Nigeria's 2023 Presidential Election: 5 Key Takeaways from Chimamanda Adichie's Article to Joe Biden
- The United States has been accused of compromising its democratic values and standards by congratulating Bola Tinubu as Nigeria's president-elect
- Author and feminist Chimamanda Adichie made this claim in a lengthy article addressed to President Joe Biden
- In her article, she urged the United States not to tarnish its commitment to democracy by validating a fraudulent electoral process
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Renowned novelist and human rights activist Chimamanda Adichie broke the internet on Thursday, April 6, after writing a lengthy letter to the president of the United States, Joe Biden, on the ills of the 2023 presidential elections held on Saturday, February 25.
In the thought-provoking lengthy letter published by The Atlantic, the novelist described the conduct of the 2023 presidential polls as follows:
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"a shoddy, shabby manner that insulted the intelligence of Nigerians."
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1. Historical Facts of Nigeria's Democracy
The article was laced with every ounce of displeasure over the electoral practice of Nigeria when she began with the historical background of Nigeria's journey to democracy and the post-military era.
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She noted that before the 2023 presidential polls, Nigeria had witnessed a series of electoral fraud and democratic indecency that has frequently questioned the democratic nature of the Nigerian government.
Adichie said:
"Since the end of military rule in 1999, Nigerians have had little confidence in elections. To vote in a presidential election was to brace yourself for the inevitable aftermath: fraud.
"Elections would be rigged because elections were always rigged; the question was how badly. Sometimes voting felt like an inconsequential gesture as predetermined “winners” were announced."
2. Redemption of the Electoral Act of 2022
As contained in the article, Adichie recounted how the emergence of the new Electoral Act of 2022 brought hope to the Nigeria electoral system and electorates for the first time in over two decades.
She further referred to the words of Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), who confidently assured Nigerians that the elections would be free and fair as all technology that would be deployed would work perfectly.
While referring to Prof Yakubu's Chatham House speech in the UK, she said:
"Nigerians applauded him. If results were uploaded right after voting was concluded, then the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), which has been in power since 2015, would have no opportunity for manipulation.
"Technology would redeem Nigerian democracy. Results would no longer feature more votes than voters. Nigerians would no longer have their leaders chosen for them. Elections would, finally, capture the true voice of the people. And so trust and hope were born."
3. INEC and failure of technology
In her note to President Biden, Adichie recounted the electoral fraud perpetrated during the elections and how INEC failed over 250 million Nigerians and over 90 million electorates.
Quoting her relative, she said:
"We refused to leave the polling unit until the INEC staff uploaded the presidential result. The poor guy kept trying and kept getting an ‘error’ message. There was no network problem.
"I had internet on my phone. My bank app was working. The Senate and House results were easily uploaded. So why couldn’t the presidential results be uploaded on the same system?”
4. Peter Obi, Labour Party, Obidients and the third force movement
As contained in her letter to Biden, the renowned novelist highlighted the emergence of the Labour Party and its candidate, Peter Obi.
The Half of a Yellow Sun author described Obi as honest and accessible.
She said:
"Obi was different; he seemed honest and accessible, and his vision of anti-corruption and self-sufficiency gave rise to a movement of supporters who called themselves “Obi-dients.”
She, however, noted that the aftermath of the election left Nigerians in awe of shock and pain.
5. US role in the election and message to Biden
Adichie recounted that she was surprised that despite all evidence made available, the United States congratulated a president-elect who emerged through a fraudulent process.
She prompted President Biden, saying:
"I hope it will not surprise you, President Biden, if I argue that the American response to the Nigerian election also bears the faint taint of that word, compromised, because it is so removed from the actual situation in Nigeria as to be disingenuous.
"Has the United States once again decided that what matters in Africa is not democracy but stability? (Perhaps you could tell British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who quickly congratulated Tinubu, that an illegitimate government in a country full of frustrated young people does not portend stability)."
She stated that the United States' position on the election was that of compromise and a stain on the image of America as a proponent of democracy and all its embodiment.
Adichie said:
"Congratulating its outcome, President Biden tarnishes America’s self-proclaimed commitment to democracy. Please do not give the sheen of legitimacy to an illegitimate process. The United States should be what it says it is."
Renowned novelist Chimamanda Adichie bags chieftaincy title in own community
In another development, His Royal Highness, Igwe Leonard Nwankwo Ezeh of Abba, has bestowed famous novelist Chimamanda Adichie with a chieftaincy title.
Adichie, who is also a feminist, bagged the title of Odeluwa, which means she who writes for the world.
The coronation ceremony was graced by the governor of Anambra state, Prof. Charles Soludo and other popular dignitaries.
Source: Legit.ng
