After the delays and violence that marred the run up to elections, the Nigerian Presidential elections are finally over and the sitting President, Muhammadu Buhari has been declared the winner. It was a very closely fought contest between Buhari andhis rival from Peoples Democratic Party, the main opposition party, Atiku Abubakar. The defeated opposition party hasrejected the election results, alleging irregularities.These frictions can easily precipitate into violent protests and agitations. That is something to be abhorred.
Rejection of election results is nothing new in Africa. The recently contested elections in Africa had seen a spate of such incidents –from Senegal to Seychelles. What does it portend? One, the continent should develop more democratic institutions including a free press that can give vend to shades of public opinion in a free and frank manner. Press censorship and suppression of opinions, it is alleged, are very common in the continent. There are instances, when the newspapers and journalists were taken to task for questioning even the government’s published economic data, not to speak of the criticism on flawed polices of the government. A free press is more like a gas valve of apressure cooker: protect the cooker from extreme pressure and explosion.
An independent judiciary, without any political strings is imperative for strong governance. It is always the game plan of the political masters to influence directly or indirectly the judiciary. Only people with high degree of integrity and honesty can withstand the temptations and threats. Admittedly, there are well laid out procedures for appointment to the judiciary in some African countries, while others have a long way to go. Sooner, this is achieved the better since the cardinal principle of any democracy is the strict separation of powers, among legislature, executive and judiciary.
Last but not the least, is to have an independent election watchdog, which should exercise its authority not only in conducting the elections, but also encouraging the citizens to exercise franchise objectively. winning and losing elections are part and parcel of a democratic system and the citizens have the ultimate rights to decide whom they should elect or reject. That way, the rulers who believe that ruling is their birth right can be tamed and changed.
