posted
Violence, Intimidation, Electoral Fraud in Rivers, Bayelsa
quote:The leading opposition figure in Rivers State, Chief Sergeant Awuse, the gubernatorial candidate of the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP), alleged that what happened last Saturday was a vote-allocation exercise.
In an interview with Weekly Trust in his house in Emohua, Chief Awuse said: "There was no election here. It was purely PDP, police and INEC that sat somewhere and wrote results and passed them over to radio and TV stations."
___________________ 1) Everything you can imagine is real->Picasso
2) They taught you the praises of their God, and these hosannas, when tuned into your sorrows, gave you the hope of a better world to come-->Patrice Lumumba Posts: 379 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
Sylva, First, welcome to BiafraNigeriaWorld. I am sure you will help make it a place where all can continue to express their views without fear.
I note that Obasanjo is scoring between 92% and 96% in both Rivers and Bayelsa with most of the results in. Foreign correspondents have noted that high level of violence and intimidation makes a mockery of the figures. It beats my imagination how Igbos and their neighbours allow themselves to become a battle ground for their yoruba and hausa masters.
I don't expect the commonwealth or African Union observers to say anything that will reflect the rigging. Don't forget that commonwealth election observers did find a lot wrong with Zimbabwe elections.
[ April 21, 2003, 01:15 AM: Message edited by: CSE ]
Posts: 621 | Registered: Mar 2001
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posted
APGA won a House of rep seat in Beyelsa. But, if you go by the sham that INEC has released, Ojukwu won only two votes in the presidential election. Please, see generally, INEC results at http://news.biafranigeriaworld.com/archive/2003/apr/20
Besides, how free are you really, when the polls are threatened by Yoruba thugs armed with assault rifles and dressed in full combat gear?
___________________ No Biafran will be permitted to play Mother Theresa to the Yoruba and Hausa-Fulani, but play Osama Bin Laden to the Igbo or Biafrans! Posts: 1182 | Registered: Mar 2001
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Stop peddling unfounded rumors. I am not sure who you are quoting, but there is no where on INEC web site that support the: Abua-Odual local government area saw a 100% vote for Mr Obasanjo
Are you sure you sure there is any trace of brain matter in your thick tribalistic skull? What do you see when you go to this site click on Rivers and Abua/Odual local government ? Inec presidential result Posts: 1532 | From: USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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All, We have no weapons of mass destruction. We can think and should be able to express our thoughts. Failure to do that would mean not rendering ourselves any services and more importanatly condemning the future generations by not giving them any examples. It does not mean that we will agree on all matters, but at least there should be room for everybody to air their opinions. This is what we call agree to disagree. It could be followed by a vote to choose between the various views, which is why the voting should not be rigged.
I do not believe that any groups of people or regions have masters within Nigeria. What happens is lack of communication and manipulation. The south have well-informed children, yet some of the southerners stilll swallow the propaganda that some of them work against each other, while in reality election are being rigged. The truth is that votes had rarely countered in that country. It is time to make them count. As an Igbo, I do not see Obasanjo or Buhari win any elections in the SE without rigging them, especially when Ohanaeze had called for the support of APGA.
But if the elections are rigged unnoticed, then it is up to us to be more communicative and vigilant in the future, but if the rigging is generally witnessed, then the result should be rejected and elections reconducted in the regions concerned. It is our duty: we cannot accept rigged elections and expect our children to reject them in the future. But it means using all the necessary peaceful means like heading to the court, peaceful mass protest, using international media, etc. This means also preparing ourselves physically and mentally for other outcomes if the above measures did not enable the votes of all citizens to be taken into consideration.
The stand of African Union in Zimbabwe's elections could have been determined by the apparent interference of Britain in the affairs of zimbabwe, especially as concerns Mugabe's land reforms. The situation was equally rendered difficult by the fact that there are only two parties in the country, the only alternative, MDC, being pro-british. Nigeria has many political parties and so the situation should not be the same, otherwise their credibility will be compromised. Non -african obervers have already made known their points of view.
The presence of the police, soldiers, etc, should not deter people from casting their votes according to their convictions. There is no need running away or panicking at the sound of a gun-shot, the normal reaction should be to look and see if anybody is wounded or dead and if that is the case, the culprit should be killed on the spot.
