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The aftermath of the Ekiti and Osun elections have brought out the full manifestation of Yoruba fascists hiding behind the mask of Yoruba autonomy and nationalism. This manifestation is predicated on the fascists’ approval of any methodology by the central government to wrest political control of Yorubaland from our current leaders in the APC, with Asiwaju Tinubu in the forefront. Among the major political actors in Nigeria, Asiwaju Tinubu was the first to query Goodluck Jonathan’s intentions as far as his National Conference is concerned. In 2011, the ACN submitted a memo to Jonathan on Restructuring after which Jonathan began to distance himself from the party and began to woo the totally reactionary political elements in Yorubaland in order to enthrone them on us as his preferred de facto leaders.
Goodluck Jonathan’s methodology consists of utilizing the Nigerian State’s military apparatus to effectuate his grand design. The Yoruba fascists latch on to this methodology since their political fortunes have nosedived and have become politically irrelevant on their own which is why they have not been able to create a political party of their own to fight their political battles, hence have to ride on the back of whoever is in power in the center.
The problem Yorubaland has with the center is in the fact that Yoruba political aspirations have been clearly defined by its social democratic essence, which, since the dawn of anti-colonial struggles, have pitted us against the center and such center had always tried to neutralize any political formation that we create to maintain our political choices through what we now refer to as “rigging”, which is actually the only way the center can have its way.
This has happened in all elections organized by the Center and when the Western Regional Government attempted to utilize similar methods in 1965, the result was the descent of Nigeria itself into unnecessary chaos. Similar scenarios manifested in subsequent elections, where, by 1983, the massive rigging employed by the central government almost led to a revolutionary, mass action, in collaboration with the alliance of opposition parties that would have overthrown the then NPN government, a situation which was saved by military intervention.
This December 1983 military intervention created the template for complete military domination of Nigeria’s politics, such that, now, the same military is being touted as the only guarantee against “rigging” or manipulation of elections. And this is what the Yoruba fascists are touting; totally oblivious of the fact that what the military is supposed to guarantee is precisely its own preference—central control of not only the West but all of Nigeria; the difference being that the West has refused to tow the center’s political choices hence it is at the receiving end of the center’s machinations.
Thus, when these fascists insist on the necessity of using the military for the security of elections, what they are saying, in effect, is that we, as a people should surrender our settled political preferences for whatever is imposed by the center. But they have forgotten that the people are able to withstand any threat of terror personified by the military as had been shown over and over again.
In Edo State, the opposition party won in spite of militarizing the electoral process. The party won, not because of the presence of the military, but in spite of it; for, prior to the election itself, Goodluck Jonathan, as he is wont to do, visited the state to campaign for his party, but the highly revered Oba of Benin shunned him in a very public manner, thus sending a message to the people that Goodluck Jonathan’s party and its candidate is not wanted. That is an expression of leadership which emboldened the people to defy any intimidation tactics of the military and trooped out to endorse their own choice.
In Ekiti State, the leadership limited its electoralism to its manifest and provable achievements in office, thinking that such, alone, is enough to withstand the coming onslaught, even when Goodluck Jonathan was in the State to threaten and blackmail the state into submission. The presence of the military witnessed massive harassment and intimidation of opposition political leaders where even the governor was told in no uncertain terms that he has no authority on the security forces on ground. Because the methodology of rigging had passed from outright ballot snatching and all other 19th century tactics, the Ekiti people were unprepared for the high-tech tactics accompanied by massive intimidation that was at play.
Having learnt its lessons, the opposition leadership made adjustments to its tactics and placed the entire electoral process in the hands of the people with the leaders playing their roles, such that by the time of the Osun election, the people were undeterred, having made known who their preference was, thus making the military tactics null.
What all of these show is that peoples’ power as a way to resist rigging must be an a-priori determination and not an issue to be left hanging; for the fascists rely on the formal structure of the central government where the military sees itself as obeying whatever command is issued to it by its own relevant authority, even when, at one time, its commander, Salihu Ibrahim once called it an army of “anything goes”. And he was right, in the sense that no one can claim ignorance of the motivations of a central government in trying to muscle the opposition out of political reckoning, especially when accompanied by the arrest and harassment of only members of the opposition.
In all of these, it is the military that will suffer continuous denting of its image as a protective force not to be respected, especially once its myth as the defender of the sovereign territory is shattered through peoples’ resistance to its being used as a completely biased electoral empire.
Such denting of image, already an experiential fact among Nigerians, is now being transferred to the anti-Boko Haram engagement where even international agencies and foreign governments have derided the military as an inconsequential participant in the effort based on not only lack of equipment, of which there is no reason; but also the military’s strategic lapses such that even the wives of those to be deployed have begun openly resisting such deployments plus the ease with which Boko Haram is not only able to embark on its bombing campaigns but now transitioned into seizing and holding territories.
When these Yoruba fascists now depend on this military for the security of its electoral choices, questions are bound to be raised as to the fascists’ real intentions for Yorubaland. Of course, because they are fascists, their intentions cannot be noble and this can be seen in the choice of their candidates as well as their justifications for the abuse of presidential powers.
Having seen the cul-de-sac which has been their lot so far, they are now trying to rebuild by recruiting those they consider as having the required, reasonable name recognition to fight the remaining electoral battles for the land. Thus the attempt to foist acceptance of militarization as a necessary adjunct to the electoral process which is a direct insult on not only our sensibilities but also on our capacity to regulate out political lives without coercion.
The quest for the control of the center has its basis on central control of resources, which was the major aim of military intervention in Nigeria’s politics and which led to the breakup of Nigeria into powerless state administrations which is now being increased from 36 to 54. As long as the center controls the revenue, so long will it be necessary for it to manipulate elections in its own favor; hence any structural change in Nigeria must revert back to what obtained pre-January 1966 with adjustments made to satisfy some areas that require such.
This, coupled with the Jonathan Conference’s acceptance of having only one central electoral commission for the entire country show clearly the fascists template for electoral control; for a single electoral commission is not only a negation of Federalism, it also gives an open check for manipulation by the central government intent on dominating the entire country.
And when this is viewed against the backdrop of the fact that the military, as an institution, with its control flowing from one faction to another, has been responsible for the negation of Nigeria’s Federalism; making such military the custodian of democratic electoral choices is tantamount to handing over the entire country to whoever is in control of the military at any point in time, which will end up making the fight for the center more dangerous and more vicious. And the Yoruba fascists would have been prime movers of this existential, Federalist anomaly. But only if we allow them to.