Voting with data

INEC did rebound, put its act together, and met with the yearnings of all well meaning Nigerians –  to conduct credible polls. Persons or parties losing have been the only ones to discredit the conduct of the elections. So, the elections were as credible as could humanly be in a tough political climate like Nigeria’s. Previous elections have had larger voter turnouts, at least on paper, and we have had Obasanjo winning with close to 24 million votes and one wonders, how come we have lower votes counted despite the increased number of PVCs collected? Your guess is as good as mine – age old rigging machines were put to bed this time. The riot act read by President Buhari, and the inquiry he proclaimed will be made into why elections were postponed most likely helped check much of the electoral malfeasance that had plagued our electoral processes.

The greatest take-away from this election is the political maturity and sagacity of the North compared to the South. The South had a high record of violence in Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Ebonyi states. In Rivers state, military men paraded some suspected fake INEC staff working with some thugs in military uniforms to disrupt the elections. In Ebonyi state, Gov Umahi lamented that “our people are good politically only on social media but when it comes to voting, they sit at home”. He decried the low voter turn-out in the South as against the North despite the millions of PVCs collected. Notwithstanding the few cases of irregularities in the Southsouth and Southeast, President Buhari’s party made massive foray into the PDP strongholds, getting APC senators in Abia, Bayelsa and Delta states. The most courageous supporters of Buhari are those from the Southsouth and Southeast block, thwarting the volumes of votes that the PDP had always presented in block for its presidential candidates over time. Buhari got over 800,000 votes from the Southsouth, breaking the monopoly of the PDP in that region. PDP had a stronger showing in the Southeast, notably, Enugu and Anambra. Surely, they deserve the most prestigious and appreciative recognition in the Next Level of the ruling APC, alongside states like Kano, Jigawa and, of course, Katsina.

A testament of how well the security situation in the Northeast has improved is not in the figures the APC got as votes; but the peace that reigned throughout the electoral process, up to the collation of results, which is far more reassuring than any propaganda anyone would mount to attest to that. There was a report of some attempts in the early hours of the election day in Maiduguri, but the military had effortlessly diffused the threat. The people of the Northeast, including Bauchi and Gombe states, voted in millions. Gombe, a PDP state, was swept by the APC as it won the presidential elections as well as all House of Representatives and Senate seats. The PDP narrowly escaped in Adamawa state.

Online polls and social media influencers like Reno Omokri, Dele Momodu, Editi Effiong, Ben Murray Bruce, Femi Fani Kayode and even the singer Davido, were captains of Nigeria’s media space, predicting Atiku’s victory. The Kano showing of Kwankwaso and Atiku was also disturbing to the APC faithful, as Kano turned red for Atiku. Had INEC conducted the elections electronically or based on social media frenzy and polls, Atiku would have been the one waiting for a congratulatory call from Buhari. Those with data for online propagation of fake news and propaganda are not the ones that voted eventually. While we were all dusting our PVCs and doing our in-house accreditation to ensure we were good to go, travelling back to Nigeria from all over the world, doing 400 kilometres to and from, and repeating that after the postponement, Atikulates were busy leaving the country. Some were even away the whole time, typing from God knows where, prophesying Buhari’s loss.

The masses are the ones with the votes and they have exercised that power over the elite that are moaning and mourning in the Buhari era once again. Those with our national treasury as elixir have been the core anti-Buharists, tweaking economic indices, fore-telling tales of how we were or are better off without a Buhari. Meanwhile, it’s all been about the continued sale of public enterprises for personal gain — in a manner that fleeces the poor of a right to better living. The question I put to the Atikulates is, would Atiku have the American University, Faro and other beverage industries, Intels, and a host of other investments, if he was not vice-president and commander-in-chief of the privatisation programme of the Obasanjo administration? How come Obj spoke so much ill of Atiku in a corruptive way over a span of 8 years? Wasn’t it glaring that Obj ate his words out of the fear of being incarcerated by his co-military man just the way Abacha did?

O’ to ge’ (enough is enough) has seen to the retirement of Olusola Saraki in Kwara, spreading to other states, taking Obasanjo under the bus, consuming Gov Ajimobi, removing Kwankwaso’s red cap, and producing senators and representatives from otherwise unknown parties – three PRP House members-elect from Bauchi state.

Congratulations Mr. President and a job well done for campaigning in all the 36 states of the federation, when the opposition could only cover 19 but all the while pointing at you as the feeble one. Four million votes gap was the base Baba, and you hit it well! Your supporters North and South, East and West have taken a lot of heat for you this time like never before because you are president and not an opposition candidate. I pray that you take stock of all that transpired through your first term with a view to making amends to reflect the dreams and expectations of your fans. Today Mr President, you are a favourite in Benue state just as much as you are in Adamawa. Please, Baba, do not let us down and leave us to the fangs of the Omokris out there. Make the Next Level a brand new level for Nigeria as a whole, amen.

Tahir is Talban Bauchi.

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