Olusegun Adeniyi: The NGF election and the dangers ahead

by Olusegun Adeniyi

Nigerians need not look too far for the real culprits in the saga of election manipulations in our country: The faces of the bad losers in the NGF election seem very much familiar. Shame!

Very early in 1993, the State House Correspondents (of which I was one, reporting for African Concord) held an election at the Villa. Because our then ‘oga at the top’, Double Chief Duro Onabule, presidential spokesman to General Ibrahim Babangida, was suspected of having interest in some candidates, the stakes were raised in what ordinarily might have been a drab contest among reporters.

The campaign preceding the election was therefore interesting as reporters pledged and shifted loyalties. But one of the contenders, then correspondent for Champion newspaper, Mr. Amaechi Dike (now of blessed memory) was not only sure of victory but would also not want to take chances. He therefore sent money to the Champion State House photographer who was then in Port Harcourt, so he could return to Abuja and vote for him.

On D-Day we held the election but to our shock, the late Amaechi scored only one vote which meant he secured no other ballot outside the one he cast for himself. It was very embarrassing, especially for those who had pledged to him their support, apparently with the cold calculation that he would garner some votes and they would claim to be the voters. The scene that followed between the late Amaechi and the “treacherous” photographer is better imagined by readers. From that day, I learnt the lesson that pledges count for nothing when it comes to secret ballot as people often hide behind the fact that they are not likely to be detected to vote their true convictions.

That explains why I was not surprised by the outcome of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) election which held last weekend and was won by Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi of River State. While 19 Governors had signed a piece of paper “endorsing” Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State, only 16 eventually voted for him, leaving the old man thoroughly embarrassed and confused. I watched Jang on television, asking rather incredulously, why he could lose when 19 Governors had “endorsed” him and I felt really sorry not only about his naivety but also for the manner in which Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom (who authored the paper in which April was changed to May in his handwriting), has carried on after he had been politically out-snookered!

It is instructive that while the NGF has been around for some time now, its affairs did not command as much interest until some presidential proxies waded in and unwittingly turned the election of the chairmanship of what is no more than a social club into a referendum on the popularity of President Goodluck Jonathan. At the end, the conduct of the governors purportedly acting on behalf of the presidency smacks of political desperation and an opportunistic attempt to control their colleagues through intimidation and blackmail.

Against the background that it was only yesterday that we came half way through the four-year mandate for the current office holders, events of recent days are indicative of the fact that at practically all levels, the permutations about 2015 have overtaken the primary responsibility of governance at a time when our country is beset with multiple calamities. Yet there are also lessons from the outcome of the NGF polls. If an election comprising just 35 electors could generate this much heat and acrimony, what would then happen during the 2015 general elections? Even more pertinent is the question: Why would responsible adults like governors subject themselves to a process and then turn round to play truants just because the outcome did not favour them?

Notwithstanding, I still believe that media coverage of the election in which the president was reportedly “floored” by Amaechi carried journalistic mischief too far. In the context in which the election was fought, the person Amaechi actually floored is Akpabio because the River state governor himself is well aware that there is no way he can defeat President Jonathan in a political contest. Yet there is also a potential banana peel that should worry presidential handlers: If governors would sign a paper to back a particular candidate touted to have been endorsed by the Villa and then vote somebody else, what is the guarantee that they cannot do the same during the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) convention to pick its flag-bearer (where they control the delegates) or at the election proper?

However,  the greater worry is the implication of the desperate scenarios that played out in recent weeks on the 2015 elections process. Will the polls be free and fair? Will the outcome be accepted even if it reflects the wishes of the electorate? Are we susceptible to a situation in which the losers would rather that our democracy crash than be gracious in defeat? These are a few of the posers that arise from the outcome of the NGF election and the prognosis does not look good with the way some of the governors have carried on.

