…On a daily basis, some persons are rented to supposedly demonstrate for only God knows what. I saw one of the placards saying they want justice. I laughed heartily. Who doesn’t want justice?…
…Either that they have obtained the facts and realized that a just review will expose all the frauds perpetrated, hence to use the demonstrations as means of arm twisting the Umpire against a review or more dangerously, to demonstrate a capacity for violence…
…When Binani calls for a review of the election in accordance with the provisions of the law, she’s asking for justice that will legitimize the winner of the Gubernatorial election in Adamawa State…
...But the demonstrations are asking for a kind of justice that covers up all the fraud perpetrated that is not justice. They could as well change their placards to read “we want injustice”…
…We are aware that in a desperate attempt to post huge results even in places where the voter turnout was dismal, a lot of ballot box stuffing took place. So, do we now accept a warped sense of justice that turns a blind eye to glaring rape of the law?…
…Anyone who supports or condones fraud as representing justice is trying to marry a bird and a fish. Even if they get married they will never live together because the fish cannot survive on the tree and the bird cannot survive in water…
…Another issue I noticed happening in Yola is the heightened resort to paid writers and sundry propagandists whose stoke in trade is either to insult Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed Binani and her close allies or worst of all create false narratives that make her look like the bigots they are…
By Ahmad Sajoh
…When the bird and the fish fall in love and get married, where will they live as husband and wife? Up the trees or deep into the waters?…
That may be an apt metaphor for the current situation in Adamawa State. On a daily basis, some persons are rented to supposedly demonstrate for only God knows what. I saw one of the placards saying they want justice. I laughed heartily. Who doesn’t want justice?
We all want justice. But the fact that justice is blind does not mean that it is also blind to law and legality. Justice is only blind to the status of the litigants, not to the law itself. This therefore implies that we all want justice to be done. Unfortunately some people believe justice should be self serving. It should serve their interest or it’s not justice. But real justice should serve law and legality not the narrow interests of individuals no matter how powerful.
When Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed Binani calls for a review of the election in accordance with the provisions of the law, she is asking for justice. She is asking for the kind of justice that will legitimize the winner of the Gubernatorial election in Adamawa State. She is not asking to be declared winner through fraud or manipulation. She wants the winner to emerge fair and square. What is more just than that? But the demonstrations are asking for a kind of justice that covers up all the fraud perpetrated. That is not justice, that is injustice. They could as well change their placards to read “we want injustice” it would have been more appropriate.
The definition of what constitutes justice may differ in the eyes of litigants but not in the eyes of the law. The determinants of the correctness of any disputed result as prescribed by section 64 subsection (6) of the Electoral Act are the original of the disputed result, the accredited data captured by the BVAS machine and the results transmitted to the iREV portal. To Senator Binani, an alignment of these three should be what represents justice. Otherwise section 65 subsection (1) should be invoked. What this section promotes is the protection of the returning officer who makes a rational decision in respect of an election he serves in that capacity. But where the rationality of his or her decision is in dispute the act provides a window in the following words “provided that the Commission shall have the power within seven days to review the declaration and return where the Commission determines that the said declaration and return was not made voluntarily or was made contrary to the provisions of the law and guidelines, and manual for the election.” For us doing this for such declarations that were done at disputed venues, under duress and where a particular party slogan is chanted would be our definition of justice.
Additionally, section 47 subsection (2) says “to vote, the presiding officer shall use a smart card reader or any other technological device that may be prescribed by the Commission, for the purpose of accreditation of voters, to verify, confirm or authenticate the particulars of the intending voter in the manner prescribed by the Commission.” Justice is to review and ascertain whether this provision was complied with in all locations where the elections took place.
So, those asking for justice to be done should be mindful of what real justice means in this case where in very many polling units the BVAS machines used for accreditation were totally ignored and bypassed. Figures were simply concocted and recorded on result sheets regardless of the law or guidelines. Sometimes in their hurry to commit such naked fraud, results sheets for the House of Assembly were used to supposedly record gubernatorial election results. These are facts not fantasies.
Yet advocates for justice want such actions to be swept under the carpet just because the beneficiary is a favoured candidate. Section 51 subsection (2) provides that “where the number of votes cast at an election in any polling unit exceeds the number of accredited voters in that polling unit, the presiding officer shall cancel the result of the election in that polling unit.”
We are aware that in a desperate attempt to post huge results even in places where the voter turnout was dismal, a lot of ballot box stuffing took place. So, do we now accept a warped sense of justice that turns a blind eye to glaring rape of the law? Do we accept that fraudulent votes garnered should be the benchmark for determining what constitutes justice?
Anyone who supports or condones fraud as representing justice is trying to marry a bird and a fish. Even if they get married they will never live together because the fish cannot survive on the tree and the bird cannot survive in water. That is our stand on this matter. Review the whole process and authenticate the results. Subsequently, announce whoever obtains the legitimate votes. That is the minimum expected of a just system. Any justice other than this is definitely not a legal justice but a jungle justice.
This brings me to the real purpose of the demonstrations we see currently in Yola. A logical expectation of the situation is that those winning an election do not demonstrate, they celebrate. But these ones are demonstrating. It only means one of two things. Either that they have obtained the facts and realized that a just review will expose all the frauds perpetrated, hence to use the demonstrations as means of arm twisting the Umpire against a review or more dangerously, to demonstrate a capacity for violence.
Yes, it has been noticed that the weaponization of violence as an instrument of winning elections has been part of our electoral process in Nigeria. And the Adamawa overlords have used every opportunity recently to drive home the fact that they have a huge capacity to unleash violence if needed. So these demonstrations are actually dress rehearsals and displays of their capacity to unleash mayhem should the need arise. We pray God in his infinite mercy will spare us the effects of such plots. No ambition is worth human blood.
Another issue I noticed happening in Yola is the heightened resort to paid writers and sundry propagandists whose stoke in trade is either to insult Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed Binani and her close allies or worst of all create false narratives that make her look like the bigots they are. It is totally false, wicked and uncharitable to contemplate or even insinuate that Senator Binani had ever promoted ethnocentrism or religious bigotry. She has never done that, will never do that and it’s not in her character to do so at all.
Unfortunately, a workman whose only working tool is a hammer sees every problem as a nail. Their politics and worldview is jaundiced and bigoted. Hence they see everyone in their own image. We may have to live with that for some time even though those who claim to champion ethno-religious sentiments are the worst elements in history anywhere in the world.
The tribesmen and religious minions they deceive always end up neglected and impoverished. Check the poverty index in Adamawa state and notice how their low and hollow bigotry has benefited no one. Unfortunately, no matter how many times rain beats the leopard it can never wash away it’s spots. The game is still on and we have not heard the final whistle yet. Anything else to say?