The battle for thumbprints is set between the agents of change and the forces of continuity. Had it not been for the first mutiny without bloodshed in which security agencies hamstrung Attahiru Jega to postpone destiny, this march ought to be filled with less tension. By now, we should have stopped ballot counting. Liars or lawyers should be smiling to the banks while seeking judicial interpretations to what should’ve been a Valentine’s Day gift or quit notice between incumbent President Jones and the irrepressible General striving to beat the Abraham Lincoln legacy for redefining electoral failure. Sorry, we should add that there are fourteen other wannabes fighting for the coveted title of ‘has run’.
But the biggest question we ought to be asking is – would there be an election? The body language of President Jones calls us to read his lips. In interviews and at public events, this under-par president vaunts that electoral failure is impossible at the polls. There must be something of a beclouding illusion in the Rock that gives such guarantees to its present occupant. Bastard Okugbe is on tape vowing his boss would never hand over to Muhammadu Buhari. A Rock source was quoted as saying they would instigate a coup than hand over to Buhari. Rock-aligned social media frequently post that the opposition is on an impossible task of wrestling power.
With each passing day and the plethora of intrigues coupled with documentaries and now arrests, there is a déjà vu love between President Jones and his deadbeat dad – Maradonna. The ultimate reason for the shift in dates is becoming clearer as the wind blows off the dust on the official reasons. The president says only 60% of what is needed to defeat Boko Haram has been supplied thus far. Defence officials have asked Chad and others in the multinational force against Boko to stop triumphantly marching through the north-east. Apparently, the successful push is not as lucrative as money-spinning goal of amnesty. Chadian troops have embedded journalists, but Naija army feeds us from Abuja where in the past it manufactured blatant lies. If Naija has 60% of what it needs, what is the percentage of the help it gets from its allies?
Last week, an ABN-style ruling was thrown in the fray rendering already printed ballot papers useless and opening a judicial gaping-hole. There are back and forth talks as to whether Jega should proceed on Iwuruwuru-style pre-retirement leave before the elections. There is uncertainty over the use of electronic machines. There is a connection between the witch crying at night and the child dying at dawn, or put in the creek terminology of the presidential parable of the goat and the yam. The allegory is ludicrous to creek residents unaware of the muzzle invented by hyena charmers in the itinerant circus.
For instance, what is the logic of bringing in ministerial nominees at the eleventh hour? Isn’t it puzzling how nobody has seen an incongruity in nominating ministers at the eleventh hour? Instead we are puzzled that Musiliu Obanikoro’s march back to the federal executive council has stumbled twice at the sinnate. We are told that the Mark-run sinnate is so conscientious it is wary of approving a ministerial nominee indicted in the election-rigging battle commanded by General Momoh and his foot soldiers to wit – Obanikoro, Digbolugi Ayo Fayose, police affairs minister Abduljelili Adesiyan and Iyiola Omisore. A government interested in following the rules of engagement should be winding down, not digging in. Yes, eight ministers have resigned to test their weight at the polls, but there are over 30 left. Truth is, Naija can function effectively with half the number left in the cabinet. In sixteen years of pseudo-democracy, the FEC does no more than award contracts for money-spinning capital projects. Judging by the effectiveness with which the Ekiti elections were Koronated, Obanikoro is needed for the march forward and the present posturing is just that. Koro would be back in the defence ministry a civilian general to direct troop involvement in electoral matters. The police have scheduled a strike for March 28.
Although President Jones was not informed or involved in the coup that postponed the polls his loyal foot soldiers celebrated it and have been occupied making dubious documentaries in flagrante delicto of broadcast rules and standards while the NBC sleeps. Arrests are being made by internal security agents. The only prophecy left to be fulfilled is the operation of the infamous killer squad. Influence meetings are ongoing, just as they were prior to June 12 annulment. The script is a déjà vu leading to the big question – would there be a march in March as planned?