Even before Wednesday’s verdict of the Kano State Governorship Tribunal was declared, signs that tension would trail the outcome came too early in the day as Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf sacked the Commissioner for Land and Physical Planning, Alhaji Adamu Aliyu, for issuing death threat to the tribunal members in the event the ruling went against the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP). However, for the quick intervention of the Kano State Government that imposed a 24-hour curfew on the state, Kano state would have been soaked in crisis. Even with the curfew, there were instances of street fights on Thursday as members of both camps hurled stones and deployed dangerous weapons against one another.
Video clips of burning tyres and rising tension gained traction on various special media platforms as security personnel battled supporters of both the NNPP and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to maintain the peace. Traders had, shortly after news of the tribunal verdict broke, quickly locked up their shops to avoid the doomsday prediction. Sensing the growing tension engulfing various parts of the state after the tribunal ruling, the state government hurriedly activated the red button and placed security agencies on red alert. As at the time of writing this piece yesterday, there were still fears that the burble may burst if the rising tension is not completely curbed. Supporters of both parties are not giving up as members of the NNPP are not willing to let go of the electoral victory they are accusing the APC of trying to snatch through a judgement they described as devoid of justice.
Partnership gone awry
Ahead of the 2023 presidential poll, the then APC presidential candidate, Sen Ahmed Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was reported to have struck an alliance with the Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso-led NNPP for alliance. Though the partnership was rebutted by those who should know, a meeting between Tinubu and Kwankwaso in France would dispel all doubts. The defining reason for the collaboration, insiders then revealed, was to block the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, from sweeping the presidential poll in Kano. The only option left in defeating Atiku in Kano, the insiders disclosed, was for the NNPP to hold its ground. That eventually worked as the NNPP swept the poll, with the APC and PDP emerging a distant second and third position.
The hope for a close working relationship between Tinubu and the NNPP crashed less than two months after the inauguration of the Tinubu presidency. Ahead of the ruling challenging the election of Tinubu by the Presidential Electoral Petition Tribunal (PEPT), headed by Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani, the trio of Atiku, Kwankwaso, and the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, held a strategic meeting in the event of a run-off. The chief political opponent to Kwankwaso and now the National Chairman of the APC, Dr. Umar Ganduje, has blamed the collapse of the partnership deal over Kwankwaso’s insistence to be appointed as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The alliance among the PDP, LP and NNPP presidential candidates, which came to limelight a few days to the PEPT ruling, was considered too late as the horses had since bolted from the stable. Unifying the opposition camps before the polls would have turned them into solid munitions of mass support and rendered difficult for the APC to remain in power. Having frustrated the unity of the opposition; it became easier for the party to cut the ground under the feet of the opposing forces.
With PEPT upholding the victory of Tinubu, the fleeting hope of defeating Tinubu amounts to the camel passing through the needle’s eye. For now, the coast is almost clear for Tinubu as many see the appeal at the Supreme Court as not capable of turning up anything different from the PEPT ruling. Many see the sack of the NNPP from the Kano State Government House this week as the final nail on the coffin for the red cap movement that is unwilling to let go of its hold on Kano.
Enugu: Justice on the cross
While eventual violence is still being averted in Kano State, some analysts are expressing shock at the dismissal of all allegations stacked against the PDP candidate, Mr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, in Enugu State. If all cases of electoral malpractices were not proven, the tendering of a forged National Service Corps (NYSC) certificate by the PDP candidate, who was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), never attracted the attention of the tribunal members.
The tribunal ruled on the suit filed by the LP governorship candidate, Hon Jonathan Chijioke Edeoga, that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Curiously, the judges pretended to be blind to all the documents submitted by the NYSC and never raised an eyebrow over the court injunction obtained by the PDP candidate barring NYSC appearing before the tribunal.
Let’s even save ourselves the rigors of ascertaining the sanctity of the vote count, the delay in collating the final figures which saw election officials taking several days to collate, including submitting forged NYSC discharge certificate that was confirmed by the issuing authority, should have served as enough reason for the annulment of Mbah’s victory. For many, including yours sincerely, there were many loopholes in justifying the Enugu tribunal verdict. The verdict indeed portrays the law as an ass to be tossed and swung to whatever direction in accordance to the whims and caprices of men and women in the Temple of Justice.
Judiciary as threat to democracy
Out of the several rulings on guber poll, those of Kano and Enugu have elicited fiery cacophonous tunes, thereby leading to growing loss of public confidence in the electoral system. Thus, the judiciary, being the last hope of the common man, has been put on trial. With Nigeria becoming the world’s most litigious nation on electoral matters, according to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, politicians must avoid acts weakening and undermining our electoral system. Considering the fact that the quest of power by politicians and their sponsors is not primarily for the national interest, these politicians do not consider any price too high to pay for attainment of political authourity.
Only judicial rulings anchored on justice delivered by courageous men and women in the Temple of Justice can save our democracy from being withered. When court rulings are devoid of justice; the people for whom democracy should serve lose confidence in the government of the ballot. A so-called democratic government in power without the support of the electorate is another name for tyranny. The decision by losers to challenge some of these verdicts is welcomed. Though the nation may appear tension-soaked, perfecting the democratic process for service delivery is seen as a journey and not a destination.
Before the National Assembly commences yet another amendment exercise in the Electoral Act, our justice system must rise up to become the better angels of our by holding up against dark forces threatening our nation’s democracy. For democracy to breathe and be strengthened, we need a judicial system that inspires public confidence and delivers justice.
