Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Jibrin Okutepa, SAN, has described the Senate’s vote against real-time transmission of election results as “a coup against the people” and “treason,” declaring that anyone opposed to electronic transmission of results in the 21st century should be treated as having committed crimes against humanity and democratic growth.
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Okutepa made the remarks in a post on his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Thursday, reacting to the Senate’s passage of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill which rejected mandatory real-time electronic transmission of election results from polling units.
The senior lawyer did not mince words in his assessment of Nigerian politicians.
“I have always said that almost all the Nigerian politicians are not democrats. They pay lip services and claimed to be democrats. But in reality they can’t practice true democracy. They are despots masquerading as democrats,” Okutepa stated.
“True democracy thrives where the people decide who leads them in a free, fair and credible elections. Every stage of elections matters a lot in determining true democracy.”
Okutepa lamented the state of political parties in Nigeria, stating that no political party can show that it has political integrity and education as its top priority.
“Take party membership for instance, it has been hijacked by politicians who are money bags. There is no true and voluntary membership of political parties in Nigeria. Membership in most cases is derived by corrupt motives,” he said.
“There is no political ideology in Nigeria. The only political ideology common to most of the political parties is the ideology of how to share the commonwealth of Nigeria when in power. That is why today the sharing formula of political power occupied dominant place in our political discourse.”
The senior advocate criticised the nature of party primaries and candidate selection in Nigeria.
“Parties primaries are not democratic. Even though the electoral laws provide for elections in selection of candidates, political parties hardly do correct primaries. Nigerian politics is rooted in politics of imposition of incompetence and sometimes very bad and docile politicians on Nigerians,” Okutepa stated.
“The best qualification to be appointed sometimes is ability to be sycophant and be an incompetent and idiotic in thinking and followership. Thinkers and politicians who have great ideas of how to turn things around for the good of the people are hardly given opportunities to be in power.
“All those who see wrongs and see no wrongs in what is wrong are the best material to man strategic positions in government at all levels.”
Okutepa explained why politicians are desperate to hang onto power and oppose transparent elections.
“So when you see the level of desperations to hang unto power at all cost by most Nigerian politicians then you can now understand why some Nigerian politicians and Senators are against real time transparent transmissions of election results in Nigeria,” he said.
“If true democracy is practiced in Nigeria and the will of the people is respected, you and I can be sure that over 90% of those who are occupying political power in Nigeria today in all the states of the federation will not and cannot even win a ward in a local government.
“Why do we have people running to the party in power? It is to force themselves on us using the brutality of state apparatus to suppress righteous indignation of the people. In Nigerian brand of democracy the people are not in equation of governance.”
On the Senate’s rejection of real-time transmission, Okutepa said he was not surprised.
“It was reported this week that the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria voted against real time transmission of election results. I am not surprised. Nobody can support any law that will sentence him or her to political economic death sentence,” he stated.
“Majority of those in the National Assembly in Nigeria and indeed all political contested offices never came to power through a free fair and credible elections. They rigged themselves on us and are never accountable to Nigerians.”
The senior lawyer called on Nigerians to demand electronic transmission of results.
“But Nigerians must demand electronic transmission of results in real time. Elections are rigged in Nigeria during manual collation. Democratic robberies in Nigeria must end. We cannot continue like this,” Okutepa declared.
“In 21st century anyone against electronic transmission of results of election in real time is an enemy of the people. Such a person should be treated as having committed crimes against humanity and democratic growth and development.
“It is treason to kill any law that allows true democracy to be restored and practiced in Nigeria. It is a coup against the people.”
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