Convivial Form .... Violent Substance

Hajiya Halima Aminu Tijjani (Photo Credit: Daily Trust)

Hajiya Halima Aminu Tijjani, is a senatorial candidate running on the ticket of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Kaduna State. She was viciously beaten by thugs acting on the orders of the Barrister Musa Soba, Kaduna State Chairman of the ACN.

My last post before this one had videos and links to videos of the 2011 Presidential and Vice-Presidential debates organized by NN24. Whatever you think of the candidates and of their answers to the questions, the debates present a particular image of how Nigerian politics is conducted.

But dig a little deeper and you find out that politics in Nigeria has changed very little since the First Republic. It is VERY violent, and female candidates are not spared. Daily Trust reported on female candidates who have endured vicious beatings, attempted kidnapping, and intimidation by thugs (it is 3-pages long with a lot of information, though I would have liked a lot more detail).

Before you tell me I shouldn't blame the principals for the actions of such "low level" political operators, let me remind you that these operators, these political bosses, these wielders of "structures" and "machines" that control outcomes "on the ground" are the people the political VIPs hire and pay to produce what you might call favourable outcomes on behalf of the VIP.

It is why I don't take politicians seriously when they criticize their rivals (but not themselves or their allies) for instigating violence, as President Jonathan did here, and General Buhari did here.

Speaking of those two candidates, any number of CPC-aligned thugs have responded violently to the arrival of the PDP presidential campaign train in their cities, while pro-Jonathan PDP governors have not hesitated to use hired thugs, uniformed security officials (who are supposed to be neutral) and illegal, unconstitutional edicts and proclamations (without parliamentary approval) to hinder or quash the campaign rallies of the president's rivals.

Would the bosses of "grassroots" political machines wield such power without the patronage and protection of the Big Men? Or it is that the Big Men would not wield the power they control without the backing of the machine bosses? Either way, the two groups work hand in hand to dictate political outcomes.

It is one of several reasons our Police Force and general law enforcement are deliberately kept dysfunctional. When political bosses hire thugs and send thugs to beat, intimidate or assassinate other politicians, they do so on the understanding that the powers-that-be will let them get away with it. Even if the assault is done by an opponent of someone who has power, the person with power would still prefer to let it go because he knows he will want to do the same thing soon, and he does not want to start a tradition or custom of people who do things like that getting arrested. Besides, he knows the day will come when he is no longer in power, when the other Big Men could revenge against him if he punished them too much when he had power.

And visiting such violence on women isn't even a new thing. A classmate of mine, a mother of two and a women's leader in one of the smaller "opposition" parties, was murdered. Not to mention the fact that women are, like men, general victims of the low-intensity, below-the-radar violence that characterizes "elections" in Nigeria.

If only the image presented by the debates reflected reality.

EDIT:

Scene of political violence at Fortune High School (Photo Credit: Sahara Reporters)

While I was still composing this post, more political violence broke out in Akwa Ibom, Ekiti, Jigawa, Edo and Ondo States. Various bands of thugs loyal to the Peoples Democratic Party, the Action Congress of Nigeria, the Congress for Progressive Change and the All Nigerian Peoples Party were variously involved in the murder, mayhem and destructions.

A few links: In Akwa Ibom; in Jigawa, Ondo and Ekiti; pictures of the Akwa Ibom aftermath from Sahara Reporters.

You cannot rig in a territory you don't "control". Like urban gangs the world over, these thug armies are laying claim to "turf" ahead of the polls.

Expect the presidential candidates to express their dismay and disappointment, their shock and their horror, their resolve to bring the guilty to justice, blah, blah, blah, blah.