2007: Understanding Obasanjo’s game plan
.BY SENIOR FYNEFACE

No doubt, Nigerians are presently witnessing the glorification of mediocrity, deceit, double standards and intolerance in governance. Worst of all, the current situation is putting our democracy under unnecessary tension just because of the selfishness of a crop of self-centred people. Only a few Nigerians would disagree with the view that the uncoordinated acts of President Olusegun Obasanjo and his cronies or rather aides clearly suggest that they are confused by their myopic agenda to stay in office for life.
Take the case between the President and his deputy Vice President Atiku Abubakar; first it was presidential aide, Uba Sani who quoted the federal government on a national television network saying Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s seat has been declared vacant by President Olusegun Obasanjo following his defection to the Action Congress and his eventual adoption as the party’s presidential flag bearer.
Shortly after the first pronouncement, another aide, the Political Adviser to the President, Chief Akin Osuntokun on a national television interview made a contrary declaration that the seat was never declared vacant only to blame the media for the misinterpretation of President Obasanjo’s intention.
And just as Nigerians gear up to witness what could have been an interesting constitutional tussle between the PDP, Obsanjo and the Presidency on one hand and the Vice President Atiku Abubakar on the other hand, the same presidency announced that they have withdrawn the case instituted in court against the vice president on the legitimacy of his from office. The Presidency also denied that the office of the vice president was never declared vacant.
The question is why the sudden change of stand by the presidency over the alleged declaration of Atiku’s seat as vacant. The simple interpretation of the situation is that the presidency probably must have realized its folly over some of the steps taken so far and decided to tactically withdraw and re-launch another assault against the VP. But this is just an ordinary Nigerian-man’s understanding of the complex politicking that is currently going on in the country.
There is a very strong indication that withdrawal of the court action against Atiku by President Obasanjo and the PDP may not be tantamount to a change of heart in their smear campaigns and efforts to stop him from contesting the 2007 election. It may only mean a change of tactics or trial of a new one since all indices point to the PDP loosing the case in any court of competent jurisdiction including court of public and spiritual opinions. So this brings to the front burner, the introduction of INEC’s opaque screening covert operation.
Interestingly, Mohammed Abubakar, INEC’s legal services representative at a press conference in Abuja, was quoted as having said that the commission will accept data provided by security agencies and other organizations to help them verify candidates’ documents which will include background checks.
With such declaration, the INEC representative meant one of the following: INEC was bent on working with EFCC’s findings and submission on aspirants to various elective positions in the forthcoming general elections to eliminate some candidates whose criminal records from security findings may not be acceptable for anybody aspiring to lead or rather rule in the next dispensation. Alternatively, the commission and the presidency may have plans to use the proposed screening/verification to eliminate opponents of the Obasanjo-led administration who managed to secure tickets to run for various offices. Pure and simple.
Hear what the INEC representative gave as explanation for the forthcoming sieve analysis of candidates seeking elective positions: “It’s true that agencies like the EFCC are free to forward their data on each of the candidates to us. Such information will assist us in the verification exercise. Also I want to stress that we are not screening anybody, but we want to check the particulars to find out those that are not true. The electoral guidelines are clear on what to do if we find false claims against any candidate.”
The big question is: Where did INEC derive the powers it is arrogating to itself to screen/ verify and/or disqualify any aspirant?
As implied in various Sections of the Constitution[66(1)(i), 107(1)(i) ,137(1)(j) and 182(1)(j)], INEC is allowed to verify credentials of any aspirant only with respect to suspicious case of presentation of forged certificate. Even in such situations, the constitution was very clear that it is a person within INEC not INEC as an institution, that can file a suit in court (33(1) to contend the eligibility of such candidates.
INEC as an institution has no powers whatsoever to drag any candidate to court over matters of credentials. Also, the commission cannot unilaterally disqualify any candidate without a court order tendered by a person (including someone in INEC or from outside the commission) after due process. It is only when a person has successfully followed the court process and obtained an order that INEC as an institution can then act accordingly with respect to the court order. So what is all the hype about INEC screening or rather verification of credentials and other security information?
Interestingly, just as Nigerians were still grappling with all the confusion in the political circle, the Federal Government drop another decimator- unclear figures or results of a census that was conducted early last year.
Now, the same Nigerians that have been united in their resolve for a transparent election come April, have come gone on war paths with each other on the truth or rather accuracy of the figures and bias presented in the census result data sheet. The south has been pitched against the north, the east against itself and the rest of the country. It will take a saint dropped from above to believe that the release of the census result at this time of heightened political tension in the country was not a deliberate effort to generate more entropy in the entire body polity.
The confusion has started even with some states where you have different tribes or ethnic nationalities. As part of the confusion, women are already fighting men in contention of the census result which claimed that Nigeria has more males than females.
Honestly speaking, the present tension in the nation’s politics is unnecessary and could best be described as an evil creation of a presidency that want to remain in power against all odd, a leadership that is stiff- bent on plunging the nation into avoidable chaos and unrest.