As a follow-up to the visa ban it announced in 2020 and in January this year, the United States (US) recently announced that it had taken some steps to impose visa ban on specific individuals in Nigeria who disrupted the 2023 elections. Without naming the culprits, the US said the affected individuals were involved in intimidation of voters through threats and physical violence, manipulation of vote results and some other activities that undermined the electoral process. In announcing the ban, the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, noted that the US was committed to supporting and advancing democracy in Nigeria and around the world.
The United Kingdom (UK) had also threatened to place visa ban on specific Nigerians who undermined the democratic process. The UK High Commission in Nigeria noted in March that it was collating names of politicians who engaged in electoral fraud, violence and voter suppression in the last general election. It particularly expressed concern over the use of inflammatory and ethno-religious language by some public and political figures. In 2020, the UK had similarly threatened to place visa ban on Nigeria’s electoral offenders and even seize their assets as well as prosecute them in accordance with international law.
No doubt, what some Nigerian politicians did in the last general election was a threat to our nascent democracy. It was abhorrent. Intimidation, harassment and physical assault on political opponents were rife in some parts of the country. In Lagos State, for instance, there were threats and attacks on the electorate, especially members and supporters of the opposition in some parts of the state. Some individuals threatened non-indigenes not to come out to vote if they would not vote for the ruling party. In Rivers State, some presidential election results were manipulated and the result sheets mutilated, rendering the outcome of the exercise doubtful.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) joined in the truncation of the process by not following its rules and guidelines. The electronic transmission of election results from each of the 176,606 polling units to INEC servers was not duly followed in the presidential election, giving room for manipulation of results after Nigerians had voted. INEC blamed technical glitches for the infraction.
In the governorship supplementary election held in April in Adamawa State, the state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hudu Yunusa-Ari, took the law into his own hands by first announcing Aisha Binani of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the state election contrary to Section 25 of the Electoral Act 2022 which vests such powers on the state Returning Officer. Eventually, the State Returning Officer, Professor Mohammed Mele, announced the incumbent governor and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ahmadu Fintiri, as the winner of the election. Actions of certain politicians are giving our country a bad image abroad. Most times, Nigerians who travel outside for one business or the other are discriminated against. At the airports of many countries, they are isolated for thorough checks as if it is only Nigeria that harbours crime and criminals.
In Nigeria, the activities of election riggers and manipulators make many people downcast. Some innocent citizens had died as a result of the activities of electoral offenders. In the 2011 elections, over 800 people died in different parts of the North due to the violence that trailed that election that year. In the 2019 election, over 620 people also died of violence. If electoral fraud is not checked, people will lose faith in the electoral system and in democracy generally. This may lead to the collapse of our democracy.
We commend the US for the visa ban and urge other countries to take a cue from the country. America should also follow it up with action. That is the only time it will make meaning. We hope the visa ban will make the culprits to think twice before embarking on electoral malfeasance next time. We also hope it will act as a check on those who may want to follow their footsteps. You cannot truncate democracy in your country and want to travel to another country where it has been nurtured.
We note that it is even an indictment that another country is taking action against our electoral offenders while we seem to be lethargic about it. We ought to have disciplined those found to have indulged in untoward acts during the elections. People must be given freedom to choose whoever they want as their leader.
We reiterate the need to reform our electoral and political systems to avoid a repeat of the shenanigans that hold sway during our elections. If INEC is made truly independent, for instance, it will reduce the urge by its officials to fall to the manipulation of greedy politicians. If the police and other security agencies are alive to their responsibilities, the era of thuggery and snatching of ballot boxes will drastically reduce. If the judiciary is programmed to dispense justice after elections, people will be more careful in rigging elections.