the bangladeshi option

In light of last weekend’s embarrassing fiasco, sorry "elections", I've resigned myself to the fact that Obj has intentionally sabotaged the fourth republic and it looks like we're heading for another 'june 12' like scenario.

It was not surprising that the organisation of last week's presidential elections was equally as bad as the previous elections on April 14 despite Obj and INEC's pathetic excuses and promises. Infact it was a classic case of 'rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic', things were further compounded by the late arrival of the ballot papers from South Africa (the whole fiasco has to be the most humiliating thing that has ever happened to our country and in any decent society heads should roll starting with Obj's)

But enough of the grammar and the adjectives, We know our history very well, when politicians turn elections into a 'rofo-rofo' (i.e dirty) fight then its time to call in the naija politician's kryptonite - the Nigerian army to sort out the mess they've created.

Don’t get me wrong, i'm not calling for a coup in the traditional sense where some idiot takes over power and then promises to handover in "a few years time", but a simple army takeover of government to conduct an election (a sort of interim military government). The army steps in for an extremely short period (not more than 6 months) organises new elections, handsover to the winner and returns to the barracks.

The army seems to be the only organisation in Nigeria that is able to organise 'credible' elections. They did it in 1979, 1993 (although annulled by IBB, its still considered the most credible election held in the country) and in 1999. Compare these elections with the elections of 1965, 1983, 2003 and 2007.

And now to the Bangladeshi option
Bangladesh: No going back
The army exiles the country's leading politicians

I've used Bangladesh as an example here because of what the army has done to the country's leading politicians. It has asked them to go into exile so the political environment is free of any sort of influence from the old brigade.
It's an option that definitely makes sense in Nigeria, we've been ruled by the same set of people in different guises since 1960.
Imagine what will happen to the political environment in Nigeria if all our leading politicians are stripped of their assets and kicked out of the country.

They've fucked up Nigeria for so long, won't it be great if Nigeria told them to fuck off somewhere else too..

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And The Man Spoke..

Soyinka urges new Nigeria polls
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6600945.stm

Couldn't disagree with Wole Soyinka when he said "I wish he [Mr Yar'Adua] would carry his decency even further by publicly renouncing this poisoned chalice to say: 'I'm not a receiver of stolen goods',"

if ijebuman was Yar'adua i'll be watching my back or in his case his dialysis machine.

And if the calls for the elections to be cancelled is not bad enough
its been almost a week since Yar'adua was declared winner and the response from the international community has not exactly been warm.
South Africa is the only country i'm aware of (at the moment) that has congratulated Yar'adua.
No surprise there, it's definitely in SA's interest to continue to deal with a Nigeria that never rises to its full potential, or where else will they get such lucrative last minute contracts like last week's ballot paper print job..