Winners and Losers in Nigeria's April 2011 Elections

The Nigerian 2011 general elections may have come and gone, but its effects will remain with us for a long time. Many winners have emerged and will be sworn into office on May 29 to oversee the affairs of this nation for the next four years. Losers also emerged, and some will definitely be heading to the tribunals and courts in their bid to turn their electoral losses into victories. But I am more concerned today with those who apparently won but actually lost, and those who lost but in reality won. The effects of their losses and victories will remain with us for much longer.

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) – In my view, INEC’s Professor Attahiru Muhammadu Jega is by far the biggest winner in this election. I must confess that my initial skepticism over INEC’s preparedness for these elections was based on a complete misreading of the Chairman’s dogged determination to conduct as free and fair an election as was possible in this country. In my first write up on Jega’s INEC, I seriously lampooned the commission over the voters registration exercise. I was particularly miffed by his stubborn insistence on using those Direct Data Capturing Machines which proved so frustrating to many Nigerians at the beginning of the exercise. In my second write up on INEC, I literally crucified Jega for the cancellation and postponement of the National Assembly elections after voting had already started in some states. I was not the only livid commentator who called for Jega’s head in response to his bungling of the logistic arrangements for the elections.

Thank God, Jega’s tenacity and single-mindedness finally paid off for all of us. My heart has warmed up to this man who resolutely insisted on his modified open ballot system, as well as the open and transparent counting, collation and announcement of results which gave us the first really free and fair election in our checkered history. There are many powerful Nigerians who lost at the polls because Jega refused to compromise INECs integrity as used to be the case in the past. Both external and internal observers were full of commendations for INEC’s handling of the electoral process. I was particularly impressed by Jega’s refusal to bend in spite of the intimidation of CPCs Muhammadu Buhari, his fellow northerner. Watching this patriot announce and pronounce Goodluck Jonathan as the president-elect of Nigeria in spite of the then on-going mayhem unleashed by Buhari’s supporters in some northern states was to me the greatest testimony that Nigeria’s continued unity is indeed a reality. Believe me, one equivocation at that point in our history by INEC would have plunged us into a bloody civil war – and that was what Buhari’s rag-tag army of supporters wanted to achieve.

Professor Attahiru Jega must be given a national honour in recognition of his performance. You will notice that I did not say he should be given the highest national honour – I am reserving that for 2015. He must be convinced to stay on to fine-tune INEC strategies for the next elections.

Rtd. General Obasanjo – Yes, the former President is my candidate for the biggest loser in this election. If this retired general is not yet tired of meddling, this election must be a clear signal to him that we are all tired of him. He tried his worst to foist his daughter on his people despite her disreputable record in the Senate. The voters gave their verdict. His party received the worst trouncing in the South West, losing completely to the ACN at all the elections held. General, please, go and rest. Nigeria can manage itself without your meddling.

President Goodluck Jonathan – The biggest political office winner in this election was President Goodluck Jonathan. It is quite usual in a democratic system for those who come into the highest office in the land due to the demise of their predecessors rather than through the ballot box to feel inadequate and unsure of the legacies they will leave behind. The odds were firmly against a Jonathan bid for the presidency, especially in view of the PDP’s zoning formula and the formidable opposition from the core northern part of the country. I salute the man’s courage to stand and fight for his dreams. It was not the PDP that won the elections for him, Nigerians voted for the man because he stood for what was right. The south stood by him, in spite of the fact that he was not from the two largest ethnic groups. The middle belt states of the north stood by him because of their long suffering and frustration with the core north’s selfish ethnic politics which they always thinly veiled under Islamist pretensions. Some core northern politicians stood by him because they could see that to deny the presidency to a son of the oil-producing area of Nigeria would be pure economic suicide for the north. In the end, Jonathan won big. But he must never forget those who stood by him. Those of us in the middle belt who formed the bulk of support for his presidential bid must not be left out of the equation when it comes to sharing political offices. Mr. President, sir, those who vehemently fought against your bid to be elected president are the same ones that will swamp you with demands for juicy ministerial appointments. Do not forget those who stood by you.

Professor Dora Akunyili – A big loser, not just in her senatorial bid. One wonders why a woman who built a solid international reputation as the no-nonsense Director-General of NAFDAC who brought sanity into food and drug administration in Nigeria, and who was in the process of building another sound reputation as the nation’s Minister of Information and Communication, should listen to the voice of unreason. She vacated her office and joined an opposition party just to be able to seek election to the Senate. To make matters worse for her, when she lost the first election amidst accusations of corruption and inducement of electoral officers, she refused to concede victory, forcing the first re-run in the 2011 elections. Of course, she lost the re-run again to the indefatigable Dr Chris Ngige.

Honourable Oladimeji Bankole – The Speaker of the House Representatives lost his re-election bid to return to the house. He was, indeed a controversial speaker – proud in his mien, youthfully cocky in his speech, and probably guilty of the corruption some of his colleagues in the house dared to accuse him of – they were thoroughly beaten and barred from the house for a while for their efforts. But in his electoral loss, Bankole has emerged a winner of sorts. His prompt admission of defeat at the polls as well as congratulatory message to the winner warmed my heart to him. There must be some good in this young man, after all! I know we will hear from him again. My hope is that the true statesman in him will come to the surface when a more mature Bankole emerges again on the national political firmament.

Finally, my own Governor, Danbaba Danfulani Suntai. You are a winner, through and through. Without much fuss, you quietly and steadfastly went about your campaign. Many of us believed in you and said so, in spite of pressures from your detractors. Thank God for granting you victory. You must now remain focused and continue to work relentlessly for the progress of Taraba State.