Tinubu declared 16th president, against all odds

    Election results register

By Bernadette Idalu

After five days of tension soaked suspense amidst alleged political intrigues, Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC,) Prof. Mahmood Yakubu today,  March 1, 2023, declared Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, winner and the 16th democratically elected President of Nigeria.

Haven slugged it out keenly on Saturday, February 25, 2023, at the presidential poll, garnering a total of 8,796,726 votes as against  6,984,520 by Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP,)  Peter Obi Of Labour Party, (LP,) 6,101,533, and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, (NNPP, ) 1,497,476 votes, Tinubu triumphed haven met requirements by securing 25% of votes cast in thirty (30) states of Nigeria in addition to winning  twelve (12) states.

 

His acceptance speech tagged, “THE ERA OF RENEWED HOPE,“ comes at the heels of endured controversies, mudslinging and dragging to filth (Bula blu) which he subtly parried through an uncanny show of resilience and display of a happy mien, let out by online outlets.

And, against all odds, haven put up a good fight, he mysteriously like the cat with nine lives, upturned the table of the enigmatic Peter Obi whose candour appealed not only to the elite, but, he gained traction latching onto the strength of political outcasts, like traders, artisans, unemployed youths and the vulnerable who bunched together under his canopy (and famed no structure) which gave them a voice with the, "No shi-shi" mantra, in their fight against corruption and political rascality. 

The PDP, no doubt, was a force to reckon with. A party with bigwigs. Their candidate put up a good fight, once again. Despite backlash from alleged mismanagement of public office, as a former vice president, the polls show that he did well at the electoral field of play. However, the party had internal issues to grapple with both at national and state level. This might have rubbed off some shine and directed some votes away from the party.

"Emilokan" did come home to roost. 

The President- Elect in his acceptance speech stated, "My fellow Nigerians, I am profoundly humbled that you have elected me to serve as the 16th president of our beloved republic. This is a shining moment in the life of any man and affirmation of our democratic existence. From my heart, I say thank you.

"Whether you are Batified, Atikulated, Obidient, Kwankwasiyya, or have any other political affiliation, you voted for a better, more hopeful nation and I thank you for your participation and dedication to our democracy."

Despite the call for chaos and anarchy by some aggrieved persons in society, this call must be ignored in all entirety for the country is reeling in the aftermath of a currency redesign policy and high cost of buying petroleum products. People are not used to living in a cashless economy which has helped to deepen the menace of a cash crunch in society.

The pockets of violence and unnecessary blood shed based on the political struggle and yearning to hold firm to power against the wish of the people should stop. Political parties must learn how tondo their groundwork instead of the resort to Violence and taking down human life. This, is the beauty of democracy.

While suing for inclusiveness to make for a greater nation, it is instructive that Tinubu in his speech, agreed that there is angst in society. This acceptance should be the foothold and strings through which the president elect interfaces with his former competitors to bring about healing and reconciliation instead of allowing his followers to spout words that could inflame the polity leading inadvertently to a string of litigations and anarchy.

His appeal, no doubt, is germane, "Still, I know some candidates will be hard put to accept the election results. It is your right to seek legal recourse. What is neither right nor defensible is for anybody to resort to violence. Any challenge to the electoral outcome should be made in a court of law, and not in the streets."

Nonetheless, to forestall a repeat of occurrences in upcoming elections there is need to take a look at what played out before, during and after the election, in order to adopt critical steps which might halt further anomalies in other elections. First is the need to combat fake news, misinformation and disinformation. The Centre for Democratic Change, (CDD,) in its report, released, February 15, 2023, stated that 63% of the breaches of the peace accord happened on social media. This had to do with the rapid methods social media handlers and influencers churned out messages which sought to confuse voters.

Also, the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC,) in its release, "The game has changed" on Thursday, January 5, 2023, stated, "INEC decided that they will not use University Lecturers as returning officers for 2023 Election. INEC will use only their staff for the exercise." The question is, was this adhered to?

"The Situation Room and Collation Centre Committee was inaugurated by the Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who charged it to commence work in earnest and to discharge its responsibilities diligently." (Are Nigerians pleased with the conduct of the situation room?)

Festus Okoye Esq. National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee in  the release explained, "THIS IS WHAT THE NEW ELECTORAL LAW SAYS ON OUR NEXT ELECTIONS," No manual accreditation; No use of incident forms; All accreditation is electronic; Accreditation is Bimodal meaning facial recognition and finger printing; No pre-election cases after conclusion of Elections; No election cases after swearing into office of the winner; All results must be uploaded to INEC official website at the polling units before taking it to ward, constituency, LGA or state collation centers; If the number of votes cast is more than the accredited voters the polling unit result is cancelled; No more agreement between parties to share the remaining ballot papers that were not used; No more massive thump printing and stuffing of ballot boxes. If you like go and steal ballot boxes you are wasting your time. You cannot change the result...End of ballots snatching has come to stay in Nigeria. With the amendment of Nigeria Electoral Act,  our votes now counts. (Did the political umpire stick strictly with the electoral law?)

We are at a period of rebirth. There is need to hold the new president to account based on his words, "I shall be a fair leader to all Nigerians. I will be in tune with your aspirations, charge up your energies and harness your talents to deliver a nation that we can be proud of."