Global Courant 2023-05-23 17:46:58
The United States recently announced plans to enforce visa restrictions on certain individuals that undermined the democratic processes of Nigeria’s recent presidential election. “These individuals have engaged in voter intimidation through threats and physical violence, ballot manipulation and other activities that undermine Nigeria’s democratic process.” said Anthony Blinken, US Secretary of State.
While Blinken stated that the US is committed to supporting and promoting democracy in Nigeria and around the world, the latest move contradicts the initial move towards elections that it already viewed as free and fair when it elected president-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu congratulated.
In a press conferencesaid Ned Price, spokesman for the US State Department: “The United States congratulates the people of Nigeria, President-elect Tinubu and all political leaders following the statement by the Nigerian Independent National Election Commission, or INEC, on the results of the presidential election of February 25. election.”
For an election largely characterized by mass manipulation, intimidation and vote buying, calling it free and fair is a two-faced blunder that America should not have made. For example, globally acclaimed author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie criticized America for congratulating Bola Ahmed Tinubu as president-elect in an open letter titled she titled Nigeria’s hollow democracy.
The author classified the election as a slap in the face to the Nigerian people and an affront to the collective intelligence of all Nigerians. “It is important to keep the truth and tell the story of what happened. That election was inexcusably flawed, and there is evidence for that,” Adichie noted Get on TV.
“I wanted to address the US on what I consider to be a kind of ‘two-faced’ when it comes to Africa. The US has a long history of complicity in non-democratic elections on this continent. Recently in Congo they approved an election that was an absolute sham. But then the same US will turn around and criticize Congo for not being democratic,” Adichie said. While the US has not made a list of those it intends to impose a visa ban on, the move comes across as a form of harm reduction in light of Adichie’s criticisms.
A little backstory
On February 25, 2023, Nigeria held its 7th General Election in the Fourth Republic, which began in 1999. Many citizens – especially the apolitical youth – came out en masse to vote for their preferred candidates. The teeming young population that makes up about 70% of Nigeria’s 200 million people is frustrated by the fractured democratic system of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).
This was the chance to make amends, so that more young people became very involved in shaping the future. Coincidentally, a third force in the person of Peter Obi of the Labor Party – the alleged underdog political party – arrived in the nick of time with an impeccable track record of fueling the dreams of many young Nigerians. He was the ‘third force’ that disrupted the political climate in Nigeria and heralded the aggressive involvement of Nigerian youth in politics. He initiated an organic movement of young people who wanted to vote.
Obi’s presidential aspirations created a political storm when he intervened between the two other dominant political parties – the APC and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), both opposing extremes. So fingers were crossed and all hopes were raised after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) introduced the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for credible elections. More so, young Nigerians further followed the election by sharing and saving the results of their polling places online through social media channels such as Twitter. So when the announced results conflicted with what they had in their hands, the citizens cried viciously.