Another example of manipulative actions to which some southerners still fall victim is illustrated by the picture posted by Damian. Nothing shows that the pictures had been taken in Nigeria or in the same place and in the same day. Some of you might have heard of the British journalist, sacked for manipulating pictures in Iraq. Some people in Nigeria may not know about that possibility, but it is our duty to communicate and inform them. And the first step towards infoming those in Nigeria starts by expressing ourselves in the media, TV, Messageboards, etc.
Anothe example, still by Damian, is the title of the image in the link he provided. The title was "voting rigging and Military intimidation: As BBC puts Obasanjo ahead in the BiafraNigeria poll". The title had been intentionally made ambiguous. The writer of the article could have replaced BBC by Britain if he had so desired but Nigerians should be able to say no to any future interference in Nigeria, after 42 year of independence. During the 42 years, Nigeria had been led by the hand by foreign powers in everything she did. If 42 years is not long enough for Nigerians to reclaim their country from foreigners, when will that start? It is no surprise that Mugabe banned BBC in Zimbabwe. Foreign countries will continue to interfere and run African countries, antagonize the population against each other along tribal differences and foreign imported religions and help corrupt leaders rig elections to enable them loot the continent. We know the culprits, we know what they do, we know how they operate, and we know how to stop them: educate Nigerian/african population through effective communication.
Finally, black people should start organizing themselvs to work together in Africa. We are to start everything from scratch, and then move forward. I am not talking of importing rice, but of industralization. Mine is always better than ours. We should be able to repair oil refineries, computerize all the needed government establishments, construct roads, use our rivers to generate micro hydro-power stations. If we need any supplementary competence, we can send two or three people for training aboard and for a few months, including to korea. They will train others on their return instead of catapulting foreigners into Nigeria. Here, I am talking of non-privatised state firms.
___________________ 1) Everything you can imagine is real->Picasso
2) They taught you the praises of their God, and these hosannas, when tuned into your sorrows, gave you the hope of a better world to come-->Patrice Lumumba Posts: 379 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Stop peddling unfounded rumors. I am not sure who you are quoting, but there is no where on INEC web site that support the: Abua-Odual local government area saw a 100% vote for Mr Obasanjo
If you are damn sure, please provide the link.
Bababoyz, I have once compared your cognitive skills to that of a preoperational age child. Nothing you have said in the above quote changes my assessment. Damian provided link to the BBC story. Those interested in the debate, but not Bababoyz, obviously read it. Again, those interested in a quality debate went to the INEC website.
I have challenged you elsewhere to spend a few minutes reflecting the election figures from around the country. I spent time speaking to voters in many parts of the East before and after each election. They are very astonished at the figures INEC is peddling. Foreign correspondents, who have toured these areas, are just as bewildered.
In the specific case of Abua-Odual local government, INEC also proudly announces to the whole world that the number of voters on register was not available. It is not about emotions. It is not even about posting yoruba soldiers to manufacture 100% support for a son-of-the-soil. It looks and sounds stupid and confirms the very unacceptably low calibre of people in charge of the failed state of Nigeria.
Nwa aro and Chiboy, Thank you for simplifying matters. Lets hope Bababoyz benefits. Otherwise, the superior education he claims Awo gave him amonunts to no more than another junetwelveshakara phenomenon.
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Welcome to BNW. Make yourself at home. Return fire for fire. But, fasten your seat-belt. As they say, it gets truly bumpy around here.
Posts: 94 | From: Richmond, VA | Registered: Jun 2001
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A prize example, observers said, was in the Brass area of Bayelsa state where INEC reported all 73,706 valid votes cast went to Obasanjo -- an unheard-of phenomenon.
quote: Another example of manipulative actions to which some southerners still fall victim is illustrated by the picture posted by Damian. Nothing shows that the pictures had been taken in Nigeria or in the same place and in the same day. Some of you might have heard of the British journalist, sacked for manipulating pictures in Iraq. Some people in Nigeria may not know about that possibility, but it is our duty to communicate and inform them. And the first step towards infoming those in Nigeria starts by expressing ourselves in the media, TV, Messageboards, etc.
