I, apologetically, have borrowed the title of this piece from Visha Nipaul’s first novel “The Suffrage Of Evira”. It satirizes the first election in a region of Trinidad and Tobago, the Pacific Ocean island on the eve of independence. Candidates seeking election to parliament discover, painfully, that apart from using personal resources they also have to seek the ‘support’ of some powerful people to stand any chance of winning. The book highlights the challenges of an emerging democracy, including booby traps along the way. Nigeria isn’t a new democracy, as it were. But the governorship election penultimate Saturday in its Anambra State gave cause for serious concern nevertheless.
In the Anambra election of Nov. 8, incumbent governor Chukuma Soludo, the candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance [APGA] was returned to office with almost 90 percent of the vote. The turnout of only slightly over 500,000 voters was ominously much lower than the 2.8 million who could vote. Soludo ran against 15 other candidates, none of whom came anywhere close to him. A crowded field in a contest for votes that were far fewer than expected. Voter apathy, for sure, indicating disillusionment with the democratic process that promises much but delivers so little. Soludo’s big win may have come as a big surprise to some, but to others it wasn’t. Not one that has been in partisan politics for long, he comes with a freshness of simplicity, inexperience and uncanny frankness rolled together. A toothy smile that tells you “you’ll be fine with me as your governor” is a vote catcher. An example of his candour was the speech he delivered to Anambrans in the United States which he was visiting in last July. He shocked his audience with these words, “In my three years in office, nearly every kidnapper and armed criminal we’ve apprehended is Igbo. Igbos are kidnapping and killing Igbos, not Fulani herdsmen.” That was the dummy or narrative sold the outside world.
But Soludo gave it the lie and some people feared he had shot himself in the foot politically, moreso so close to an election that he needed to win. International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law [Intersociety], for instance, denounced the governor’s remarks as “reckless”, “vexatious” and “gravely endangering the security and safety of the state and her citizens.” Its statement added, “His government’s kid-gloves and lukewarm approach to jihadist herdsmen and their genocidal activities across the state since the inception of his administration on March 17 2022, [is] deeply troubling.” However, Soludo took the gamble, and to the amazement of many, Anambra’s voters trusted him with their ballots.
Meanwhile, Soludo has received a palmy slap on the back from an unlikely quarters. President Bola Tinubu whose party, the All Progressives Co guess [APC], fielded a candidate in the poll, has said Soludo deserved his victory. “Governor Soludo, the Solution, has demonstrated that knowledge is indeed power and that academic principles can be applied in serving the people, undergirding accountability, transparency, and prudent management of people and resources,” he said in a statement. “I visited Anambra State in May this year, where I inaugurated some projects executed by the Soludo administration. I highlighted the good thinking behind the landmark projects embarked upon by Mr Solution. That experience is indeed remarkable and will remain indelible in my mind. I commend Governor Soludo for bringing discipline, grace, brilliance, and a fresh perspective to governance in Anambra. Under him, Anambra is living up to its motto as the Light of the Nation. I urge Governor Soludo to be magnanimous in victory and to seek the cooperation of his opponents in the just-concluded election.” Whether Soludo will heed Tinubu’s word of exhortation and mix the sweetness of victory with grace and humility will be decided in his next fours years in office.
