Electioneering, Politics: And What Next?

As Nigeria inches closer to the 2019 elections the drama has begun and the dramatis personae are in their elements. The unfolding dramas have thrown up the good, the bad and the ugly side of elections. We have seen the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at loggerheads with the opposition parties over the procedure for elections – the political parties believe the card readers should be the sole mode of voter authentication and INEC has its own ideas about the ‘’tender ballots’’ it has introduced and the secondary sources of non-biometric voter authentication. This debate is still on and Nigerians are watching this closely. This is perhaps one of the stickiest points in the 2019 elections because the opposition parties have alleged that this procedure creates avenues for rigging the elections. Someone posted a comment on twitter which made so much sense to me. He said, if we can depend on bank cards to collect money from the ATM machines and pay by POS, why can’t INEC deploy card readers that simply work. He asked a very valid question: what is the failure rate at ATM machines?

2019 electioneering has witnessed a few campaign rallies where blood has been shed – guns, knives and other weapons designed to inflict injury and cause death have been deployed at campaign rallies. We have seen campaign poster wars where some incumbents in certain states have used their powers to block the opposition from pasting their banners and posters. Rice seems to be the most popular campaign tool in these elections – we have seen rice bags branded with photos of candidates being distributed to all and sundry. One girl took a photograph of her rice bag with a governorship candidates’ photo and name. She posted it on twitter and her message on twitter was ‘’thank you for the rice, I will accept the rice but still vote for your opponent’

Still on rice, in one state a trailer load of campaign rice was involved in an accident were some innocent souls were killed and the public in their own sense of justice looted the rice.

The social media tempo is at its all-time best – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp are currently agog with accusations and counter accusations. Despite the talk about issues-based campaigns there seems to be a lot of mimicry and mudslinging on the various platforms. On a lighter note, Falzthebahd guy has released a video about the elections which you cannot afford to ignore. It is a must watch.

Sign language has been introduced in this election, we have seen the 4+4 sign and the counter 4+0 sign which has emanated from the stable of political parties and their canvassers.

The greatest twist by far in the pre-election drama is the attempt by the President (or people around him) to remove the Chief Justice of Nigeria. This has generated the most debate and is the topical issue to keep your eyes on because it has far reaching constitutional and legal implications for Nigeria as a democratic country. Opposition parties and even non-politicians are not mincing words about the fact that this move a few weeks to the elections is a clear attempt to muzzle the judiciary in anticipation of the fact that judicial review may play a key role in deciding who wins the elections. Unfortunately, this move has also been given a tribal slant because the current Chief Justice is the first Chief Justice from the Southern part of Nigeria since 1985 when the Hon. Justice Ayo Gabriel lrikefe was appointed the Chief Justice. That said, my personal view is that one of the fundamentals of democracy is the doctrine of separation of powers where the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary are three arms of government that operate independently and act as a check and balance to one another. Therefore, any interpretation given to our constitution that negates this doctrine of separation of powers is tantamount to questioning whether Nigeria is indeed a democracy. If we take a cue from America where we borrowed our Presidential system of government from, the process of impeaching a justice of the Supreme Court is a tough process. First, the House Judiciary Committee must conduct an investigation and recommend charges. Second, a majority of the House Judiciary Committee must approve articles of impeachment, which then would face a vote by the full House membership. Next up would be the trial in the Senate where a twothirds majority vote is needed to convict. Only then would the official in question be dismissed from office (and possibly be forbidden from holding a position in government in the future). In America, Supreme Court justices serve for life, unless they resign, die or are impeached and removed from office. The reason for their lifetime tenure is to enable them to make decisions free from any pressure by the executive or legislative branches of government. Since the Supreme Court first convened in 1790, there have been 112 justices and only one ever has been impeached. In 1804, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach Associate Justice Samuel Chase. Chase was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court by President George Washington in 1796. Chase irked Thomas Jefferson and his Republican allies in Congress, and was impeached on politically
motivated charges of acting in a partisan manner during several trials. However, in 1805 Chase was acquitted by the Senate, a decision that helped safeguard the independence of the judiciary. He served on the court until his death in 1811.

Interestingly, our Constitution in Section 292(1) also protects a Justice of the Supreme Court from being removed at will by the President. A two-thirds majority vote of the Senate is required before a Justice of the Supreme Court can be removed.

Whilst the politicians continue with their chicanery, we as citizens owe it to our country to keep our focus on election day. Go out there and vote your conscience. Do not go home until the votes have been counted. Insist on the results being pasted. Take a photo of the results and post it out there on social media.

