Well Done, Nigeria

The world is full of uncertainties as we all know. Several countries have been bedeviled with chaos and conflicts at certain times and in all these cases the civilian population bears the brunt of those in power and those fighting to kick them out. Women and children are the most vulnerable when in times of conflict. The African continent is no exception to these upheavals as in several African countries there is chaos and confusion before, during and after general elections.

The Ivory Coast went through such an experience when the incumbent President, Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept the outcome of their general elections and accused the opposition led by Alhassane Outarra of rigging the elections. This further degenerated into a conflict with both sides committing atrocities. Gbagbo had to be forced out and he is now at the International Criminal Court in the Hague facing trial for war crimes.

Whenever there is going to be an election in any African country, the whole world especially the International Community watch with skepticism as to what will happen before, during and after the elections. Some investors tend to relocate their valuable investments from that country after assessing the situation to see whether there will be chaos and confusion after the results have been announced. It is also very rare in Africa for an opposition party to win an election as the ruling party abuses the power of incumbency to the fullest to win the elections. But Nigeria proved the whole world wrong as the opposition party, the APC defeated the ruling party, the PDP for the first time since independence in the 2015 general elections in Nigeria.

It came as no surprise as it happened in Ghana during the 2000 general elections when the opposition NPP defeated the ruling NDC and there was a peaceful transfer of power. Nigeria also picked up from there as the defeated incumbent president, Goodluck Jonathan called the newly elected president, Muhammadu Buhari to concede defeat and congratulate him. This single act put the doom sayers to shame as most of the international media were just ready to report anything negative as a result of the outcome of the elections.

Nigerians have really shown maturity and the chairman of the INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega must be highly commended for remaining calm and cool in going about his work. I will like to take this opportunity to wish the new Nigerian  President elect, His Excellency General Muhammadu Buhari all the best in ruling Nigeria.  The world will be shifting their attention to Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Togo, where elections will be held later this year. Lets pray and hope for peaceful, free and fair elections in these countries. I pray and hope all Nigerians will join hands with his government and chart a new course for the country. God bless Nigeria, God bless Africa. Well done, Nigeria, from Ghana, we say "ayeekoo".

Mother Africa Needs No Elections.

I have come to realize the harm that elections have caused in Africa. This has come at a heavy price with the loss of human lives and property. We as Africans try to please the so called western democracies by ascribing to their so called democratic ideologies. Most often election results in African countries are disputed by the parties involved, and this later leads to conflicts with innocent citizens bearing the brunt of a few selfish and greedy politicians. Examples cold be found in the Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and simmering now is the one in Senegal. You just calculate the huge amounts of money used in organizing elections, this runs into millions of dollars. Why cant we device our own means of choosing our political leaders, and i mean this system should be distinct from the western type of elections. The money used for these elections could be used to improve the living conditions of the citizens of the countries on the African continent. We still live in a continent where people do not have access to the basic needs of life such as good drinking water, stable power supply, good educational infrastructure, access to health care etc. I  see elections in Africa as a waste of time, energy and money. Lets use Ghana as an example. The year 2012 is an election year, and the government is planning to spend almost about $20million on a biometric register and verification process. Do we need to go through all that hustle to elect our leaders, who only promise us the good things when they need our votes but do nothing when they assume the reigns of power. To correct this anomaly, i have some suggestions: Instead of elections, why don't we have a constitution drafted by the people, and all the political parties recognized by this legal document. Guidelines should be clearly specified for this recognition to be accepted by all.  The representatives of all these parties should ballot to choose who would rule in an orderly manner, with a rotational system in place. The moment this rotation ends, another balloting should be done to keep the system working. This i know would be accepted by all the parties, and harmony would prevail in our continent. The legislature must also be made up of representatives of all the political parties chosen by their respective parties. But the party winning the first ballot should be given the opportunity to allow their party leader to become president and he should also choose his ministers and appointees. They stay on for eight years as would be specified in the constitution. When their term ends, the next party which picked the second ballot takes over. This will go on until it gets to the last party on the ballot. Each would serve for eight years. I truly believe we don't need elections in Africa, but hey, these are just the suggestions of an African man who wants to see some change and a departure from what the West wants us to do. Your criticisms and suggestions are welcome.