Ahead of the 2023 general elections in Nigeria, former prime minister of Kenya, Raila Odinga, has warned Nigerians to be vigilant in the use of technology in the electoral process as it could be deployed to manipulate the process and steal the people’s mandate.
The veteran Kenyan politician said this in his keynote address at the 14th edition of the LEADERSHIP Annual Conferences and Awards with the theme “Credible Election and an Economy in Transition”, held in Abuja on Tuesday.
But in his speech at the awards, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said the credibility and integrity of elections depend on INEC and the courts.
Osinbajo, who was the chairman of the occasion, said from recent electoral history, there are too many examples of electoral violence following disputed electoral outcomes.
This, of course, he noted usually means the destruction, sometimes, of public and private property and infrastructure.
He said, “Aside from the waste of man hours, while the unrest lasts and its immediate aftermath, I think the third test of the credibility of our electoral contests is the integrity of the umpire and the electoral courts.
“And I think, I guess, because I also talked extensively about the integrity of the umpire, but I also want to emphasise the integrity of the electoral courts. Where the umpire is perceived as unfair there is potential for trouble, where the courts are perceived as arbitrary as whimsical or acting in contradiction.
“To establish precedents, there is an almost commensurate loss of confidence by the electorate. The political elite in Nigeria has a duty in the interest of economics, the economic well-being of our citizens, and of course in the overall interest of the people who we claim to represent to ensure that elections and electoral dispute resolution processes are free, fair, and credible. This is the least that we can offer our nation, its peoples, and indeed our continent.
The vice president further said the daily struggles for food, shelter for clothing are bigger than any other matters in Nigeria.
Stating that bread and butter trumps everything else, Osinbajo said in our democracy, where we have today over 200 million people, 90 million of whom require education, and job opportunities, those are under the age of 30 and all others require health care infrastructure and social service.
According to him, the enormity of the challenges is much and that democracy, the rule of law, and the election of governments by free and fair elections are crucial tackling them.
“There is a reluctance to invest before the elections. Consumers are careful not to spend their savings or to be bullish on the stock market sometimes because of the fear of electoral disturbances that might spiral out of control and make business and commerce impossible.
“For the most sophisticated economic actors, it makes sense to simply wait until the complexion of the new government is clear. But the prospects for the disruption of the economy are even greater where elections for one reason or the other produce governments that are not credible; legitimacy of governments as conferred by the freely given mandate of the electorate is a major consideration.”
The vice president said the LEADERSHIP Media group awards have, just by the integrity and consistency in upholding high values, become a major national event for the recognition of deserving local and international persons.
He further said “we’re greatly honored today, especially by the presence of our guest speaker, a true icon of African democracy, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Kenya, the great Raila Odinga.
“If there’s anyone who can comment with authority on the topic anywhere in Africa, it is surely Raila Odinga, and, listening to him, you see that he is an encyclopedia of sorts, in election observations in Nigeria and elsewhere, and also in the politics of Africa.”
Osinbajo said the founder of LEADERSHIP media organisation, Sam Nda Isaiah, believes strongly that the role of the media is to serve as the foremost moderator of public discourse and to be impartial yet impassioned.
“I commend you all at the LEADERSHIP Media Group for striving to keep his legacy alive and continuing to follow the trail that he saw doggedly blazed during his accomplished life.”
