Former President Olusegun Obasanjo urged Nigerians over the weekend to prioritize the appointment of new, trustworthy leadership at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to uphold electoral integrity. He emphasized the necessity for rigorous vetting of the INEC chairperson and their team, advocating for a process that identifies impartial individuals with great character.
In his keynote speech at the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, Obasanjo addressed the theme of “Leadership Failure and State Capture in Nigeria,” labeling the current situation in the country as a form of state capture. He accused politicians of compromising the Nigerian judiciary, claiming that justice in Nigeria is often determined by who can pay the most.
He called for a transparent pre-election review involving international observers to conduct “penetration testing” of election systems for public verification. He stressed the need for robust security measures for both electoral commissions and voters, insisting that security forces must be trained to safeguard citizens during elections rather than engage in electoral misconduct.
Obasanjo highlighted the importance of ballot security to prevent unauthorized tampering and ensure the safe storage and transport of ballots to collation centers. He pointed out that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and INEC Election Result Viewing Portal (IReV) were technological improvements intended to enhance the accuracy and transparency of election results, ultimately aiming to eliminate election rigging and foster public confidence in electoral processes.
Despite the initial promise of these technologies, Obasanjo claimed that INEC deliberately failed to implement them, leading to widespread electoral irregularities. He compared this to allowing a fox into a henhouse. He insisted on the necessity for post-election audits and transparent processes that facilitate meticulous, free, and fair voting, thereby establishing trust among all stakeholders.
He warned that the practice of politicians corruptly declaring themselves as victors in elections where votes are disregarded only to challenge the declared loser in court, where justice is not guaranteed, is detrimental to electoral democracy. He noted that corruption remains a pressing issue in Nigeria as it heads into 2024, and lamented that the judiciary has significantly diminished from its formerly esteemed status.
Obasanjo remarked that politicians who manipulate elections often challenge their opponents to “go to court,” knowing the judiciary is compromised. He asserted that some judges are influenced by wealthy politicians, making rulings based not on the law but on who can pay the most, a tactic he identified as a key element of state capture that must be eradicated.
Furthermore, he explained that state capture can manifest subtly, through the close ties between certain business and political elites, whether through family connections, friendships, or shared economic interests. He described the ongoing situation in Nigeria as state capture, characterized by political elites purchasing national assets at undervalued prices and allocating resources to favoured local, regional, and international entities. He called for laws to prevent such practices.
Chief Obasanjo concluded by warning that the danger of state capture lies in decisions that no longer serve the public interest but instead favour specific interest groups or individuals, with laws and regulations crafted to benefit them, often to the detriment of smaller businesses and society at large.
On the economy, the former president noted that Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was $510 billion during his tenure with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s as Finance Minister but has now plummeted to $199 billion under Bola Tinubu’s administration, according to the latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) data. He expressed concern about the state of the Nigerian economy, asserting that the previous economic successes were due to the calibre of individuals in government.
He further remarked, “We cannot deceive ourselves; there are significant issues facing Nigeria. Nigeria’s GDP has dropped from $510 billion—after being adjusted in July 2014 by then Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and her team—to the IMF’s recent downward adjustment to $199 billion.” He concluded that the current situation is very bad and corruption practices that has eaten deep into the fabric of the nation is getting emboldened and continue to put the country in a more precarious situation that has never been seen.