God bless Nigeria!

As Nigeria inches closer to the 2019 elections the drama has begun and the dramatis personae are in their elements. The unfolding dramas have thrown up the good, the bad and the ugly side of elections. We have seen the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at loggerheads with the opposition parties over the procedure for elections – the political parties believe the card readers should be the sole mode of voter authentication and INEC has its own ideas about the ‘’tender ballots’’ it has introduced and the secondary sources of non-biometric voter authentication. This debate is still on and Nigerians are watching this closely. This is perhaps one of the stickiest points in the 2019 elections because the opposition parties have alleged that this procedure creates avenues for rigging the elections. Someone posted a comment on twitter which made so much sense to me. He said, if we can depend on bank cards to collect money from the ATM machines and pay by POS, why can’t INEC deploy card readers that
simply work. He asked a very valid question: what is the failure rate at ATM machines?

2019 electioneering has witnessed a few campaign rallies where blood has been shed – guns, knives and other weapons designed to inflict injury and cause death have been deployed at campaign rallies. We have seen campaign poster wars where some incumbents in certain states have used their powers to block the opposition from pasting their banners and posters. Rice seems to be the most popular campaign tool in these elections – we have seen rice bags branded with photos of candidates being distributed to all and sundry. One girl took a photograph of her rice bag with a governorship candidates’ photo and name. She posted it on twitter and her message on twitter was ‘’thank you for the rice, I will accept the rice but still vote for your opponent’

Still on rice, in one state a trailer load of campaign rice was involved in an accident were some innocent souls were killed and the public in their own sense of justice looted the rice.

The social media tempo is at its all-time best – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp are currently agog with accusations and counter accusations. Despite the talk about issues-based campaigns there seems to be a lot of mimicry and mudslinging on the various platforms. On a lighter note, Falzthebahd guy has released a video about the elections which you cannot afford to ignore. It is a must watch.

Sign language has been introduced in this election, we have seen the 4+4 sign and the counter 4+0 sign which has emanated from the stable of political parties and their canvassers.

The greatest twist by far in the pre-election drama is the attempt by the President (or people around him) to remove the Chief Justice of Nigeria. This has generated the most debate and is the topical issue to keep your eyes on because it has far reaching constitutional and legal implications for Nigeria as a democratic country. Opposition parties and even non-politicians are not mincing words about the fact that this move a few weeks to the elections is a clear attempt to muzzle the judiciary in anticipation of the fact that judicial review may play a key role in deciding who wins the elections. Unfortunately, this move has also been given a tribal slant because the current Chief Justice is the first Chief Justice from the Southern part of Nigeria since 1985 when the Hon. Justice Ayo Gabriel lrikefe was appointed the Chief Justice. That said, my personal view is that one of the fundamentals of democracy is the doctrine of separation of powers where the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary are three arms of government that operate independently and act as a check and balance to one another. Therefore, any interpretation given to our constitution that negates this doctrine of separation of powers is tantamount to questioning whether Nigeria is indeed a democracy. If we take a cue from America where we borrowed our Presidential system of government from, the process of impeaching a justice of the Supreme Court is a tough process. First, the House Judiciary Committee must conduct an investigation and recommend charges. Second, a majority of the House Judiciary Committee must approve articles of impeachment, which then would face a vote by the full House membership. Next up would be the trial in the Senate where a twothirds majority vote is needed to convict. Only then would the official in question be dismissed from office (and possibly be forbidden from holding a position in government in the future). In America, Supreme Court justices serve for life, unless they resign, die or are impeached and removed from office. The reason for their lifetime tenure is to enable them to make decisions free from any pressure by the executive or legislative branches of government. Since the Supreme Court first convened in 1790, there have been 112 justices and only one ever has been impeached. In 1804, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach Associate Justice Samuel Chase. Chase was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court by President George Washington in 1796. Chase irked Thomas Jefferson and his Republican allies in Congress, and was impeached on politically
motivated charges of acting in a partisan manner during several trials. However, in 1805 Chase was acquitted by the Senate, a decision that helped safeguard the independence of the judiciary. He served on the court until his death in 1811.

Interestingly, our Constitution in Section 292(1) also protects a Justice of the Supreme Court from being removed at will by the President. A two-thirds majority vote of the Senate is required before a Justice of the Supreme Court can be removed.

Whilst the politicians continue with their chicanery, we as citizens owe it to our country to keep our focus on election day. Go out there and vote your conscience. Do not go home until the votes have been counted. Insist on the results being pasted. Take a photo of the results and post it out there on social media.