Indeed, the real fear now is in what the NGF metaphor portends for our country and the prospects of its survival as a tolerable democracy. An election involving only 35 men is being shamelessly mangled. An election openly conducted with secret ballot with the tally announced by the Director General of the same NGF, a highly principled and thoroughbred professional, is now being derided by those who freely submitted themselves to the exercise, just because they could not have their way. An election within the confined space of a state government lodge, protected by the security details of all governors and in full view of the press is being annulled by subterfuge before our very eyes. However, there may also be a dividend in this nonsense: Nigerians need not look too far for the real culprits in the saga of election manipulations in our country: The faces of the bad losers in the NGF election seem very much familiar. Shame!
Of Globacom and The X FACTOR
I was switching television channels last Sunday afternoon when I saw on AIT a young lady on the heavy side strutting the stage after saying some nice words about her mother who was shown backstage greening almost sheepishly. But the lady sure knew how to sing as I began to watch what I would later discover to be a music talent reality programme being sponsored by Globacom in conjunction with the globally acclaimed The X Factor.  What that means in essence is that the telecom company is now investing billions of Naira in the three most promising areas of our national life where the resourcefulness of our young men and women have shone through: Nollywood, football and music.

Given his pioneering role as a Nigerian prospector in our rent-driven oil and gas sector with all the associated risks in the early nineties, and the manner in which he started and turned Globacom to a serious competitor in the global telecoms market within a period of ten years, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jnr has earned the respect of many members of my generation. It is therefore no surprise that Globacom would collaborate with British entertainment genius, Mr. Simon Cowell, to bring in The X Factor, the world’s biggest singing TV Reality Show, which follows contestants from auditions through to the booth camp, the judges’ homes; to the grand finale. What distinguishes The X Factor from other such brands and particularly endears their shows to millions of viewers around the world is their innovations, like featuring dancers and contestants who could be accompanied to the stage with guitar, piano or any other musical instruments. Their prizes are also at the top end.

My friend, Bode Opeseitan, a divisional director with Globacom, told me at the weekend that the ultimate winner of the spectacular show will cart home a princely sum of $150,000 (about N24 million), the biggest purse among music reality TV shows in Africa. But perhaps far beyond the prize money is the fact that the winner will also secure a recording contract with the internationally acclaimed Sony Music for the recording of an album and professional management of the winning individual or group–a life-changing prospect.

So tempting is the package that I was toying with the idea of putting my own band together until Bode said the month-long pre-auditions had kicked off in Port Harcourt a month ago, to dash my dream. It is, however, interesting to learn that the highpoint of the Port Harcourt audition was a 68-year-old woman, Mrs. Evelyn D. Lawson, a Church chorister, who turned up with her 42-year son. The elderly woman said she did not feel out of place competing with artistes, some of them young enough to be her grand children for the star prize, pointing out that talent “could be discovered at any stage in one’s life. And those who advertised this show did not say ‘mama, don’t come’”.

At the Abuja audition which also held last month, a set of 17-year-old identical twins, Clinton and Blair Roberts (“The DNA Twins”) reportedly stood out in the crowd of over 1000 aspiring singers. The Ghana auditions were held in Kumasi and Accra early this month with the highlight being the emergence of female twins, Lamberta and Lambertina Hansen, who reportedly declared that they were ready to battle the Nigerian male twins, “The DNA Twins” all the way for the $150,000 prize money. Now, that is one tantalising challenge.

Ever since Susan Boyle stole international limelight as an unfancied contestant (given her looks and accent) on “Britain’s Got Talent” in April 2009, to literally bring down the roof with her incredible voice, even otherwise ‘old school’ people like me who grew up listening to ‘omo rapala’ Abbas Akande Obesere now follow musical singing competitions. That is why Globacom has got it spot on not only with the idea but also by its choice of judges comprising our own much-respected veteran singer, Onyeka Onwenu; rapper Jude Abaga, widely known as M.I. and Reggie Rockstone, (original name Reginald Osei), an internationally acclaimed Ghanaian hip-hop artiste.

Although the competition has started, I understand the next stages include the auditions in front of live audiences; the evictions which are always emotional events; the judge’s day and the grand finale which is expected to be in September. But whatever happens in the weeks ahead, it is almost certain that the lives of some young (and maybe even old) men and women in Nigeria and Ghana will never be the same again. And by partnering with The X Factor, Globacom has now effectively become a  leading force that connects the youths within the continent to their entertainment passion.
Motherless Reuben!
Effective last week Thursday, Presidential spokesman, Dr Reuben Abati, officially became a motherless child. Yet, even when ‘momo’ died at age 81 and left behind good children, it’s part of the reality of our existence that losing one’s mother is a rather painful experience, regardless of how old they (or we) might be at the time of their passage. I therefore commiserate with Reuben and other members of the Abati family on this sad loss which nonetheless calls for a thanksgiving celebration. Eyin iya ti dara!

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Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.