Yahaya T. Baba, professor of Political Institutions and Comparative Politics at the Department of Political Science, Usmanu Dan Fodiyo University, Sokoto, speaks with IMOLEAYO OYEDEYI on lessons all stakeholders in the Nigerian electoral process can learn from the recent triumph of democracy in Liberia, among other issues.
Looking at the recently held Liberia presidential election, what will be your assessment of the outcome of the election?
I think what has happened in Liberia is a sign of democratic maturity and development. It is a new page that has been opened in the West African sub-region and the continent of Africa as a whole where electoral politics is now taken with decorum such that principles, ethics, rules, regulations, processes, and procedures now determine electoral outcomes. Not only that, we have seen key players in the electoral contestation now respecting the existing electoral rules. What is even more enticing about what has happened in Liberia is the acceptance of defeat by the incumbent, even though this isn’t the first time we will be seeing that on the continent. But then the zero tension that we have seen in the process of the election and the acceptance of defeat by President George Weah set a pace for democratic development in the region.
You will recall that the election was conducted against the backdrop of the fear and tension of military coups in West Africa and beyond. Therefore, an incumbent president losing his reelection in the wake of the sad military coups and going further to concede defeat and enjoin his supporters to accept the election results as the choice of the people is very significant. Don’t forget that he was quoted to have said, ‘The Liberian people have spoken and we have heard them.’ Even before the formal declaration of the election results by the country’s electoral commission, viral reports had shown that the incumbent president lost the election to his contender, Joseph Boakai. This was what prompted the speech he made in which he called on his supporters to accept the election verdict. This to me explains why there were no signs of conflict, violence, riot, and unrest in the country after the election.
What is even more interesting is that the margin of defeat is very slim. The winner of the poll won with about 50.64 percent of the total votes cast, and the loser lost with 49.36 percent of the votes cast, which means that if the incumbent, who has all the powers, institutions, state resources, and even all the security agencies under his care and control, could then calmly accept the victory with a slim margin, I think he has set a new pace for democratic developments in West Africa sub-regions and in the continent. It is now left to be seen if other leaders in the region will learn from George Weah’s statesmanship and sportsmanship. These are two important characteristics demonstrated by George Weah and this was done in my view because of the earnest love he has for his country.
More so, he was able to understand that he was completely unable during his reign as president to fulfill his promises and that a majority of the people of Liberia remained disillusioned with his policies as well as his inability and limited capacities to fulfill his electioneering promises and transform the livelihood of the people of Liberia. And he has accepted this as a challenge for him. In one of his statements, he said, ‘We will wait till the end of the tenure of the new president which will be in six years. We will then make a return to democratic governance.’
One of the standout points from the election is the over 70 percent of voter turnout. What do you think compelled the people to have come out in such huge numbers to participate in the election unlike what we do have in Nigeria?
70 percent voter turn-out is outrageously impressive, not even in Nigeria alone. Even in the United States and other democracies of the world, can you hardly have a 70 percent voter turnout. And it is an indication that the people of Liberia are alive to their obligation as citizens to take their destiny into their own hands. This is also a reminder of the fact that there are issues in Liberia’s politics and Governance that the people and citizenry are concerned about, but also believe that they have contributions to offer in changing the destiny of their own country and reshaping governance in the zone. This is exactly what led to the massive turnout of people in the election. It is on record that Liberia is undermined by widespread poverty, which is one of the most pressing challenges that the people face. It will be recalled that when President Weah was first elected into government, he promised to respond in terms of implementing programmes that would alleviate the level of chronic poverty among the people in the country. There is also the issue of ailing infrastructure, which greatly impeded the growth and development of the country’s economy. And George Weah also made promises that the decayed infrastructure would be resuscitated for the economic transformation of the Liberians. Thirdly and most importantly is the issue of injustice and corruption. All of these three issues are still major issues in the country, as George Weah’s government was not able to address them as the people had expected. It is then largely on this premise that the people feel there is a need for the country to try another leader that will offer something quite different from what they have seen during Weah’s administration in the last six years. In other words, what the people had was a low confidence in Weah’s government and then a renewed confidence in Bokah’s leadership. Don’t forget that the same Bokah lost the last presidential poll to George Weah. So, it was a comeback he staged this year and the people also expressed trust and confidence in his candidacy. It is now left to be seen whether this choice made by the people of Liberia peacefully and democratically will translate into tangible results for the people in terms of poverty reduction, revitalisation of critical infrastructure, and having a framework that will guarantee justice and sped up the fight against corruption. So, these are the issues that shaped the decisions of the people of Liberia and influenced their large turn-out for the presidential election.
