have the audcaity to say that they practise Democracy and what we do is a sham. Hmmmmm, I just wonder.
They just want us to fail, so that they can pat themselves on the back and say "we told you so, those Africans are worthless" But we no go fail oh. We will hand over to a new democratically elected government and there will be peace and we shall progress
I'm not sure about all this you know. Take the main monitoring group that hit the headlines, the EU. I'm pretty sure the EU were in fact strongly hoping for a better run election process than in 2003. Why would they wish for failure? It makes no sense from any perspective, commercially, politically etc.
A fair chunk of European tax-payers money goes in to supporting development initiatives in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa. For instance, the EU has played a strong supporting role in backing the EFCC in the past few years. Do you really think this support to the EFCC has some failure-mechanism built in? Its hardly likely.
Apart from the hiring of International consultants, there is no real return on investment for the EU as donor organisation, except in the indirect sense of opening up markets at some future point, and in the more politically direct sense of having a stable partner to the South. Remember, the EU works through grants, not loans.
Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of problems with the European Commission as is (some connected ironically with the lack of democratic structures/accountability at the Commission level, others to do with its trade policy and continued practice of dumping of goods) but that's another issue. Just as pressure must be put on countries around the world internally and externally to become more democratic and more accountable, so too the pressure must be put on the Commission to be more accountable and democratic.
But back to the point: the idea that international monitoring organisations were hoping for the worse, or that they are connected to any 'economic hit-man' agenda is simplistic, to say the least.
As other commentors have said, there is no paradigm case study of democracy working 100% anywhere in the world. It might sound trite and soft-focus, but don't we need to work together across borders to better the conditions for democracy whenever and wherever it is needed?
We need to stop lumping international organisations together as baddies. Some are better than others. The real economic hit men are another bunch altogether. Read the book of that title to find out more..
My views might sound simplistic but that is the sort of person I am. My point still remains that when I read the headlines and the articles I have yet to see one that says "One democratic govt hands over to another democratic govt in Nigeria." I don't even mind if they tag on "in flawed elections" at the end.
I am not a conspiracy theorists saying that they are conspiring amongst themselves to bring us down. What I am saying is - are there no positives whatsoever to take out of last weekend? Not one? Come on.
OK, this is my perspective, I understand both sides of the story, the fact that Andy Uba is the Gov of Anambra State leave a bitter taste in my mouth, on the other hand however is the fact that all said and done there was very little violence
Now being a pessimist I've always said that it will take 15 years of civilian rule for a proper democracy to emerge in our country, however that doesn’t mean that everybody should not shout and rant at all the rigging going on, Baba 419ing the Supreme court, etc,.
I honestly think we are on track to taking our country back and that’s all that matters in the long run, so all of us economic refugees can move back.
@toks-boy
We have had a relatively violence free elections. I don't know where you got that from. Just remember that not everyone have the joy of not loosing a loved one in the killings. (maybe you should talk to people in Edo.
a refreshing perspective. as flawed and rigged as the elections were and as inevitable the subsequent wahalla, it's nice to start out the new administration with a little optimism and hope for the future...
On some level Toks, I agree with both you and Jeremy. I'm really not sure what to think given the barrage of international media to wade through.
I left Lagos a week ago feeling so impressed at the way things had been handled there - the lack of violence, the relative order and calm after the tense days leading up to the gubernatorial elections.
But then got back to London, read the Economist, saw the international reports and the violence statistics in other states, and was completely thrown.
I know I may be attacked for saying this, but as things stand currently, the rigging is an insignificant issue from my perspective. How many elections have we had in our 47 years? Practice makes perfect. What disturbs me is the violence that accompanied it. There I feel there should be zero-tolerance
Oh you are a chelsea fan!eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!blues for life!
What's with the paranoid pseudo-nationalistic ranting about the EU and international monitors? why are we making their comments the issue?
1. What logical purpose could it serve for the EU and Co to want us to fail? Sure they often act in their self interest but please make one simple argument to show how it will be in their interest for Nigeria's elections to fail?
2.Mr Toks, The EU strongly commended Nigerians for their perseverance and even discipline. Their preliminary report clearly makes a distinction between ordinary Nigerians and the partisan thugs and accomlices who scuttled the elections. Any reasonable and objective reading of their comments will definitely show that! Do any of you realise that elections elsewhere in AFRICA have been commended by these same bodies.And the fact that millions turned out to vote WAS ACKNOWLEDGED.
3. It's unbelievable that anyone would insist the elections were relatively violence-free or even free and fair. Tell me, how many people must die before we consider the violence significant enough? what's the benchmark-not even by european standards, say, by Ghanaian standards? 50 people? 100? 200? 1000? Must we live with such low standards? What really does it take to have fairly decent elections? Why is the repeatedly made point that 'the elections were not credible even by standards previously set by Nigeria itself' being ignored? Fact is, it's not even about judging us based on International standards! Come on, guys, lets try to reason in context here! All the talk about some international conspiracy plot is simply diversionary and simplistic.
david - it would appear that you have also missed the point i was trying to make (or is it that i was not eloquent enough in making the point?)
I personally do not care about the "observers".
My point is that elections were held. Many millions did turn out to vote. Even with the rigging some (most??) of the votes counted were genuine. It is unfortunate that any single person got killed but in light of the total carnage that was expected it needs to be put into perspective (easy for me to say I admit).
Is there really nothing positive to be gleaned from the above? Can we not say to oursleves - amongst ourselves - "not good enough,must do better next time" and then start putting the tools in place to ensure that it is better next time?
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