God bless Nigeria!

As Nigeria inches closer to the 2019 elections the drama has begun and the dramatis personae are in their elements. The unfolding dramas have thrown up the good, the bad and the ugly side of elections. We have seen the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at loggerheads with the opposition parties over the procedure for elections – the political parties believe the card readers should be the sole mode of voter authentication and INEC has its own ideas about the ‘’tender ballots’’ it has introduced and the secondary sources of non-biometric voter authentication. This debate is still on and Nigerians are watching this closely. This is perhaps one of the stickiest points in the 2019 elections because the opposition parties have alleged that this procedure creates avenues for rigging the elections. Someone posted a comment on twitter which made so much sense to me. He said, if we can depend on bank cards to collect money from the ATM machines and pay by POS, why can’t INEC deploy card readers that
simply work. He asked a very valid question: what is the failure rate at ATM machines?

2019 electioneering has witnessed a few campaign rallies where blood has been shed – guns, knives and other weapons designed to inflict injury and cause death have been deployed at campaign rallies. We have seen campaign poster wars where some incumbents in certain states have used their powers to block the opposition from pasting their banners and posters. Rice seems to be the most popular campaign tool in these elections – we have seen rice bags branded with photos of candidates being distributed to all and sundry. One girl took a photograph of her rice bag with a governorship candidates’ photo and name. She posted it on twitter and her message on twitter was ‘’thank you for the rice, I will accept the rice but still vote for your opponent’

Still on rice, in one state a trailer load of campaign rice was involved in an accident were some innocent souls were killed and the public in their own sense of justice looted the rice.

The social media tempo is at its all-time best – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp are currently agog with accusations and counter accusations. Despite the talk about issues-based campaigns there seems to be a lot of mimicry and mudslinging on the various platforms. On a lighter note, Falzthebahd guy has released a video about the elections which you cannot afford to ignore. It is a must watch.

Sign language has been introduced in this election, we have seen the 4+4 sign and the counter 4+0 sign which has emanated from the stable of political parties and their canvassers.

The greatest twist by far in the pre-election drama is the attempt by the President (or people around him) to remove the Chief Justice of Nigeria. This has generated the most debate and is the topical issue to keep your eyes on because it has far reaching constitutional and legal implications for Nigeria as a democratic country. Opposition parties and even non-politicians are not mincing words about the fact that this move a few weeks to the elections is a clear attempt to muzzle the judiciary in anticipation of the fact that judicial review may play a key role in deciding who wins the elections. Unfortunately, this move has also been given a tribal slant because the current Chief Justice is the first Chief Justice from the Southern part of Nigeria since 1985 when the Hon. Justice Ayo Gabriel lrikefe was appointed the Chief Justice. That said, my personal view is that one of the fundamentals of democracy is the doctrine of separation of powers where the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary are three arms of government that operate independently and act as a check and balance to one another. Therefore, any interpretation given to our constitution that negates this doctrine of separation of powers is tantamount to questioning whether Nigeria is indeed a democracy. If we take a cue from America where we borrowed our Presidential system of government from, the process of impeaching a justice of the Supreme Court is a tough process. First, the House Judiciary Committee must conduct an investigation and recommend charges. Second, a majority of the House Judiciary Committee must approve articles of impeachment, which then would face a vote by the full House membership. Next up would be the trial in the Senate where a twothirds majority vote is needed to convict. Only then would the official in question be dismissed from office (and possibly be forbidden from holding a position in government in the future). In America, Supreme Court justices serve for life, unless they resign, die or are impeached and removed from office. The reason for their lifetime tenure is to enable them to make decisions free from any pressure by the executive or legislative branches of government. Since the Supreme Court first convened in 1790, there have been 112 justices and only one ever has been impeached. In 1804, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach Associate Justice Samuel Chase. Chase was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court by President George Washington in 1796. Chase irked Thomas Jefferson and his Republican allies in Congress, and was impeached on politically
motivated charges of acting in a partisan manner during several trials. However, in 1805 Chase was acquitted by the Senate, a decision that helped safeguard the independence of the judiciary. He served on the court until his death in 1811.

Interestingly, our Constitution in Section 292(1) also protects a Justice of the Supreme Court from being removed at will by the President. A two-thirds majority vote of the Senate is required before a Justice of the Supreme Court can be removed.

Whilst the politicians continue with their chicanery, we as citizens owe it to our country to keep our focus on election day. Go out there and vote your conscience. Do not go home until the votes have been counted. Insist on the results being pasted. Take a photo of the results and post it out there on social media.

God bless Nigeria!