Sylva:
About the soldiers in combat gear, this is from Reuters and MSNBC,
___________________ No Biafran will be permitted to play Mother Theresa to the Yoruba and Hausa-Fulani, but play Osama Bin Laden to the Igbo or Biafrans! Posts: 1182 | Registered: Mar 2001
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The objective here, I recall, is to share our POINTS of view or ARGUMENTS. As long as we stick to those POINTS, not shifting from points to individuals, we do not neither need to fire nor return fire to anybody. In otherwords, we express our opinions and we agree or disagree with some people, without necessarily forming a complaisant discussion group. Two people who disagree on a particular thread could agree on another. That is where the matter ends. We do not need any victory. We agree to disagree.
Generally, people shift from subjects to indiviuals due to lack of arguments, and the best approach is not to allow ourselves to be drawn into unnecessary squabbles. We should bear in mind that some people, neither blacks nor africans would register, at times with african names, just with the intention of diverting our attentions from real and important issues. It would be very unfortunate for those who have something to offer, to unnecessarily be drawn into doing other things, thereby not making their points.
___________________ 1) Everything you can imagine is real->Picasso
2) They taught you the praises of their God, and these hosannas, when tuned into your sorrows, gave you the hope of a better world to come-->Patrice Lumumba Posts: 379 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
Damian, In my post, i did not accuse you of manipulation. You posted what you saw from the news. The news/pictures could originate from BBC, Reuters, MSNBC, etc, but that did not make my analysis less true. When a picture of soldiers patrolling the streets was placed side by side that of those in voting booths, some people would read that the soldiers prevented the citizens from voting or intimidated them from voting for some people. That is the message that portrays by your first picture. The second one shows soldiers patrolling the streets and who cannot be accused of intimidating anybody. To drive home my point I commented on the title placed on the first image. You can prove my analysis wrong. But it has nothing to do with you as an individual, a forumite. You posted what you saw.
Another example of manipulation is the history of a man running, and a policeman running behind him. The crowd was watching with expectation, they expected to see the police catch the man. But to their greatest disappointment, they witnessed the two men running to catch a bus.
___________________ 1) Everything you can imagine is real->Picasso
2) They taught you the praises of their God, and these hosannas, when tuned into your sorrows, gave you the hope of a better world to come-->Patrice Lumumba Posts: 379 | Registered: Apr 2003
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A prize example, observers said, was in the Brass area of Bayelsa state where INEC reported all 73,706 valid votes cast went to Obasanjo -- an unheard-of phenomenon.
When an incumbent president called called the electorate lazy people during his campaign, he knew that they wouldn't vote for him and he was not counting on their votes either to get elected. Worse still, as he did not perform during his first period in office and got the presidential ticket by rigging, there was no doubt that he counted on rigging to come back to office. Nigerians should learn to organize peaceful protests as is done in many countries in the world, using the media.
___________________ 1) Everything you can imagine is real->Picasso
2) They taught you the praises of their God, and these hosannas, when tuned into your sorrows, gave you the hope of a better world to come-->Patrice Lumumba Posts: 379 | Registered: Apr 2003
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The truth is that I have a slightly more than passing interest in news from BiafraNigeria and the manner in which it is reported, especially as the news affects Nd'Igbo and Biafrans. Also, I know that you could not have intended to accuse me of manipulation, as you would have had no basis in fact to do so. Therefore, when I read and highlighted the part from your post, it was not a personal reaction of mine; it was to begin to illuminate the use of photo imageries in reporting and clarifying the news.
Since we have no disagreement that those soldiers were heavily armed, that they were indeed in combat gear, are actually Nigerian soldiers operating in Nigeria, and were in the vicinity of the polling stations at the time of voting, it is a little difficult to understand your angst against placing the picture of the soldiers next to the picture of voters.
I should remind you that the BBC, whom you cite as a model, regularly practices the image co-location depicted in the first picture I posted above. Indeed, the BBC goes beyond image co-location and routinely uses pictures from past riots to depict current outbreaks of violence in BiafraNigeria. I am not aware that Barnaby Philips, Dan Isaacs, or any other BBC reporters have been sacked for using those pictures with different stories. Most people familiar with scenes from the year 2000 massacre in Kaduna might remember the picture below and the BBC's repeated use of that image as the lead picture in breaking news about violence in BiafraNigeria.
