Nigeria Content Online

It is very
disappointing that we still have not found a way to organise elections
without too much drama. The South Africans do it year after year, like
changing tires. The Senegalese do it. And so do the Ghanaians and the
Beninois. And the Costa Ricans and Indians, for that matter. It is worse
than disappointing that aggrieved citizens took the law into their own
hands in several parts of the north of our country on Monday. It is
positively alarming.

As daylight struck
Kano, Kaduna, Gombe, Adamawa, Sokoto and other parts, so did gangs of
disaffected citizens, who decided to vent their frustration at the
defeat of their preferred presidential candidate in last weekend’s
election, Muhammadu Buhari, by targeting the homes and palaces of
suspected “collaborators” for razing. A few people were killed. The
streets were thick with smoke from burning tires, and curfews have now
been imposed on large swaths of the country.

Final results
released by INEC showed that Goodluck Jonathan, who was seeking to
escape the shadows of his predecessor and be elected to high office on
his own steam, avoided a runoff by winning 25 percent of the votes in 31
states. Quite clearly, many citizens have concluded that the margin of
victory – if not the victory itself – is suspiciously overwhelming. As a
result, they started lashing out at many symbols of authority, be it
the homes of prominent businessmen, police stations or, most alarmingly,
even the palaces of emirs and other traditional rulers. If not handled
with care and despatch, this violent rampage may threaten the political
system and the social cohesion of the nation as a whole.

The northern part
of the country has been seething for a while. The region has felt
abandoned for much of the 12 years of PDP rule, even when a northerner,
Umaru Yar’Adua, paralysed by illness, was at the helm for about 30
months. The brief economic boom of the mid-2000s almost completely
passed the north by. The region has the worst unemployment, the most
grinding poverty, the poorest education, and the shortest life
expectancy of any region of Nigeria. So stark and repulsive is the
poverty, and so thoroughly alienated have the people become, that even
this contested election can be seen as little more than an outlet for
the expression of deep-seated grievances.

As the south
experienced the bounce from the telecoms boom, privatisation, and the
explosion of capital accumulation from the banking sector reform, much
of the north watched from the sidelines. Local elites were, of course,
well taken care of by the gushers of cash from Abuja. But the tide
receded for ordinary citizens, who lost faith in their conventional
leadership and sought solace with extremist groups such as Boko Haram,
and priests with an apocalyptic view of the world gained footing amidst
the misery.

The collapse of
traditional and other formal authority in the north was fully manifested
in Monday’s violent convulsion. Gangs of youth were targeting emirs’
palaces for destruction. They were torching the homes of prominent
politicians and businessmen. Even the Sultan of Sokoto was reportedly
pelted with sachets of “pure water”. The old order crumbles and there’s
nothing, yet, to replace it.

So where do we go
from here? The first step, it seems to us, is that President Jonathan
and his court must avoid any hint of triumphalism, plus the president
should immediately address the nation to call for calm. He should tell
the people that he will use all the powers of government to ensure that
legitimate grievances are addressed speedily and comprehensively.

It would also be
useful for the president to signal to our northern citizens that he
understands their profound sense of alienation, and that it will be his
continuing duty as the president, now and in the future, to take urgent
steps to assuage those feelings.

Second, we call on
Mr. Buhari to continue to demonstrate his love of country by publicly
remonstrating with his inflamed supporters to stop the violence and
allow a peaceful resolution of this political conflict. Mr. Buhari had
earlier stated that he would have nothing to say until INEC has formally
declared the final results. In that case, silence was not golden, and
was clearly taken by his supporters as acquiescence. We cannot blame
Mr. Buhari for the violent outbreak. But we can ask him to continue to
demonstrate leadership by taking urgent steps to calm the roiling waters
and prevent his country from tipping over the edge. We note that he, as
well as his party, the CPC, have issued statements calling for calm.
This is necessary but insufficient.

Finally, we ask
the INEC chairman, Attahiru Jega, to make clear to the public that the
commission is taking every due care, as normal, to assure the integrity
of the election, including internal audits, where deemed necessary.

Our country labours under the dead weight of a self-destructive
political class. It is our common duty to ensure that they don’t bring
the house down on all of our heads.