The start of the 2011 Nigerian elections is just two weeks away and like kids in the playground, arguments over the presidential debates continue. The incumbent, Goodluck Jonathan has refused to debate other candidates in the ‘What About Us’, organised by broadcaster NN24 on DSTV. Three other candidates have chosen to boycott Jonathan’s debate under the Nigerian Election Debate Group (NEDG). Jonathan may regret not participating but Method is Madness (Saratu Abiola) was left ‘cold’ by the exclusion of the masses in the debate. But aren’t all debates like that? Nonetheless the ‘them’ of Nigeria are THE voters, not the ‘good English’, Blackberry carrying, London for summer crowd...

‘Let it be known that there are less of the yuppy Nigerians trooping to Victoria Island than there are them. Yes, them. Those people who weren't there in the debate. Those people who are likelier to own a radio than a TV. Those people who were probably on their okadas looking for passengers during the debate, hawking food or recharge cards, selling tomatoes in the market. Those people whose vote is up for resale because they don't see the difference in the candidates, and are so disillusioned because they don't have the same sense of urgency for their stomachs as they do for the country.

‘Those are the people politicians go to, after all, when they want votes, not us. With our Twitter and Blackberries, our Bella Naija and our good English and trips to London for summer. And I'm not even saying I blame these people. I'm just saying that we do not have the humility to see the smallness of our number. I'm saying that, if we did, we would have had a debate beamed from a market somewhere, with the head marketwoman or Iyaloja moderating, with translators for the Hausa or Igbo presidential candidate.’

It’s not just the politicians who need to take note of Saratu. The many ‘election monitoring’ and ‘vote Nigeria’ groups also need to take note. The majority of Nigerians voting do not have access to your fancy websites and online voting campaigns. The SMS campaigns for monitoring the elections are probably the best bet for getting the masses to participate in preventing fraud – but they have to be reached not just in the major cities but also in the vastness of Nigeria.

Kayode Ogundamisi at Canary Bird also comments on Goodluck Jonathan’s refusal to participate in the presidential debate by publishing an open letter by spokespersons for three candidates, Mohammed Buhari, Nuhu Ribadu and Ibrahim Shekarau:

‘We are highly suspicious of the celebrated romance with the BON debate by the president Jonathan’s camp which shunned the NN24 debate without an apology. We can only hazard that since most of the agencies organizing the BON debate are government parastatals, the organizers may not be in a position to resist the request for advance questions being given to the debates in which the NN24 agreed with us because they were independent. This does not mean that the men and women running these agencies lack integrity but the awe some power of the presidency may be too much for them.

‘Our principals being men of dignity with high regard for the people of Nigeria will not be part of such orchestrated charade of a D'Banj's “kokolete” debate.

‘Like millions of other Nigerians, we consider this behaviour of the president as egotistical, condescending and unbecoming of a man seeking a mandate to govern Nigeria. Leadership entails humility and respect for others.’

In neighbouring Benin protesters took to the streets to complain about the re-election of President Boni Yayi, running for his fifth election, and voting fraud.

‘Voting day passed calmly despite chaotic preparations that had caused two earlier postponements of the ballot.

‘The first-time use of an electronic voter register had led to opposition allegations that more than a million people had been left off it - a figure others said was exaggerated.

‘A mop-up voter registration was to be held on Wednesday and Thursday before the election, but was extended into Saturday when crowds mobbed sign-up centres and equipment broke down.

‘Other issues had also led to the two earlier poll delays, including failure to distribute electoral cards on time and designate and train polling station agents.
A string of protests involving several hundred people took place over the electoral roll controversy in the run-up to the vote, and authorities fired teargas to break up another demonstration last month.’

Muthoni Wanyeki writes in African Arguments and questions the position of the African Union on a range of issues including its relationship with Libyan leader, Colonel Gaddafi:

‘The AU is meant to be slowly moving towards full regional integration on the basis of consolidation of the Regional Economic Communities. In respect of managing political crises, what this means in practice is that, in the first instance, the RECs will act on behalf of the AU. With Cote d’Ivoire—where, unlike Kenya, it was clear that the incumbent had lost the elections and was simply refusing to go, with the support of the constitutional court—it has to be said that the Economic Community of West African States was initially unequivocal about its position. The incumbent was to leave, failing which ECOWAS would intervene militarily. That ECOWAS was serious was signalled by an almost immediate convening of the region’s defence heads to plan the intervention.’

Africa on the Blog reminds us that economic apartheid in the form of ‘forced removals’ is still very much apart of South African life:

‘Raising awareness of human rights violations is something I never thought I would have to consider in the new South Africa. We are after all the bright shiny NEW South Africa are we not? Well no, at grassroots level, this is not the case at all, it takes a long time to undo damage. Sixteen years on and we still find communities suffering, some forced into virtual slave labour, others homeless for all intents and purposes and living with the risk of forced removals, victims of high crime rates and subjected all types of abuse.

‘The term “forced removals” is a term we became familiar with during the apartheid era in South African history when non-white communities were forcibly removed from certain areas to government specified locations.’

Sweet Sierra asks if this is the end of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Sierra Leone?

‘For the first time in Sierra Leone's history in observance of 'Zero Tolerance Day Against FGM/FGC and International Women's Day, The National Movement for Emancipation (NaMEP) has launched the 'Bondo Without Cutting Campaign' with the initiation of 66 girls who went through all the traditional bondo rites except for the cutting. A medical practitioner was on site to examine the girls before and after the initiation to ensure that the girls had not been cut. The organization (NaMEP) hopes to initiate an additional 200 girls in Aberdeen, Western Area in the coming weeks.

‘Many are hoping that this will usher in a new era for bondo in Sierra Leone, one in which a creole girl like me will be happy to send her daughter knowing that she will not be traumatized by cutting rather make friends, learn traditional songs and dance, and join a sisterhood of her peers.’

Gay Kenya reports on a new programme to address the security of sexual minorities in the country. The programme is SMS based and will run on the Ushahidi platform.

‘Its mean't to document cases of harassment, violence, threats and other extremes meted out to sexual minorities. People can send in reports and alerts using the same service. It will also help map services and hot spots so that members can visualize them and inform each other better. Its a community service and members are asked to spread information on it to all.’

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* Sokari Ekine blogs at Black Looks.
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