2015 Election: In The Eyes Of The People

Mr Hope Solomon – Civil Servant.
Compared to previous
elections, I think this year’s election is better.  Though there were some areas where violence was reported but  at Port Harcourt Township where I voted, everything went smoothly, calmly, there was no problem.
I think so far, this is the best election. For the first time a sitting president conceded defeat and congratulated the winner of the election immediately.  We were not expecting it.  We were even thinking that the election would have been very violent but everything went peacefully.  Compare to previous elections, this one was more violent free.
Though we recorded success in the past election, I believe there is still need for improvement. In subsequent elections we have to improve more.  We should improve on the card reader.  We also need to do something about the age limit of voters because we saw some areas where underage children were voting during the past election.  We also have to carry out more sensitisation. We should minimize rigging. Rigging is not good.  We heard about rigging in some areas and it is not the best.   When we rig we can’t have the best candidates. Let the electorates say who they want and not the hijacking of electoral materials that was reported in some areas.
And for the people that were elected, a lot is expected.  They should improve on what the current administration has done so that Nigeria will be a better country for all of us.

Deacon Levin Mgbudu – Financial analyst.
In my view I think the system we are in is generally corrupt. So you can’t say this person is right.  None of the political parties that took part in the elections did the right thing. I look at what happened during the election as the survival of the fittest, you play the game I know you can play, I play the game you know I can play.  So if I over-smart you, I become the winner.  That was exactly what happened not only in Rivers State.
We know that Rivers State has been a volatile state, the relative peace we have here is very very fragile.  Most people were afraid of participating in the elections. A lot of people stayed at home.  The few that went out observed a lot of irregularities.  So my overall assessment is that all of them played the game together and one came out successful.  But that is not what election is supposed to be.
Ideally, everybody is supposed to go to the polling station for accreditation, after that you queue up to cast your vote without any molestation, without any fear, without somebody behind you or somebody to drag the ballot box papers or box.  So, the best thing is to be on the queue, cast your vote, you wait or you go home as INEC instructed.  But it was the other way round. By this I mean PDP went to play their game to succeed, APC equally went to play their game to succeed, the same with Labour Party.  So, no one is a saint here as far as Rivers State election is concerned.
So for future elections we need to educate our people and also bring back the old system of electoral process, that is ensuring that the electorates conduct themselves properly.  If possible the police or the army should guide the people  to be on queue, they should cast their votes peacefully and those that are responsible to count the votes should be there to make sure that our votes count.
There were a lot of irregularities in the past election in many states of the federation.  We know in the north that underaged children voted.  So INEC should come up with proper re-orientation of our people.  Let them know the right thing to be done. If the card reader will be a kind of problem in future, then we should go back to former manual accreditation system.  Maximum security should also be provided. I also insist that our people should be enlightened on the electoral process.  A lot of people do not know what they are supposed to do.  All some people know is that election is all about struggle.  To struggle, to carry weapons to overpower your opponents.  Once you overpower him, you become the winner. They should tell our people that this is not the right thing.  We should have that re-orientation towards the electoral processes.

Mr Iheanyi Ezinwo-Newspaper Publisher.
You know before the election there was so much tension.  People were scarred.  Those living up north, especially the southerners were travelling home. There was a general atmosphere of uncertainty.  But looking back, I can say that the election was peaceful.  Yes there had been some skirmishes in one or two places, you know conflict is a natural thing, you can’t rule it out.  But one thing that was noticeable was that the election was largely peaceful. I think that is one element that stands out at the end of the elections.  Both at the national and state levels, it was largely peaceful compared to the tension that was building up before the elections.  Definitely you don’t expect a human being to get everything perfectly. Definitely there were problems and that was why some people had argued that the card reader shouldn’t have been brought at this large scale of elections in Nigeria, that it would have been better if they had brought it during Anambra, Ekiti or Osun elections, so that they would have been able to identify the issues and rectify them before coming to national level.
In every human activity conflicts are bound to arise but it depends on how they are managed. I believe that in Rivers State we had our own fair share of the challenges and I want to believe also that INEC had taken some steps to address the problems where they identified them.
Having said that, I also believe that there are areas we need to improve upon in our future elections.  One key area is on security. It’s unfortunate that some characters came up with spurious arguments and even went to court and got some judgement that armed security operatives should not be seen around the polling units.  That was why some of these things happened. It’s like some of those people have some ulterior motives.  Subsequently, armed policemen or even military should be engaged.  Even if they are not inside the polling station, they should be around that area.  That will check all the thugs from coming around to freely cart away electoral materials and disrupt the electoral process.
So we are happy that the elections have come and gone peacefully but I will advice those elected to subordinate their interests to the interest of the public. Look at what Jonathan did,  he subordinated his own interest to national overall interest.  So I want to advise them, yes they have aspirations, personal interest but please that should be within the limits of national interest.
Again, they should work together because it is in working together that they will be able to achieve more and move the country forward.

