Esuene: We Can Reduce Rigging by Punishing Offenders and Making Positions Less Attractive
Senator Helen Esuene, the governorship candidate of Labour Party in Akwa Ibom State at the last general election, speaks about her objections to the election, which was won by the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, in this interview with Nseobong Okon-Ek
Having had the privilege to serve as first lady, minister, and senator, why do you still want to be governors?
That question has been asked by a few people. They are asking from the premise of the fact that when you seek public office, you are seeking to elevate yourself; you are seeking self-aggrandisement or what you can get for yourself. That is the premise from which that question is coming. If they are looking from the premise of giving service, then that question doesn’t arise at all. Yes, you render service as a minister. You render service as a senator. In those two positions, there are certain things that you cannot do, no matter how much you would want to, because you are restricted in what you are doing and what your mandate is. I think that question shouldn’t be asked at all. Rather, it would be a plus for me that I have served in those positions and now I’m seeking the position of governor. Having served in those positions, I have the experience that will back me up to be a better governor if given the chance. So it should be a plus and not a minus.
Do you think Akwa Ibom is ready for a female governor?
I think the issue of female governorship is unnecessarily talked about, because we have female deputy governors, commissioners and ministers. What is so special about a female governor? I think some people make that remark because they see election from a very violent point of view and then they worry how a woman can cope with the violent election process. If you set that aside, the issue of gender doesn’t arise at all. We were all consoled, happy and hopeful that this time around we will get it right as a nation as far as free and fair election is concerned, but unfortunately, that was not the experience.
Do you think gender subtracted from the popularity you had in the PDP?
I don’t think so. I have a lot of goodwill and supporters even while I was in the PDP, before I left for the Labour Party. I would have given my opponent a good fight if everything was to play out properly.
You contested and lost in the PDP and it was zoned to Eket. Why did you still leave the party even when the ticket was given to someone from Eket senatorial district?
We were all in PDP, 25 aspirants. What played out in the primaries was the same thing that played out on April 11. Before the primaries, two left to other parties and we were left with 23 aspirants. And in the stadium that day, two walked out and said they were not going along with it because so many things that should have been done were not done – no proper accreditation, people were refused entry, some were not party people, some who were not even Akwa Ibom people were given tags. We said no, that we had to be given proper accreditation. We insisted that proper accreditation should be done, but when they refused, we staged a walkout. That was what transformed to the much talked about G-22. That was what happened. We went to Abuja to seek redress, to be heard and for the various issues to be addressed, but the party was very complacent about it. They didn’t do anything. They didn’t even extend simple courtesy to us, so we said no, that they had gone too far. So we opted for the Labour Party.
Why did the 22 of you not come together to support one aspirant?
Under which party?
Was there such a move to pool your electoral asset?
Yes. That was how I came out. I came out as a card carrying member of the Labour Party.
How many of the 22 backed you?
Many. As at the time, there were about three that said they won’t leave PDP because of this or that.
On which platform are you in the senate?
That’s a funny one and an interesting one. I came in under the platform of PDP but I’m now in LP.
How many of you are there from the Labour Party?
Actually, we are two. There is Igwe Nwagwu from Ebonyi State.
So how do you see your political future? Are you going to stay to build the Labour Party or you may return to PDP when conditions there become conducive to your political aspirations?
I don’t see myself returning to PDP unless they really change those things. There has to be more transparency and internal democracy on how they conduct themselves. That is one singular fact that has led to its destruction, not really destruction, but losing so much ground. When you don’t have that internal democracy, people will leave the party. When people genuinely lose a contest, they won’t leave but if people feel they’ve been cheated or oppressed, they will leave. Take, for instance, Barnabas Gemade. He was one time national chairman of PDP. Today he’s better for it. They must have been internal democracy. This nascent democracy must be allowed to grow and improve. I’m not in Labour just to pick up a ticket and pop out. I will stay and build it to the best of my ability.
What plans have you mapped out to facilitate greater entrenchment of your political structure in the various local governments?
If I’m still able. If I’m not capable, we will look for other ways.
How can Akwa Ibom have a real rebirth and be free from all the violence and electoral malpractices reported in many parts of the state at the last general election?
If you observe, most of the snatching of ballot papers and thuggery were predominantly in two zones – South-south and South-east. Other zones may have little incidents here and there, but in these two zones you will experience thuggery and snatching of ballot papers. It is a pity. The rest of the country is leaving us behind. I have compared notes with some of my colleagues and in some areas, they did the proper things. They used card reader, they lined up, they conducted accreditation and did the proper things, and they counted in the various units. I don’t think you can have about 100 units in Akwa Ibom that actually counted in their units and we have almost 3,000 units. Not to talk about the collation centres. Things were just done anyhow and it is sad because it shouldn’t really be so. Akwa Ibom people must rise up for what they want. You can’t have your cake and eat it; many people want to have their cake and eat it. They want to belong, they fallout with government and at the same time they want it right. It can’t work that way. I must say that the younger generation are more desirous of a new Akwa Ibom.
