The many miscues of the 2023 general elections, By ‘Tope Fasua

Until we can stand up for ourselves, and calmly evaluate the system of government that is good for us, we will be terrorized everywhere and continue to destroy society. Somehow, the most vocal among us as well as those who have been wired and conditioned will never think of any alternative to the idea of ​​Western democracy. And Westerners continue to put money behind this democracy – perhaps unwilling to entertain its variations – thus preventing the system from changing. What do I mean by this? Our democracy is precious. This quadrennial election is killing Nigeria financially. We have spent trillions on this election since 1999. And we’re not even building a more cohesive society than that.

Expensive, in terms of time and money indeed. As the election approaches, I understand that many people are on leave from work. Two of my small teams came to ask for permission to shoot two days before the election. As I type this on Monday, he hasn’t moved on. In fact, I asked one of them who was going east, whether he was sure of the safety of his journey. The problem is that some people like to vote in their home country, while others don’t mind moving to vote where they live. I belong to the latter group. Why should people take vacation days and spend so much on transportation, just to vote. Voting in Nigeria is actually quite stressful, to the extent that we need to start evaluating this process, to ensure its sustainability. I remember voting when I lived in London. It is the easiest matter. I just went to the voting unit in Belsize Park on Tuesday, and did my job for the day. It takes less than five minutes to complete the process. Now, I don’t expect us to reach that level. But it seems like the voting process here is getting more and more complicated. My family and I stood for at least five hours just to vote on Saturday the 25th^Th February.

I believe we have tried to use technology to achieve what behavior, a sort of surrender in ourselves and the possibility of mental reform. I believe that we also give up on gradualism in this matter. We are now using a sledgehammer approach to solving problems and causing more damage to the system in the process. For example, President Buhari – in an effort to leave a legacy of free and fair elections – decided to lock the banking sector into the election, with the connivance of central bank leaders. We have people who don’t have money, have to climb over fences to get even a fraction of what they need. People died in hospitals because electronic channels were seized and cash was inaccessible. The underbelly of the banking sector is exposed – as a sector where the players declare billions in profits every year but where they operate in a very flimsy infrastructure. Aside from the sheer impossibility of running such an election – given the anxiety, distress, and anger it engenders among the electorate – the whole thing is terrifying. The human cost is unnecessary, and the damage to public confidence in the financial sector, is considerable.

The lesson to be learned, for our politicians, is that they should spend more time and effort focusing on long-term efforts that will affect the most people, rather than responses that do not work. Instead of hurting the people by grabbing money because you are targeting politicians, leaders should work on mass education and ensure that the standard of living improves throughout the country. That is why I do not agree with those who say that it is not the job of the president to complete basic education and ensure that the problem of 20 million children who are out of school is solved. These are the issues that should keep the president up at night. And between him and the governor down to the local government, the president must ensure that no one rests until there is a huge problem. They also have to ensure that some unstoppable processes are in place so that even when they depart, the train keeps moving. I advise you not to let this happen before and during the elections. It’s just unbelievable. People feel they are being punished for no reason, and this gives power to the ruling party. reckless.

Even the idea of ​​always buying all kinds of gadgets to try and solve man-made problems is egregious. We forget the principle of ‘garbage in garbage out’. Humans can destroy any gadget. INEC has spent probably trillions in imports of all kinds since we returned to democracy in 1999. Many gadgets have been bought that are supposed to be our lifesavers, which should completely cancel fraud, which should ultimately sanitize the voting process. I believe INEC has some of the biggest arsenals of damnable tools in all of history. Many gadgets were seized on the day of voting. Many entered the homes of political gangsters and their leaders. Many of them were hit by thugs, never mind that some are worth millions per unit. In the next cycle, another device will be introduced which is a gift from heaven. This time, it is BVAS – Bimodal Voter Accreditation System. It is widely distributed. In the polling unit, there was a delay of 3 hours before the election started because they said they forgot and had to retake it. We were told one on the ground can only be taken people with surnames starting with the letters A to D – which later we found out nonsense. In many places, BVAS is totally ignored – like where one lady is busy helping an old man to give a thumbprint for a certain party. If there will be litigation this time, they will not end. It seems there are guys who specialize in making billions every cycle from selling gadgets.

Other anomalies found in this election cycle include:

1. The referees – unfortunately consisting of young corpers – don’t seem to understand that they don’t have to be biased. How can you be a referee and openly show that you support the side of the match?
2. Youth corps and professors were caught trying to change the results in favor of the paying party.
3. There was clear intimidation especially in the SouthEast and Southwest, with people being beaten up for not voting for a popular candidate. One video shows that polling units are locked and people have to identify who they want to vote for. Even where I voted in Abuja, there are boys who are scaring anyone who wants to vote for the ruling party. Others cursed them openly.
4. There was violence, especially in the SouthEast and Southwest, but not enough to cancel the general election.
5. There is a child Voter as usual – another in the north. But there are videos of child voters even in the Southeast. No such evidence in the southwest – yet.
6. There is mass thumbing everywhere, including in cosmopolitan areas like Lagos. Evidence suggests that even the initial opposition parties were involved.
7. There is evidence to show that political bosses, governors and others are trying to manipulate votes. I listened to one voice note that indicated that it was not working for certain governors in the south.

One good thing at this time is that there are smartphones everywhere and therefore there is a lot of picture and video evidence that people will do in the coming days. There will be more coming from everywhere I think. Clearly, we are not progressing as a society. And in this election, the pain of the past is heightened – especially between east and west. The north seems to be stoic in its position as a kingmaker with numbers, but there is definitely massive rigging even by certain new parties that have grassroots influence. Honestly, it’s dog food. But in the end, the final result, stripped of dirt, still shows the winner. Better next time. Let the leaders of Nigeria work on the minds of the people. We need a real revolution of ideas, policies and actions that will have a positive impact on millions of our people and shift our minds from all these negativities, hatred and suspicion, the feeling of lack instead of abundance, and the loss of hope in other hopes, abundant, graceful, blessed, country. I say that our young people need to study their history to realize that if they have bad feelings towards this country, it is their fault. There are so many opportunities here to make an impact and live a good life. I wish Nigeria success.

‘Tope Fasua, an economist, author, blogger, entrepreneur, and presidential candidate of the Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP), can be reached through topsyfash@yahoo.com.