Mr Lundi Frank Waribo – Politician
Almost before every election people talk about how heads will roll during the election.   But take a clean look at it, they say that without Egypt there will be no Nile and without Nile there will be no Egypt.  There is no way you can remove at least a bit of rigging in politics.
It’s always everywhere more especially in a country like Nigeria.  We are not a developed country.  We are just one of the developing countries.  So if you remove rigging completely, you can’t make it right.  In my own ward in Andoni where I voted the election was free and fair.  We heard there were killings in certain area but I don’t believe that.  We were not there.  They were just framing it to make the whole world believe in them. In the north we saw children that were not of voting age taking part in the election but in order to allow peace reign in the country, President Jonathan accepted defeat without grudges.  Incidentally, in Rivers State here, some of our former leaders are causing problems for us.  They don’t want us to go forward.  Elections have come and gone but they will remain in the guilty memories of the past while the rest forges ahead.
The introduction of the card readers was too new to every Nigerian but it did work though not perfectly but let’s go on with that, it will improve.
In future elections, INEC should also check the way people go about enticing people with money in polling units on election days.  If we can stop people from coming to the polling centres with bags of money on election days it will help us grow.  Our mothers in the village do not know where to vote or who to vote for, but if they are able to go to them and tell them what is happening in the country they will be able to take a decision and tell you where they want to vote.  So INEC should carry out more sensitisation.

Mrs Lilian Okonkwo – Journalist.
For me, the 2015 general election was free and fair.  Be that as it may you cannot rule that the fact that there were some incidents that were quite condemnable.  But on the average, when you take a look at those incidents and the percentage of those that came out and the percentage of those who voted, we have every reason to say that the election was free and fair.  Of course the world is not a perfect place and we cannot expect it to be perfect.  We all know that there was problem with the card readers, there was problem of  late arrival of electoral materials. But in all, I think INEC did a good job.
In future elections I will like us to improve upon the card reader because you find out that in most areas they ended up voting without making use of the PVC or the card reader.  So it means that  we weren’t really ready for the card reader.  We all had stories of how it rejected President Jonathan and his wife, not leaving out the masses.  There were a lot of complains.  I know some people who had to clean their hands with kerosene, people who had to pull off one water proof from the card reader to enable it work and things like that.
So I’m hoping that in 2019 these issues would have been solved and then we get it much, much better. On the issue of violence, well we have always had it like that but I am thinking that by 2019 Nigerians should drop that attitude of killing, shooting and all that.  We should all be reasonable.  We should act reasonably and put aside that idea of shooting and killing so that our election will be more credible.  Our politicians should also learn how to accept defeat and move on and also support those who win to make a better society.  President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s reactions as regards his defeat is a very big lesson for us all. It is not easy for an incumbent to lose a election. So if somebody at that level who could have used the military, the police and the Nigerian oil money to ensure that he remains in power could concede defeat and even call to congratulate his opponent, I think it is a big lesson for us all.
Other contestants should learn a lesson from that.  If the man who is at the apex of leadership could conceded defeat, why not every other persons?
For emphasis, I observed the elections, I went round Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor LGAs and what I saw was good.  Fortunately for me I didn’t see any terrible incident, and so it gives me the reason to say that the election was free and fair.