And Four Other Things…
As a Nigerian with enormous interest in how the country can achieve peace, unity and development, I was happy with the way the governorship election in Osun state went yesterday. My first fear in every election in Nigeria is the likelihood of violence. We have lost too many lives to elections in this country and I believe strongly that no politician is worth dying for. Anytime I hear of death and destruction, it breaks my heart. It is usually the ordinary people that bear the brunt. There were a few instances of ballotsnatching and all, but the Osun election was devoid of bloodletting. I care next-to-nothing about who wins. Let the will of the people be done. Positive.
Meanwhile, police are yet to invite Mr. Okoi Obono-Obla, senior special assistant to the president on prosecution, over his own case of certificate forgery. His O’level WASCE result is “invalid”, according to Mr. Femi Ola, deputy WAEC registrar. Ola told the house committee investigating Obono-Obla that “available evidence indicates that [his] results were altered and therefore invalid.” He reportedly did not write Literature in English but managed to get C6 in the “result”. If he could get C6 in a paper he did not write, he would have got A1 if he did! Indeed, how many public officers in Nigeria are parading forged certificates? Can we launch operation show-your-credentials? Shame.
Saifura Ahmed, one of the humanitarian workers abducted in Rann, Borno state, was recently heartlessly executed by the Islamic State West Africa Province, a faction of Boko Haram. The mother-of-two was abducted at a military facility on March 1, 2018. The terrorists appeared to be sending a warning signal to the federal government with this latest extreme act of wickedness. My heart bleeds for Leah Sharibu, the Dapchi schoolgirl, and other Nigerians still in their captivity. Government must do anything within its power to secure the release of the captives. The killing of Ms Ahmed is so heartbreaking I don’t want to imagine what could happen to others. Distressing.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has banned the use of smart phones inside polling booths. This is a welcome development, even though those who can’t see reason are imputing a sinister motive. The practice in the last few years is that voters had to take a shot of their thumbprinted ballot paper in order to qualify for “stomach infrastructure”. In the past, voters would collect money from all sides when they could only vote for one candidate. The politicians started demanding proof before payment. Smart alecs. The beneficiaries of INEC’s new policy will be the voters: now they can collect “stomach infrastructure” from every candidate again. Market.