Clearly, there was no attempt in the following picture to suggest that the two images depicted are of soldiers and voters from the same shot of the camera. There was no attempt to eliminate the lines of demacation between the two images, or obliterate their distinction. But, there is no denying the suggestion in the combined image that soldiers were deployed in a manner that would satisfy those on whose orders they were deployed. I submit that the first picture above is an accurate and legitimate use of two images where soldiers have actually been deployed and voting is taking place contemporaneously.
___________________ No Biafran will be permitted to play Mother Theresa to the Yoruba and Hausa-Fulani, but play Osama Bin Laden to the Igbo or Biafrans! Posts: 1182 | Registered: Mar 2001
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posted
I am not sure which of the two I find more disgusting, that Obasanjo perpetrated this fraud in the first place, or that he expects his opponents to accept it.
___________________ Home is Best Posts: 43 | From: UK | Registered: Jan 2003
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Fellows: This must be rated as the FRAUD OF THE CENTURY! Its not only the EU, AU and the CW Observers that dismissed what happened on Saturday as a "joke,"
This is what two American Observer groups had to say in part of what they observed. Quote: "THERE WERE SCORES OF CASES OF ALLEGED ELECTORAL FRAUD IN MANY STATES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, OFTEN WITH COLLUSION OF ELECTORAL OFFICIALS ANS SECURITY PERSONNEL."
Sylva: Though belated, welcome on board. I agree 100% to your suggestion of how debates should run on this board. We must debate, agree and disagree where we must but still maintain our cool. Afteral, even if we shout ourselves hell till heaven comes down, the truth is that be you advocate for Nigeria, Biafra, or of the world in general, we are all victim to those who lord it on our respective constituencies. So, despite the "bumps," let us all try to drive with CARE and DECENTLY to arrive safely.
Posts: 997 | From: Germany | Registered: Mar 2001
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Nigeriankind, It is normal for Obasanjo to ask his opponents to accept the result; he made the same demand to Dr. Ekwueme when the PDP presidential primaries were rigged and also before the Presidenstial election of last saturday, knowing fully well that he was going to rig the elections. But what surprised me was the call by Shagari to accept the elections, inspite of all the proofs against the elections being free and fair. Maybe the elections could be maintained in certain areas, but there were places where, for example, elections did not take place at all. If we accept the result, then it means giving every government the licencece to do what they like. This means also that PDP will remain in power for ever in Nigeria. It is inacceptable and the world is watching to see whether we are cowards.
___________________ 1) Everything you can imagine is real->Picasso
2) They taught you the praises of their God, and these hosannas, when tuned into your sorrows, gave you the hope of a better world to come-->Patrice Lumumba Posts: 379 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
Nwa Aro, Thanks for your welcome. By subscribing to this board, we have implicitly or explicitly accepted to learn from each other and to inform. It means that we assimilate better a given thread after reading everyone's point of view. The only possible drawback is when one or two people fail to give their opinion, not because they do not have any, but because they are not bold(big) enough to express themselves in a free world. As the saying goes, "if we are not big enough to lose, then we are not big enough to win". If we communicate freely, most of our problems will be solved. In 1961, Belgium, the US and the UK(The Guardian, June 28, 2001) plotted the assassination of Patrice lumumba because he understood the importance of communicating with his people. But they cannot kill everybody, especially if more people continue to think, express their thoughts and understand its importance in a democratic world. We have all seen the bad side of non-communication in Nigeria where propagada is used to justify why a person won an election, while in reality, it was rigged.
All, If we allow politicians to rig elections and get away with it, then we are at the same time telling others to do the same later. If we are to practise real democracy in Nigeria, the foundation should be laid on a rocky ground to enable it last.
___________________ 1) Everything you can imagine is real->Picasso
2) They taught you the praises of their God, and these hosannas, when tuned into your sorrows, gave you the hope of a better world to come-->Patrice Lumumba Posts: 379 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Thanks for your welcome. I agree with some of your comments, but I still have a few things to say. I am sorry for my late reply, but I will do it soonest.
___________________ 1) Everything you can imagine is real->Picasso
2) They taught you the praises of their God, and these hosannas, when tuned into your sorrows, gave you the hope of a better world to come-->Patrice Lumumba Posts: 379 | Registered: Apr 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Umaru Ibrahim: Abeg make una carry una turenchi comot. No be for una korokoro eye Republicans rig election for Florida.