But why is it that George Weah didn’t weaponise the widespread poverty in the country through vote-buying to rig himself back into power?
I think that’s why I attributed his action to statesmanship and sportsmanship. George Weah has the people and country at heart. He demonstrated that Liberia is first before any other interest. He showed that his leadership of the country was subject to the preference of the Liberians and that weaponising poverty would only plunge the country into more difficult bottlenecks even if he succeeded in winning the election. He also believes that the poverty condition of the people cannot be negatively used to the advantage of a sitting president. So, he is unlike other African leaders, who have been taking advantage of the abject poverty of their people by inducing monetarily in a bid to influence their choice and preference in the election process. For Weah, I think he feels it was more patriotic to leave the affairs of the selection of leaders in the hands of the people as determined by the constitution of Liberia. And then, he did not decide to complicate and worsen the situation of the people of the country. This is because buying people to vote will only make matters worse for the people and the country. So the choice of demonetisation of the polity and electoral environment created the opportunity for the people to freely and fairly select and elect the leader of their own choice.
I can assure you that this challenge will be a huge one for Boakai, knowing fully that the people who made the voting choices were not monetarily influenced and being carried away by any primordial sentiments before choosing him as their next president. This will put him on his toes. Don’t forget that for him to also win his reelection as president will not be a matter of influence, power, and resources, but a matter of results and performance of his government.
Lastly, what are the lessons and qualities that you think Nigerian politicians and the election management body in the country can learn from Weah’s action and the successful conduct of the Liberian presidential election by the country’s National Electoral Commission (NEC)?
One big lesson that our politicians in Nigeria can learn, particularly those at the corridor of power, is that interference in the activities of the electoral commission and other institutions that are responsible or involved in the electoral process will only undermine the security, stability, and prosperity of Nigeria. George Weah has set a pace. It is even a big shame that he did it in a small country like Liberia. He set a pace of neutrality in the electoral process. The first lesson we as a people should learn is to make sure that our institutions are made very strong enough to guarantee their autonomy. They should even be made stronger than any individual in the country and interferences of any sort before, during, and after an election should never be condoned in any way. Our politicians should not be seen interfering in the electoral process. Each of the electoral institutions in Nigeria must be made very independent in its composition, in the way it conducts its affairs, in the way it is funded, and in the manner in which it is being supported or assisted by other institutions in the conduct of elections.
Security, for instance, is one key area that which the Nigerian electoral process and system is being greatly undermined. The use of security agencies to undermine the electoral process by people holding executive power must be checked. We saw instances of these in the elections so far held this year in the country. You remember the case of the Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) who was fingered in electoral fraud. But up till now, nothing tangible has been done to him. And this sets a very bad precedence for our electoral process. So let our politicians learn to play by the rules like those in Liberia, and this can be done only if proper electoral reforms are carried out to make INEC truly independent and autonomous as well as electoral offences are duly punished. This was part of the recommendations that former INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, and other key stakeholders in the country’s electoral process made recently in Abuja where they called for the unbundling of the electoral commission to give room for other agencies like the electoral offences commission to carry out some of the functions that have overburdened it in recent times.
Finally, the Nigerian people also have a huge lesson to learn from the Liberian poll. You see, the poverty situation is not an opportunity for you to monetise your rights and fix a price tag for your votes. If such happens, just forget about getting any result from the government. This is because no government can fulfill your aspirations if you have a price tag for your votes. The people of Liberia, who are more poverty-stricken than the Nigerian population, have now set the pace for the Nigerian people to follow. First, it is in their turn-out and secondly in their determination to change the government without any influence, and most importantly is the issue of avoiding primordial sentiments in the choice of leaders. Unlike Nigeria, the Liberia people were very united about the prosperity of their country, rather than the identity, religion, or ethnicity of the candidates. Identity issue has been a huge problem for Nigeria.
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