quick update
The federal elections are about to take place and all kinds of wahala (craziness) is happening across the country. Abuja seems to be fairly isolated from what's going on elsewhere, though. It's such a fake place, a bubble, but at least it's relatively safe. Honestly, the rigging that took place last week during the state level elections (for governors) was RIDICULOUS! I mean, bloody blatant to the point of absurdity. Even Nigerians, who expected rigging, are shocked at the way things went. For example, in a couple of places, 'thugs' (usually armed youths acting in the interests of a particular party) arrived at voting stations, stamped ballots in favour of particular parties and shoved the WHOLE BOOK into the ballot box.
In other areas, adolescents, who were obviously not of age, arrived with their voters' cards delacring them to be age 18, students, and voted. Christ, I saw pictures of children and babies in the voters' register! One picture of an infant stated that his (or her, I suppose, hard to tell with babies) age was 29, occupation civil/public servant. Of course no one's going to believe that! But it was still there. The so-called Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has completely buggered up with the register and has even quite blatantly participated in rigging. In Kogi state, where my friend Andrew went to do a report on the elections, INEC officials were instructed to cross out the name and photo of one of the leading candidates (ANPP's candidate, Prince Audu), which they did with black permanent markers. In short, craziness! Electoral violence has taken place in numerous states and is likely to continue until after the federal elections this weekend. That is, if they do take place ... Obasanjo, the current president who tried to change the constitution so that he could run for a third term (the National Assembly put an end to that plan), may just be crazy enough to postpone the elections due to the instances of violence. This would be a very bad idea.
In short, there's a lot going on here right now. It's an interesting time, but also quite depressing. Innocent people have and will continue to lose their lives, the fundamental right of Nigerians to vote for their governors and president and have their voices heard will be violated in every state in the nation, and, in the end, things will go back to the way they were, with the 'big men' in power using their positions to fatten their bank accounts and rob their people blind.
Hate to finish on such a oblique note, but I'm almost out of time here at the cyber cafe. Will post again tomorrow if there's time.
Someone's election photos from the Niger Delta region.
In other areas, adolescents, who were obviously not of age, arrived with their voters' cards delacring them to be age 18, students, and voted. Christ, I saw pictures of children and babies in the voters' register! One picture of an infant stated that his (or her, I suppose, hard to tell with babies) age was 29, occupation civil/public servant. Of course no one's going to believe that! But it was still there. The so-called Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has completely buggered up with the register and has even quite blatantly participated in rigging. In Kogi state, where my friend Andrew went to do a report on the elections, INEC officials were instructed to cross out the name and photo of one of the leading candidates (ANPP's candidate, Prince Audu), which they did with black permanent markers. In short, craziness! Electoral violence has taken place in numerous states and is likely to continue until after the federal elections this weekend. That is, if they do take place ... Obasanjo, the current president who tried to change the constitution so that he could run for a third term (the National Assembly put an end to that plan), may just be crazy enough to postpone the elections due to the instances of violence. This would be a very bad idea.
In short, there's a lot going on here right now. It's an interesting time, but also quite depressing. Innocent people have and will continue to lose their lives, the fundamental right of Nigerians to vote for their governors and president and have their voices heard will be violated in every state in the nation, and, in the end, things will go back to the way they were, with the 'big men' in power using their positions to fatten their bank accounts and rob their people blind.
Hate to finish on such a oblique note, but I'm almost out of time here at the cyber cafe. Will post again tomorrow if there's time.
Someone's election photos from the Niger Delta region.