Maybe When You Were Not Looking… By: Ganja Ekeh ganjaekeh@hotmail March 5, 1999 On the morning of March 4th, 1999, I laughed and laughed and laughed until I thought I’d gone mad. I laughed and laughed till tears came to my eyes, and after a while I wondered if I was really crying. What drove me to this fit of laughter was an article I had read from the Africa News Service. The title of the report was “Poll Fraud Shocks Abubakar.” Of itself, this headline was not a commodity of humorous constitution. While it might be laughable that any true Nigerian was “shocked” at the fraudulence of our elections, what engaged me in great laughter was Jimmy Carter’s encounter in Nassarawa state. Jimmy Carter, a widely respected statesman and peace-broker, arrived with a group of seasoned international monitors to observe the Nigerian election. Hope springs eternal in the first world that democracy as is practiced in the West will one day subsume our entire universe, and all creatures great and small will have the option of living with the ability to determine one’s destiny, yada, yada, yada, as the ever eloquent Seinfeld might have said. Indeed, Carter has done much to assist in spreading this version of governance around the world. Carter, he is a contemporary of General Obasanjo: good friends, they. As usual the policy brokers in Washington have underestimated the internal politics of yet another African country, so when Carter was “sent” as a sign that the world was watching, the policy brokers assumed that some semblance of credibility could be given to Nigeria’s transition to democracy. In their minds, Obasanjo didn’t need to rig the elections to win. If they followed on-line polls in the Diaspora, and polls at home, they didn’t seem to notice the groundswell of opposition to Obasanjo. He is Carter’s friend, after all. And by association, he will bring legitimacy to the Nigerian election. Carter’s group is based in Atlanta, Ga. When they’re not eradicating guinea worm, they are spreading the gospel of Western democracy and for this, Carter has become one of the most authentic monitors of third-world democratic elections. In the context of the third world, poverty-stricken as is, the corruption of the electoral system is not unexpected. So, it is often Carter’s job to judge, according to the context of the geopolitical situation of each country being observed, how the electoral corruption might affect the final outcome. If it is judged that the excesses were not absolute enough, then Carter would “sign off” on the elections. If, however, the rigging was such that the final results might be placed in doubt, the Carter Center fellow would extend his index finger and warn the proponents of corruption that western democracy does not work that way. This index finger, when waved, often signaled a reduction in foreign aid—a drying up of a source of loot for the corrupted officials in power. Nigeria was to be no different. Nigeria, the Carter people were aware, had been under such repression that in the event of any electoral malpractice, the scale was to be judged in the context of the geopolitical situation. Indeed, not many non-Nigerians outside Nigeria felt Obasanjo would lose. Many Nigerians, however, held a firm belief that Obasanjo could NOT win unless the election was rigged. Now this thinking is debatable. All things being equal, it is possible that this train of thought might have merit. But with the particular dynamics of this particular election race, it is hard to say what factors had the most effect in Obasanjo’s dramatic and “emphatic” victory. If Carter was following Nigerian politics, he might have known that the fragile alliance between the AD and APP was not strong enough to yield the desired results. Defections and betrayals and betrayals of betrayers cost the AD plenty. It did not look good. Besides, the PDP was already firmly in control in Nigeria. Obasanjos people had no reason to cheat… the Carter Center people knew. There was no reason for it. But Jimmy, the good monitor, is not Nigerian and does not know Nigerians. Back in his time, there was a humorous anecdote about the friendship between Carter and Obasanjo. Carter had announced, back then, that he would be visiting Nigeria—one day in each state and the final day in the capital of Lagos. Well, Obasanjo decided that he’d clean up Nigeria so that it looked nice and proper for a state visit. Obasanjo, however, did not know what to do about Maroko in Lagos (and in this era, Maroko was a slum). He knew that Carter would see the poor people of Maroko and would know that the oil money was not trickling down to them. So Obasanjo took a battalion of soldiers and they sewed a large cloth and surrounded Maroko with a large curtain so that you could not see inside it. As expected, Carter visited and was impressed by Nigeria so much he decided that, on the final day, he’d take an extensive drive through Lagos. Obasanjo was glad he’d covered up the true sons of the soil in Maroko with a curtain. As they drove in the Rolls Royce through Lagos, Carter remarked at how bright the future looked for Nigeria. As he spoke and they drove by Maroko, Obasanjo glanced out his side window and noticed a man taking a pee on the roadside. Before he could divert Carter’s attention, he too saw it. “Stop this car!” Carter yelled. The car stopped. Carted disembarked and went on to chastise the man, wagging his aid finger. “What kind of country is this? Don’t you people want democracy? Don’t you know that democracy means discipline?” The man slinkered away embarrassed. General Segun Obasanjo held his head down. A few months later, Obasanjo decided he’d respond in kind. He alerted his good friend, Carter, that he’d be visiting the United States—one day in each state, and the final day in the nation’s capital: Washington DC. During his trip, Obasanjo searched in vain for an embarrassing moment for Jimmy Carter’s American people. Oh, he stretched his neck and looked in every alleyway, and nook and cranny. He needed a victory for himself. Sadly, none was forthcoming. General Segun Obasanjo was mad. However, on the way to the airport, ready to depart for