Elections, Corruption, Politics And Underdevelopment In Nigeria

Discourse

Being the position of the Nigerian Human Rights Community, (NHRC), Presented By Its Director of Programme, Mr Taiwo Adeleye On The Dangers Posed By Vote Buying To Political Stability In Nigeria At The Press Conference Held On Monday November 05, 2018 In Lagos

We welcome you to this gathering ladies and gentlemen. The purpose of calling this press conference is to deal with a major issue which today poses the greatest danger to human development in Nigeria.

As the 2019 elections approach, there are imminent dangers that must be avoided like a plague.

We are particularly concerned about the new mode of corruption which comes with bribing the electorate with huge sums of money on the voting day. We think this represents the most dangerous form of threat since the independence of Nigeria in 1960.

It is the highest form of corruption that can becloud any country. This has been clearly demonstrated in the recent elections held in Ekiti and particularly in Osun State. Our greatest fear is that this trend will dominate the 2019 elections. If this happens, as we are almost certain, Nigerians should prepare for the worst economic, cultural and political genocide they have ever seen.The bribing of the electorate is the worst form of bribery that can bedevil a country.

Nigeria is the biggest country in Africa. Threat to Nigeria is a threat to the continent of Africa.  Let us recall that the economic and political situation in Nigeria is of great concern to locals and the international community.

We should remember that in 1999, Nigerians had a lot of hope after 27 years of brutal rape of the country’s economy during which her values were totally destroyed and the dignity of the country famished by one of the world’s most atrocious military leaders.

Corruption was a recurrent decimal. No one questioned the then military leaders. By law, they were above the society they governed.

They left a legacy of corruption and rot which the civilian leaders have copied and modified for the worst. Experts say not less than $500billion fizzled into the corruption industry while a generation of frustrated, despairing and humiliated Nigerians sought economic refugee outside the country. Some of the children of this people have not been to Nigeria; they may never return to their motherland since the very conditions that made them to quit their homeland are today even worse.

Since 1999, for most part of the country, Nigerians have been subjected to the worst repressive social and economic policies. These have been fueled by corruption, an uninspiring leadership and a criminal, murderous gang that administers over the affairs of the state.

Corruption is breeding violence and nepotism. Corruption is rewriting our history. With the idea of bribing voters, common criminals will be elected. Even now criminals are becoming Kings and little backyard idols. The results of this, blind, irresponsible and spineless form of corruption are the proportional spirit of disenchantment expressed through the worst form of human vices: violence, brutal massacre of innocent people, including women, children and the aged, kidnapping, of even human corpses for ransom and now the repercussion has taken its full course in the form of terrorism, through which over 4000 souls have perished and many more stand at a terrifying peril.

DEMOCRACY, VOTE BUYING AND THE PEOPLE

We have been waiting to see the prosecution of politicians that were involved in vote buying in Osun State but nothing has been done even in the face of glaring evidence.

It is our very strong opinion, that democracy remains the best form of addressing the iniquities unleashed on Nigerians by her own leaders. This should enhance people’s participation, the right to free choice and the election of leaders through free, prior and informed consent of the people.

We are worried about the emerging culture where politicians will stock pile money, not for projects, but for vote buying on the day of the election. This notorious gang of leaders who has brought this terrible nightmare hope to rule with blithe disregard for the timeless norms of the people.   The NHRC was in Osun during the election. In the build up to the election, the PDP gubernatorial candidate, Senator AdemolaAdeleke openly canvassed votes on the basis of barter by cash. The video had gone viral across the country.

In his campaigns, he was openly bragging that he would bribe voters with naira and dollars on the day of the election. This means that politicians are proud that they could buy voters with money and go scot free. Prior the election, Adeleke in rallies held at Ede, Osogbo, Ile Ife, Iwo and other cities boasted openly that he would give cash to voters. He did not campaign on any social or economic programmes but rather on his plan to bribe voters which was exactly what he did. The most astonishing is the display of the video clips. The NHRC has sent the clip to the police authorities in the past almost one month. Nothing has been done. We had and still demand for the prosecution of Senator Adeleke for openly canvassing for support with the promise that he would pay the voters huge sums of money on election day. This is one of the most bizarre conduct that any individual can display, not to talk of a serving Senator of the Federal Republic.

From our reports in Osun, the voters were paid as much as N10,000. This means that the outcome of the election does not in any way reflect the will of the people but a mere demonstration of the volume of cash spent. We have compiled these reports and had asked the police to act, but this has not been addressed. There is no doubt that buying of votes was not a PDP affair alone, but in terms of hard evidence,before, during and after the election, Senator Adeleke should be held personally responsible. It is a shame that Senator Adeleke has gone to court to challenge the election. His criminal conducts should have been enough for the police to prosecute him.

It is obvious that Senator Adeleke is secured 90 percent of the votes through outright buying of the voters in the most bizarre and unspeakable manners.

We infact call for his resignation from the Senate. We call on the police to prosecute him for electoral manipulation and bribery of voters. He provided the hard evidence in his campaign slogans where he declared that he would bribe the voters with naira and dollars. The video has been trending before, during and after the election.

In Osun State, reports from our filed officers indicated that Adeleke paid voters  to the tune of N10,000. Prior before the election, the PDP collected the names of hundreds of voters and warehoused them. On election day, the voters were paid half of the bribe and were asked to collect the remaining half after the election.

This group moved from one house to the other collecting PVCs. On election day, one would have expected INEC to apprehend criminals. Unfortunately they had devised new ways. The party agent stands at the polling unit and watches the voter to establish which party the voter votes for. Once it is confirmed, the voter’s name would be  marked after which the voter will be invited to collect the money.

With voters population of 1.2 million, it is therefore expected that about 12 billion must have been spent on the voters on the election day by one party alone. This is outrageous. It is the beginning of the end for Nigeria. It is the shortest route to perdition. It is the way to ruin a potentially prosperous country and bring her on her knees. We condemn in very strong terms the cold attitude of President MohammaduBuhari towards this criminal conducts of politicians. We regret to observe that INEC officials saw these criminal conducts but decided to look the other way.

As the 2019 election approaches, politicians have again started collecting the PVC of voters which they will warehouse and later pay for them on Election Day.

There is a calculated attempt to complete a circle of corruption across the country by the ill-conceived desperation of the ruling class to spread the whirlwind of aggression and belligerence across the country.  We call on Nigerians to act now. Bribing of voters is the worst form of coup against democracy. This is the time for us to speak with one voice. The police and INEC should prosecute Adeleke and all other politicians involved in these criminal conducts as indicated in the various video clips. It is time to set good examples by bringing these criminals to justice. Enough is Enough