Atiku/Obi Right Time To Bury Their Differences And Salvage Nigeria
By Sani Danaudi Mohammed
The long awaited judgement brought before the Supreme court challenging the victory of President Bola Ahmad Tinubu GCFR by former vice president Atiku Abubakar and Peter Gregory Obi has finally been buried.The duo disagreed with the earlier tribunal judgement which dismissed their plea challenging the outcome of the February 25th,2023 presidential elections.
Nigeria’s Supreme Court upheld President Bola Ahmad Tinubu’s election win, bringing to an end a legal challenge brought by his two main rivals, who argued that his victory was marred by irregularities.This judgement has given Tinubu a clear mandate to govern Africa’s most populous nation for the term of four years,which is currently grappling with double-digit inflation and foreign currency shortages.
Tinubu’s will now focus on how to fix the weakening naira and widespread insecurity from Kidnappings,Farmers-Herders crises,Oil theft in the Niger-Delta,Boko Haram/Banditry and sit at home order in the South east region.Since the returned of democracy in 1999 after three decades of uninterrupted military rule,Nigeria is still a study area for elections irregularities as accusations of ballot-rigging and fraud have continue to followed its electoral cycles and the 2023 elections is not an exception.
The Supreme Court unanimously threw out Atiku/Obi appeals as “lacking merit” leaving the two leading presidential candidates political fate hanging on the next circle of elections in 2027.There have been numerous legal challenges to the outcome of previous Nigerian presidential elections but none has succeeded. The fact still remains that, unless the electoral umpire exhibit its capacity as an independent entity ,the appellant courts will continue to decide the fate of our elections.
Recently,the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC Professor Mahmoud Yakubu has taken the stage over incessant conflicting judgments by the Courts, which have become a re-current decimal in the jurisprudence of election in Nigeria.The politicians have reduced our courts to collation Centres and polling units where elections results are now contested which is inimical to the electoral process.This ugly development is attributed to the nation prevailing political culture,those who lost out hardly accept defeat and those who win lack the political spirit of carrying everyone alone.
Atiku Abubakar from the biggest opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party’s Peter Obi had earlier asked the supreme Court to invalidate the election won by Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The Supreme court in its wisdom has after listening to both parties validates the victory of Tinubu as the substantive President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria bringing this legal battle to an end.
The opposition leaders said in separate affidavits that the election was fraught with irregularities and accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of breaching the law by failing to use electronic machines to upload polling station results, among other criticisms. Atiku Abubakar and Peter Gregory Obi have both enjoyed the luxury of our courts when landmark judgements were delivered in their favours.It is expected that, both should resort to appreciating in a most profound way the courts of the land as the last hope of the common man even when it goes against their favour and their expectations.
However,What has become more worrisome is that,in their separate press conferences,the nation judiciary was painted with black the paint.Flipping through their Statements,it is clear that patriotism in Nigeria is yet to secure a place in the minds of our politicians.This is where the former President of Nigeria,Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan GCFR will remain in the national archives for been a statesman by conceding defeat to the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR in order save our baby democracy in 2015.
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The Former Vice President of Nigeria,Atiku Abubakar who benefited from several courts judgements during his political face off with his boss and Former President Obasanjo, should have lead the stage by accepting the outcome of the elections now that the highest court of the land has decided.According to him,as long as Nigeria wins, the struggle would have been worth the while. By that, I meant that the bigger loss would not be mine but Nigeria’s if the Supreme Court legitimizes illegality, including forgery, identity theft, and perjury.
If the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, implies by its judgment that crime is good and should be rewarded, then Nigeria has lost and the country is doomed irrespective of who occupies the Presidential seat.
On the other hand,Mr Peter Obi who rosed through the supreme court to become the Governor of Anambra State seem to be acting similar script of Atiku.He said,It is, therefore, with great dismay that I observe that the Court’s decision contradicts the overwhelming evidence of election rigging, false claim of a technical glitch, substantial non-compliance with rules set by INEC itself as well as matters of perjury, identity theft, and forgery that have been brought to light in the course of this election matter.The Supreme Court judgement willfully condoned breaches of the Constitution relative to established qualifications and parameters for candidates in presidential elections.
Though both Atiku and Obi have affirmed their loyalty to the court, going by the Separate press conferences after the supreme court pronouncements,they are still casting doubt to the affirmation of Tinubu as President of Nigeria by the same court.It is one thing to affirm your loyalty to the courts and it is another thing to accept the outcome of its rulling.Nigerians most importantly the politicians must accept that,rule of law also means respect for the decision of the Court.It then means that there should be respect for the orders from and made by the courts.
As the major leading presidential candidates in the 2023 elections, their failure to accept this judgment with patriotism will make their supporters spectacle of the matter to disservice Nigeria’s democratic growth.They must understand that the country is greater than anyone and their ambitions.Politicians must not always have to win; when they lose, they must respect the intervening democratic processes and institutions so as together heal the wounds created and support the Government in power to succeed.
This elections has been the most virulent and most expensive for Atiku having contested the election on a broken political platform. Nigerian politicians should not allow lawyers to bind them into an electoral challenge that lacks a legal foundation, because when the chips are down the court will rule only on the basis of law.The challenges confronting us a nation have been been attributed to a wide range of factors such as lack of patriotism, weak institutions, poor socioeconomic and physical infrastructure to drive development. Atiku Abubakar and Peter Gregory Obi must exhibit high level of patriotism by joining forces of the current administration to restore the nation lost glory.
President Bola Ahmad Tinubu GCFR needs and most employ the service of more qualified Nigerians and experience economic thinkers to facilitate his current economic drive to stabilize the country’s peace and Security.He should strengthened the nation’s confidence on the system, he should strive to serve all Nigerians of all political persuasions, tribes or faiths with honour and total respect for the diverse opinions uniting values of the citizens. As INEC set for Kogi,Imo and Beyelsa elections on Saturday, Professor Mahmoud Yakubu must ensure that desperate politicians are not allow to subvert the will of the people in order to avoid voter aparthy in the next elections.
The Independent National Electoral Commission and the courts must protect the nation democracy by standing on the parth of justice,fairness and equity where the will of the citizens prevail only and at all cost.The interest of the country must stand and must be protected without compromising to the selfish interest and the weak minded groups.
Danaudi, Public Affairs Analyst and Columnist writes from Bauchi via [email protected].