My Take On The Mimiko Verdict - Nigerian Village Square

Feb

2009

While I rejoice with the majority of Nigerian progressives on this important victory, we must also insist on urgent electoral reforms that will forestall this kind of occurence in the future. Its been almost two years since the election was conducted and till date there are still pending litigations scattered across the nation. This is not healthy for the country, if it bears repeating, all electoral litigations ought to be dispensed with before a substantive public official is sworn into office.

This is not just plain common sense, it makes for good economics too. The current practice of unending litigation will continue to encourage corruption, a dearth of ideas from public officials who are embroiled in trying to keep their seats and the real victims are the Nigerian electorate who will have to suffer the consequences of elite conflicts.

As we celebrate yet another judicial victory and an affirmation of the independence of our courts, we must hasten to make sure that the Nigerian National Assembly pass the appropriate electoral laws, one that will save us from this non stop national embarrassment.

And of course, one that will deliver democracy dividends to the Nigerian people in a timely fashion.

Crossposted @ www.abdulajia.blogspot.com

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Robot

# 1 | 26.02.2009 20:36

	The current practice of unending litigation will continue to encourage corruption, a dearth of ideas from public officials who are embroiled in trying to keep their seats and the real victims are the Nigerian electorate who will have to suffer the consequences of elite conflicts....Read the full article.

Agidimolaja Agidimolaja is offline

# 2 | 27.02.2009 00:08

	Abul, I can't thank you enough for the views you just expressed. Yours views are quite similar to my views, that is why I strongly denounced the jubilations and celebrations that are currently going on in Ondo State. Not that I'm not happy that "justice" was served,but I'm greatly ashamed of Nigeria that has to go to court to resolve election malpractices each time an election is conducted in Nigeria.. We confirmed it to the entire world, that we are truely a corrupt country.We are so corrupt to the extent that 48yrs after Independence we still cannot conduct fair and free elections. While we calimed to love democracy, we however actively prevented democracy to follow due processes, among of which is fair and free elections. How many times did Britain go to court to resolve electoral malpractices? How many times did USA, that we are trying to copy, dragged themselves to court over rigged elections? Which of the Western countries from whom democracy was imported to us ever conducted elections so dubiously as we always do in Nigeria? Our election is sham and shame. What we should therefore concentrate upon is not celebrations of victory but electoral reforms that would not allow riggings and malpractices. How is the same process not going to repeat itself in 2011 should be our great concern. Each time I heard about election riggings,it made me sick to the bones.I have not stopped to ask myself the question;when are we going to be civilised? Election rigging is an act of primitivity. Yaradua is so disabled today as the President because he was rigged into that office. Those who helped him to get into the office are the crooks that devastated the country.They are among those that EFCC should be freely allowed by Yaradua to arrest,prosecute and be given various jail terms. But we saw it with our own eyes that Yaradua cannot do what he is supposed to do to those crooks for the simple fact that they aided him in the primitive election rigging that placed him in Aso Rock. The task before us today is not jubilations and celebrations.The task before us is how to stop our infamous election riggings. How are we going to conduct free and fair elections must be among our top priorities as at today. While I wish Mimiko the best of luck,I also hoped that he would not fall by the wayside having followed in the footsteps of many that went before him.

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