E no go compare Nigeria to US. In US most people no go vote for Bush because Bush come from there tribe or nation. Take Yoruba people for example, since Nigeria exist, they never vote for any other person wey no be yoruba. Even Obasanjo no get their vote in 1999. But they would live others to vote for their children. You see, such situation no go last for long before everybody go for their tents.
Under that condition, how do you want to elect a president? The north "voted" for for Obasanjo because the Generals wanted to use him to come back to power. Unfortunately, he accepted, otherwise we would have had less problems today.
Now you can forget what I have said in the last paragraph. The truth is that votes have never counted since Nigeria came to existence, including in 1999. The difference is that the propaganda and rig have been exposed this time. Nigeria will become a better country when we have leaders like Ojukwu who can make use of their brain to solve our problems.
Normally we should not have copied foolishly western model of election, we can modify it to suit our environment. We could bring power closer to the citizens by doing the following:
1) Every nation should organize its elections, knowing that they won't vote for people outside their nation. 1 Nation = 1 political party.
2) Local councils should be replace with mayors for each town. It would be easier to hold their mayors, who must live in the town accountable and responsible for solving the towns' problems.
3} So each nation will elect governors, mayors, the members of the National Assembly to represent them.
4) The governors alone will elect a president.
5) By applying the above configuration to the situation today, the Hausa could adopt ANPP, the Igbo APGA, the Yoruba PDP, etc.
6) It might not be exactly as above but it should be a child of our brain or home-made. And that solution guarantees one person one vote.
This means that Ojukwu, Obasanjo, Buhari, etc could be elected president without the participation of all their different Nations. I named only three nations but it applies to other nations too.
7) Federal allocations for each town should be given directly to the mayors and the governors, theirs. Which means that the allocation to governors will be less and corruption minimized. Maybe it would discourage some people from vying for government positions.
___________________ 1) Everything you can imagine is real->Picasso
2) They taught you the praises of their God, and these hosannas, when tuned into your sorrows, gave you the hope of a better world to come-->Patrice Lumumba Posts: 379 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Thanks for your detailed response. Although I am no journalist, I understand their use of images. As much as I appreciate the articles posted by BBC, CNN, and other foreign media in Nigeria/Africa, I would like to read the same version of news presented by a Nigerian/African.
I agree with you that BBC, for example use the same images to illustrate any news in Africa. I find it unfortunate. I do not expect them to be sacked because their bosses do not care and, as western populations are accustomed to negative news from africa, their journlists would find it difficult to change overnight. But Nigerians/Africans can protest or rather criticise it, becuae in western countries, images correspond to the news in question. This is in fact what I am doing here, to sensitive others on that the difference of phase between the image and the news.
An ordinary person who looks at an image, especially when the news is a sad one, does not even see the demarcation between the two pictures. The brain focused on the horror or sadness of the news that, the picture could be used an instrument of manipulation. But people understand and learn with time. This manipulative aspect of the images was once again evident in the title, " ".
___________________ 1) Everything you can imagine is real->Picasso
2) They taught you the praises of their God, and these hosannas, when tuned into your sorrows, gave you the hope of a better world to come-->Patrice Lumumba Posts: 379 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Thanks for your detailed response. Although I am no journalist, I understand their use of images. As much as I appreciate the articles posted by BBC, CNN, and other foreign media on Nigeria/Africa, I would like to read the same version of news presented by a Nigerian/African journalist.
I agree with you that BBC, for example use the same images to illustrate any news in Africa. I find it unfortunate. I do not expect them to be sacked because their boss do not care and, as western populations are accustomed to negative news from africa, their journlists would find it difficult to change overnight. But Nigerians/Africans can protest or rather criticise it, becuae in western countries, images correspond to the news in question. This is in fact what I am doing here, to sensitive others on the difference of phase between the image and the news.
An ordinary person who looks at the image, especially when the news is a sad one, does not even see the demarcation between the two pictures. The brain is so focused on the horror or sadness of the news that the picture could be used an instrument of manipulation. But people understand and learn with time. This manipulative aspect of the images becomes apparent in the title: "Vote Rigging and Military Intimidation: As BBC Puts Obasanjo Ahead in BiafraNigeria Poll" http://news.biafranigeriaworld.com/archive/2003/apr/20/ . From the above quotation, should we understand that BBC or Britain played a role in the vote rigging in Nigeria? We all know the answer.
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