cranny of Anambra State. We are happy with the peace that exists here. We are happy with the steady progress that Anambra has registered over the years. The next election can only improve not retard it”
WHAT THEN IS ELECTION:
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights encyclopedically reaffirms that the will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be held by secret votes by equivalent free voting procedures. The purpose of holding an election in a democratic set-up is to determine the wishes of the people as to who should represent them in their legislative and executive set up. It is therefore necessary to ensure that any election conducted is done in a way that would substantially ensure that the main objectives are substantially met. See A.P.G.A. vs. OHAKIM (2009) 4 N.W.L.R. (pt. 1130) 116. What this suggests is that periodic free and fair election is a most vital condiment in the cooking pot of every democracy worth the name. We must quickly add that the periodic free and fair election under reference as contemplated by democratic norms must never be exclusive and contractive but must be seen as expansive and all-inclusive to the widest extent made possible by the organic law (the constitution) of the land which is the fountain and foundation of all electoral laws.
WHAT IF ELECTION IS NOT HELD IN ANAMBRA STATE:
A former Acting Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC], Mr. Phillip Umeadi (Jnr.), Esq. [from Nri in Anambra State], has given an insight into the legal implications of elections not holding or the election being boycotted in Anambra. Let us invite him to speak:
“The electoral laws, both substantive and adjectival, do not contemplate a situation where a people collectively and intentionally decide not to vote, but the laws address the implications of such an action as in where in general terms there is no election. In summary, the Federal Government will exercise its right to appoint an administrator for six months pending when INEC will conduct an election. The position is that the tenure of the current government will come to an end on a certain date as prescribed by law.
When it happens and there are no elected personnel to take over the reins of governance, it creates a state of emergency that will lead to the appointment of an administrator. Since the agitation and the agitators cannot stop the interim arrangement of the appointment of an administrator, it raises the question – why did we then boycott the elections? Actions and reactions should be equal and opposite. We would simply have denied ourselves the opportunity of electing our officials into government. We would have jettisoned our right to decide that we must be governed well. All of these, especially our inability to stop the interim arrangement, make the boycott unnecessary. And I am being very kind as I can go down the lowest sewer for the most deprecating expletive to denounce the decision.”
The Anambra election is our opportunity to elect our leaders and as I had argued earlier, the politics would have been to get a Biafra compliant governor in Anambra. (And) along with his colleagues, he can drive the project. What the constitution recognizes is the right to vote, but as is with every right, one can refrain from exercising it…Legally speaking returns at election are made on the basis of the people who came out to vote. Therefore if only 10 people come out to vote, a return will be made on the basis of 10. Is that the kind of election our people need? Surely more than 10 people will come out to vote because some voting points are located in people’s domain. If IPOB engages INEC officials with a view to stopping them from going to duty posts, then IPOB is engaging the federal might. They won’t enjoy anybody’s sympathy.”
SEPARATING APPLES FROM ORANGES:
I want to start my reflection by re-affirming that our country Nigeria is a nation whose democracy is founded on laws. Our nation is not on auto-pilot. Nigeria is neither a ghetto [where charlatans call the shots] nor a banana republic [where outlaws dictate the tone of public discourse]. Indeed, I can go on to state that Nigeria is not an asylum where lunatics and fringe elements preside. There is no argument that appointing a date for a referendum is just one step among many in the build up to the possible grant of independence to any people desirous of same. Dates for a referendum are not just given for the mere asking. They are not given on a platter of gold. They are not given as a routine.
They are not given willy-nilly. It does not follow that when asked for, a date for referendum is given the same way morning must follow the night. Every procedure relating to referendum as a prelude to secession is tied to law. Such referendum processes are not at large. Indeed, under our present Constitutional arrangement, referendum can only [legally] be ordered where the agitators have taken their agitations to the Court room for the enforcement of their human and peoples’ right to self-determination. Such tough legal duel will most likely terminate at the