Lagos, luck shone on the General! Just meters away from the airport was a man recklessly peeing on the roadside. “Stop this car!” Obasanjo screamed in excitement. Carter’s face turned red. Segun Obasanjo jumped out of the car and ran towards where the man was peeing. He was about to start yelping about democracy and discipline when the man looked up at him running in his direction and yelled out: “Bros Shege! Uncle Shege! Ba wo ni? Ehn? What are you doing here, Uncle Segun?” This anecdote was famously popular amongst those of us growing up at the time when all we knew of our president Obasanjo were his dealings with Fela and university students. As time went on and as I grew, I read more about him and his work with the 3rd Marine Commando, his dealings in the army after the war, his ascension to power, and his relinquishing of power. Indeed, this man, partly responsible for bringing the Biafra war to an end, was much more than a subject for anecdotes—he was a professional soldier. A true professional soldier, in my line of reasoning, is an honorable individual. He is one who gives up individual identity for the sake of the state. Do not take this lightly: Every nation needs those who will lose this individuality and blindly follow the whims of the land that nurtures them. It is how we operate on earth. If we do not have these people, the illusion of freedom that we cherish so much will fail to be. Blood is constantly being shed around the world on the orders of such people, so that within the countries they protect the citizens remain “free.” This is fact, and indisputable. I attach no moral judgements to this pattern of operation, for power is terribly complex and in reality morality has little to do with applied power. Power is of itself; it creates itself, perpetuates itself and lives through beings. However, as professional soldiers go, Nigeria has been at the top of the class for a long, long time. Our oil money has bought some of the best training in western war science and back in the days of General Obasanjo, the professional soldiers of the Nigerian Armed Forces were the pride of Africa. Disciplined, effective, soldiers. Then Obasanjo Became A Civilian. Then the politicians took over. Then the mismanagement skyrocketed. Then the looting compounded. In order to check this looting, the military (without Obasanjo) returned to power. Now they could control the looting. As time went on, professional soldiers became professional thieves. Soldiers became militicians. Clergy became criminal. Up became down. Left became right. Right become wrong. Wrong became right. Nigeria was turned upside down and sideways--all at the same time, as only Nigerian can be. Finally, Jimmy Carter and the rest of the western world could take it no more. “Democracy in Nigeria!” they yelled. “Democracy now!” Jimmy started wagging that finger—the aid finger—and Abdulsalam said, “OK, OK, Democracy.” So the kingmakers said: “Let us make a ruler in our image and likeness.” So they took a man and gave him more money than he could ever need, then said “OK, OK, Democracy.” The people who had run the country down were going to put, as their man, a professional soldier. The rest of the world nodded their head in approval. This is just what a country like Nigeria needed. The discipline and integrity of one of the world’s most admired Generals. But these policy brokers in Washington and London, they are not Nigerians. They do not know Nigerians. A week before the presidential elections, Jimmy had sounded serious warnings about “grave irregularities” he witnessed in the parliamentary elections. I love the phrases they use: “Grave irregularities.” It almost sounds like the diagnosis of a bowel problem that leads to death. “I’m sorry son, but you have grave irregularities.” Carter knew that once he’d publicly warned those responsible for these dangerous anomalies, they’d not want to jeopardize the elections by Carter not signing off. In particular, Carter knew that his friend General Obasanjo, the professional soldier, would not stand for such things. Or would he? Dear friends, this one is NOT an anecdote. On the day of the elections, according to the article “Poll Fraud Shocks Abubakar” March 03 1999 by Africa News Service, Jimmy Carter whose monitoring experience has taken him to volatile regions such as Haiti and Liberia, and some of his monitors went to observe polling booths in Nassarawa state. Monitors had fanned out across all of Nigeria to get a representative sampling of the voting process. But here in Nassarawa state was the head of all the monitors—El Capo himself. The big cheese. Here was the man whom the world knew was coming to Nigeria. Here was Jimmy Carter at a polling booth in Nassarawa state. Carter and his folks, smiling happily, watched the accreditation process. 60 voters were accredited and qualified to vote at this booth. Carter and his folks smiled happily some more. Democracy at work. Then the results were announced. When these results were announced, 600 votes were recorded at this particular polling booth! Carter was astounded! Here was the head of the election monitoring presence, sent from the U.S! And right in front of him, 60 had transformed to 600 for the PDP! 600 votes? My friend, are you following me? Are you feeling what I’m saying to you? Here was Jimmy Carter—Election Monitor-In-Chief, just days after he’d made his “grave irregularities” speech. And he watched 60 votes magically transformed to 600. From where? If he could have spoken in pidgin, he might have said: “No be for here I don dey tanda since morrrin?” But he didn’t speak pidgin, so in his westernized democrified English, he challenged the INEC official. He asked when the 600 voters voted without his knowledge. People, it is here I quote the article: “The INEC man said in broken English: ‘May be when you were not looking at the booth’.” On the morning of March 4th, 1999, I laughed and laughed and laughed I thought I’d gone mad. I laughed and laughed till tears came to my eyes, and after a while I wondered if I was really crying.
Posted on: Thu, 01 May 2014 10:48:41 +0000
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