Teachable moments in Ghana election, By Zainab Suleiman Okino

Past their playful rivalries over jollof rice and soccer supremacy, Ghana and Nigeria share profound historic, cultural, and political trajectories which have formed West Africa’s growth. As Britain’s most vital colonial possessions in West Africa, each nations emerged from related experiences beneath oblique rule, which leveraged present conventional energy constructions whereas introducing “fashionable” administrative programs.

The post-independence tales of those two Anglophone giants mirror one another in outstanding methods. Each international locations skilled the euphoria of independence within the late Nineteen Fifties and early Nineteen Sixties, with Ghana main the best way in 1957 beneath Kwame Nkrumah, setting a precedent for Nigeria’s independence in 1960. Their subsequent political journeys have been marked by strikingly related patterns of democratic aspirations interrupted by navy interventions.

The navy’s function in each nations’ political evolution is especially noteworthy. Ghana skilled its first coup in 1966, setting off a sample of navy interventions that might proceed till Jerry Rawlings’ eventual transition to democratic rule. Equally, Nigeria’s First Republic was terminated by navy intervention in 1966, starting a cycle of coups and counter-coups that might persist till 1999. Each international locations’ militaries justified their interventions with related rhetoric: combating corruption, selling nationwide unity, and making certain financial stability.

The journey again to civilian rule in each nations has additionally adopted parallel paths, although with totally different timelines. Ghana’s return to democracy in 1992 beneath Rawlings offered useful classes for Nigeria’s later transition in 1999. Each international locations have since maintained democratic governance, regardless of challenges, with common elections and peaceable energy transfers turning into more and more institutionalised.

Nonetheless, in conducting credible and clear elections, Ghana appears to be a notch forward of Nigeria. Such was the case of its newest presidential election; easily performed and unanimously accepted, however the highpoint of the method was the acceptance of defeat by the governing get together’s candidate, Mahamudu Bawumia who, based mostly on the information at his disposal conceded defeat and congratulated the opposition candidate, John Mahama even when the electoral fee was but to formally announce the outcomes; and has as soon as once more set the stage for orderly switch of energy.

In that speech, the VP/candidate of the governing New Democratic Occasion, (NPC) recalled his assertion through the signing of the peace accord earlier than the election at a time Ghana was sitting on “ tenterhooks’ . And that no matter occurred, he was positive “Ghana will win and peace will reign”. In conserving religion together with his patriotic stand, he famous that “the individuals of Ghana have spoken and have voted for change, … we respect that call with all humility”, including that he made the concession speech earlier than official announcement to keep away from “additional stress and protect  the peace of our nation… it is vital that the world continues to imagine within the peaceable and democratic character of Ghana. These are our most vital property. Ghana is extra vital than our particular person political ambitions and we should at all times put Ghana first”, Bawumia declared.   

The final time we noticed such show of democratic magnanimity in Nigeria was in 2015, when then President Goodluck Jonathan, went in opposition to the counsel of his poisonous aides, and conceded defeat to then Common Muhammadu Buhari of then opposition get together. Earlier than and after this singular symbolic second, presidential election in Nigeria places the nation on the sting. The beneficiary of Jonathan’s gesture, Buhari was by no means sort to his opponents and had known as for violence after dropping election prior to now, in contrast to Mahamudu Bawumia of Ghana.

Contrarily, the Nigerian scenario in all presidential elections is oddly totally different and at variance with what we simply noticed in Ghana. Our recourse to the judiciary, whose integrity is equally questionable, means a declining religion in electoral processes. However it is usually past the electoral fee, on this case INEC. The joke is on our perspective and our system deficiency. How ready are the contributors (the political class and their supporters) to place the nation’s curiosity above their slender egocentric curiosity of profitable in any respect prices, as was displayed by Ghana’s VP/candidate Bawumia. He talked concerning the world believing in Ghana as their most vital property. Don’t our political leaders really feel extra entitled than involved over the sanctity of the nation?

After we speak of an asset that Nigeria is as the most important black nation on this planet, we additionally measure/depend others in type of inhabitants, landmass (at 923,769 sq. kilometres in contrast with Ghana’s at 238,533 sq. kilometres) and crude oil deposits, however as might be gleaned above, these are pure endowments. Why have we not been in a position to develop our personal nationwide character by way of strong establishments and our abiding religion in them, integrity, transparency and patriotic fervour and take delight in them? For not correctly articulating our nationwide character and values, the pure endowments have turn into some type of liabilities. The inhabitants is just not productive and threatening to implode; the massive landmass has created unmanageable and unimaginable border challenges in transnational disaster exacerbating our personal inside conflicts, whereas crude oil exploration and exploitation are mired in corruption and self-enriching glee that leaves us with infrastructure decay. Not forgetting the mismanagement of our variety. As a substitute of variety to kind the nucleus of a aggressive spirit, politicians amply it to additional divide us.   

The opposite query is what we name the facility of incumbency. Besides ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, the political class exploits incumbency to most benefit. Bawumia belongs to the governing get together, which had simply misplaced the election. That’s turning into more and more tough in Nigeria, the place nearly all arms of presidency together with the safety structure and different smaller mushroom political events are mobilised to “align” and ‘endorse” the governing get together to “proceed their good job”. Now, we wouldn’t have to go far to America the place incumbency did not win the presidential election in 2020 and within the final November election, and within the UK the place the incumbent yielded to the opposition within the final two elections. Ghana is right here to show that opposition can win election with out compromise and with out bitterness, and definitively with out recourse to the judiciary for interpretation, and or declaration or affirmation of victory to the incumbent.

The standard pleasant squabbles between Nigeria and Ghana ought to, going ahead, embody who, between the 2 international locations, is adept at political engineering, democratic governance, at patriotism and at articulating and sustaining nationwide values and political cohesion.

Zainab Suleiman Okino is chair, Blueprint Editorial Board and a syndicated columnist.