But do you think those being used to perpetrate electoral malpractices can have a change of heart any time soon?
If you meet some of them, they will tell you this is not what they want. People get tired of doing certain things after some time. I firmly believe that if most of these so-called thugs have regular jobs, they won’t do it. It is demeaning. It is nothing you can beat your chest about. You are like a dispensable commodity. Why don’t the people that send them use their children? They have brothers, why don’t they use them if what is being done is so honourable and nice. I believe that if people have jobs that they wake up in the morning to go to and are happy with it, and can provide the basic needs for themselves and their immediate families, most of these things will stop – or greatly reduce.
When you hear that serving commissioners are among those leading the thugs, how do you feel?
I think a lot depends on the heads. That is why many people are looking up to the president-elect to bring a good level of sanity and discipline into Nigerians. Most of these activities border on indiscipline. People just feel that they can do as they like, feel they can disobey the law and get away with it. If they feel they can get away with it, they will try it tomorrow, next tomorrow. But if something is wrong and somebody gets punished, another person will think twice before doing that thing. I say this also with respect to election malpractices. How many INEC officials have been charged to court? How many have been publicly chastised? I’m not even talking about losing one’s job because I don’t think that’s punishment. If somebody collects money that the sum total of his job in 20 years cannot guarantee him, if you tell him to go, he will just go home and enjoy his loot. That’s not punishment. If we don’t punish people who commit offence, it’s bound to continue. The general feeling or perception is that the end justifies the means. Just do whatever you can do when you have the chance. Really, that’s not the way it should be done.
How was the governorship election in Eket?
In a lot of places, boxes were snatched. Where they met with resistance, it ended up in disarray.
How did Akwa Ibom get to the current level of impunity?
I ask myself the same question. I have been in politics since the days of SDP, NPN and all of that. Before, rigging was done in the field, if you are strong. When I say rigging, I mean minimal and those were the days when you had no card readers. You just had to register and you are given a ballot paper. It left a lot of gap for manipulation in the field. But in entering the results, there was no manipulation, duplicating or falsifying of results. That wasn’t done. Later, we started to see a situation where someone will have 70 and then they make it 170. Much later, the issue of violence came in. That was why it was only areas that one was strong and popular that you could put more than one person to clean up the ink-mark that showed they had voted, you know that kind of thing. But how many times can you go and clean up their hands? Reasonably low. Later the violence came. Now, it is full-blown, there is much disregard for the law, for everything. Everybody compromises. INEC compromises, the government operatives compromise. Who is there to bail the cat? It’s like whatever you want to do, do it. But we cannot continue this way because if it is not halted now, it will be bad, it will really deteriorate. The number of guns and ammunition and people who can fire them are many. It may just deteriorate to open battle. And for what? Sometimes I think one way of stopping this is to make elective positions less attractive, like the National Assembly and House of Assembly – let them be seen as not attractive financially. People now see politics as a means of livelihood, not service. I have arrived, I have a name, and it really shouldn’t be so. It must be tackled from all corners. Punish offenders and make the positions less attractive. If that is done, others will be afraid to do so. Another thing is that there has to be a conscientious effort to mop up ammunitions, guns in this society. It is getting out of hand. Every little gathering, people will just want to show you their guns.
Is it true that during the campaign, there was an attempt to kidnap you?
They didn’t try. They just disrupted my campaign. Whether that was their intention, I don’t know. I read it in one of the papers but I really don’t know. They really disrupted the assembly. They tried to shut the gate of the place we were in and other people overpowered them.
Is it true that somebody warned you not to campaign in a particular part of the state?
Nobody told me so. All of these we heard after. Nobody told me so, but after the events, we now heard that the chapter chairman was told not to receive me, but he went ahead because it’s a party and the party asked them to throw their doors open to anybody who wanted to come and support them. After all, it’s in their interest also. I guess he did not take it seriously. Because, according to him, he and the man go to the same church, he didn’t see it as a threat. I was in the PDP at the time.
Are you one of those calling for the cancellation of the governorship and House of Assembly elections in Akwa Ibom?
Definitely. Governorship, yes. Maybe there are pockets of the National Assembly elections they will question, I don’t know yet. But governorship, definitely.
Have you filed a petition?
Yes. We have gathered enough evidence.