The drama in Ekiti during and following the botched elections unfolds to yet another dimension with the State INEC commissioner, Ayoka Adebayo making a comeback.
The questions on everybody’s mind should be why she quit; what and who pushed her to (almost) bail out.
To me it’s a blessing in disguise that she vacated position — these questions would not have been necessary if she had stayed put as Akin and many others would have loved. And contrary to what it seems, it appears now that she might indeed be a pawn that didn’t fall off the chessboard as suggested on AfricanLoft, but one that had made a strategic retreat — even if that wasn’t her plan when she wrote that resignation letter.
With the comeback of Madam Adebayo, tough questions must be asked and culprits identified and sanctioned to the full extent of the law.
However, this process would amount to a useless exercise as long as the status quo remains, particularly within the police command.
That the Police Inspector General Okiro is still has a job is troubling, and another sad reminder that the man mandated to oversee Nigeria’s affairs is not really home. The Ekiti drama was a case of security breakdown. Simple. The Police had enough time to plan and perfect their strategies to keep the peace, but it could not do that. The buck stops with the head man; Okiro and his lieutenants in Ekiti should be fired!
Imnakoya, your post brings many issues to mind:
1. WHAT WENT WRONG? - The usual in Nigeria went wrong. Corruption, shamelessness, Politics of do or die, “President” Yardy forgetting he is a President of ALL and not a few i.e. the PDP (People Demolition Party, how I love this coined phrase). Trying to, at this date and time and in spite of all the noise and internationally decrying of the shamed April 2007 polls; force Mrs REC Adebayo to announce the vanquished as Victor. I could go on and on and on…
2. AKIN’s Stance - As much as I was on the side of Mrs Ayoka in her resignation, I still understand Akin’s annoyance especially when it is put to us that the rerun is indefinitely postponed, Ekiti will not have a declaration of the winner without her; her reasons for quitting as stated in her letter etc. Akin believes that when the going gets tough only the tough gets going. Well under normal circumstances yes. But Nigerian situation is ABNORMAL and remains so as long as we continue to be led by grandiosely deluded “leaders”.
3. Omotaylor likening her to a Pawn that fell off the Chessboard. Well Omotaylor actually felt she was a Pawn that was forced off, and now she remains a Pawn that wants to make it to the 8th despite the odds. I sincerely pray for her and wish her well. The report of her “comeback” as stated by Nigerian Nation Online is suggestive of her being bullied back and threatened with sanctions, oh I mean arrest. We wait to see if she comes back to dance to their tune, or fight for truth and justice. If she has come back to make it to the 8th or be worse off than when she resigned. We pray it is well with her to the very end.
Yes, it is a good thing that she made that move (resignation). A smart move it has proved to be, but do we hope for answers? What answers with Halliburton so far? What answers with many other countless cases, even cases that are purely internal e.g. the Naval Rating (Arogundade vs the poor young 27 year old)? We wait and see.
THE POLICE FORCE???? Spare me the agony for I may be forced to forget that I am a preacher of the Word.
Bye for now Imnakoya.
April 30, 2009 at 1:51 pm
I have to admit - Nigeria under Yar’Adua is fast assuming the posture of a Banana Republic where all sorts of oddities happen without grave consequence to the perpetrators.
There is no questioning the facts - security broke down, better still was non existence, in Ekiti during the elections.
The INEC Commissioner was without security, election monitors were harassed and attacked, a Senator bludgeoned, another involved in ballot snatching…and the Police IG had the guts to issue an arrest warrant for a lady frustrated out of commission when his ass should have been set on fire for failing at his duties.
Gosh! What has Nigeria become under Yar’Adua?
April 30, 2009 at 10:22 pm
Imnakoya, I am shocked that you are only calling for the firing/resignation of Okiro. Heads should roll, no? But it won’t happen, just as Iwu was never removed from INEC, so also will all those responsible, via their outright planning or outright inaction, will retain their positions. Those who lost life, limb and property as a result of the violence will be forgotten.
What I am concerned about is what this means for 2011. In my opinion, Ekiti reflects the sorry state of ‘Nigerian democracy’.
And it is a shame.
May 7, 2009 at 9:25 am
Ekiti is just a reflection of a larger and deeper evil in the political landscape of Nigeria which makes me fear for this country!
May 12, 2009 at 9:31 am