The Chief of Staff, Bayelsa State Governor, Benson Agadaga, has said Nigeria’s electoral system is still far from the foundation laid by the late Moshood Abiola’s June 12, 1993 election.
Chief Agadaga who described the 1993 election as the freest and fairest election in the history of Nigeria, said the position of the country today on election processes is a far cry from what happened at that time.
The CSO gave his take during an exclusive interview with DAILY POST in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.
He said June 12 is a significant day that stands for true democracy and justice in the country, noting that the late Abiola won the Presidential election without manipulation but with a majority of the people’s votes.
“The significance of this day is that we think about justice in our election processes, Abiola won the election without any manipulation, but with a majority of votes. How can Nigeria get to the level where there’ll be no thuggery, election manipulation by the politicians. What we have is a far cry from what happened at that time”.
Today’s election are that of rigging, thuggery to get results like what happened in Bayelsa the last time, it was like war; we need to have some decency in the process of election and avoid politics of bitterness because today you can be in a particular party, and tomorrow in another party which the opposition today can be your best friend tomorrow in the party.
”Politics is beyond whether we share the same political idea with some people, or not that we have to eliminate and kill them, that is not what democracy portends. We are far away from the foundation that was laid by Abiola’s kind of politics, it is a challenge for us that as we celebrate democracy we look at those things that make us more close to achieving that kind of June 12 election.
We have to look at the kind of reforms and electoral amendment that will make our elections decent. We want reforms even if trying electronic means of voting which will have the true reflection of the people of the country. People should be able to appeal to people, give superior arguments and use persuasion to get votes and not by struggle and thuggery by the power of guns. That is why I am so happy and full of respect for our former President Goodluck Jonathan, who is a symbol of democracy in Nigeria and Africa.
“That’s the decency we want in our politics, we need democracy to take its true place in our country. In other developed countries, you can’t hear that after elections you go to court, but in our country, there’s no election that doesn’t lead to court, we have to get to the level where the processes are transparent, so that when you lose an election you just move on with your life and the person who takes up leadership will know it is not a one-man affair. When we achieve that more decent people will join politics”.
