Rabiu Hassan: Nigeria’s Idea Of Free And Fair Elections Doesn’t Align With Global Standards

Dr Rabiu Hassan, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Arewa Economic Forum, has expressed concerns regarding the credibility of the 2024 local government elections in Kano, suggesting that they may not meet acceptable standards of fairness.

In an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday, Hassan noted that the notion of a “free and fair” election in Nigeria often diverges from global benchmarks, drawing parallels with challenges faced in American democracy.

“The Nigerian version of the free and fair concept in elections are concepts that theoretically can be seen in the books but on a global level even the American democracy that is considered as one of the model democracy has always been met with a lot of rivals here and there,” he said.

Hassan referenced the contentious nature of previous elections, where around 80% of contested seats ended up in court, with the judiciary ultimately determining many outcomes.

He pointed out that in 22 of Nigeria’s 36 states, governors were affirmed in their positions through Supreme Court rulings “where in about 80% of seats were contested in various courts and in various levels and it is basically the courts system that decides who is actually the winner, and 22 out of the 36 states of the federation the governors were returned finally by the Supreme Court and the presidential election is one of them.”

He remarked on a troubling trend in Nigerian politics, where elections are increasingly viewed through a financial lens, emphasising the power dynamics that allow ruling parties to dominate local elections. “Politics in Nigeria unfortunately have developed a culture that actually see the value of politics in financial terms and by how much control and how much one is able to amass.”

Hassan also highlighted that the undue influence governors exert over election processes due to their control over state electoral commissions and resources, making it difficult for opposition parties to compete. He noted a nationwide pattern where the ruling party often secures victories in local elections, raising concerns about the overall electoral landscape. “Things basically has evolved through our politics probably after the PDP lost the presidential election. You would note that in the various local government elections during the days of the PDP some same place of balance is generally attained across the spectrum.

Hassan expressed that this trend is exemplified by the recent success of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in Kano, which won a significant number of local government positions. “He added that New Nigeria People’s Party NNPP actually did win a lot of local government out of the 44 local government of Kano.”

He also stated that he began to see a phenomenon evolving where serving governors made sure every contest in every election is won by the party that is governing the state. He said, “The fact that the state have jurisdiction over the conduct of election through their various state commissions, the influence of the governors and the influence of the party and available resources logistically and financially have given most of the sitting governors an edge over political parties that were not in government. And in the case of Kano they picked one of those phenomenon that were seen and of course they can see that across the federation all the states basically that conducted local government elections so far actually have the party of the serving government actually winning all the elections and the all local government chairmanship and the council polls.”

He also identified low voter turnout as a critical issue that requires attention, particularly in Kano, where legal interventions have complicated the electoral process. “This phenomenon is replicating itself all over and I think it is becoming a general phenomenon that needs a lot of scrutiny and I believe equally when cases where we have slight differences in the schemes and the outcomes particularly in Awka-Ibom state where the local government where the Senate President came from is technically asided to the opposition is clearly seen as one of those things politicians really do.”

Furthermore, he pointed to recent judicial crises stemming from conflicting court orders that could undermine public trust in the legal system.

“Kano has seemed to create a very serious crisis in the judiciary coming from the upheavals created by counter orders by various courts in the case of the previous and the present emir of Kano where the orders are not fundamentally decided on ground but on frivolous submission of the petitions which have additionally created a very serious unhealthy situation that have the tendency of actually willing away the credibility of our justice system on fairness equality.”

Hassan concluded by questioning the effectiveness of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), suggesting that the significant number of electoral disputes decided in courts indicates deep-rooted issues within Nigeria’s political and electoral frameworks. “The structure of Nigeria politics and economy should not be considered as bad but the bad part if it is the management and not the structures.”

Erizia Rubyjeana

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