With the approaching 2007 elections, Nigerians are worried about the influence armed gangs will have at the ballot box. Stemming from the 2003 elections, desperate politicians hired armed muscle from gangs like the ‘KKK’, 'Greenlanders' and 'Icelanders' to steal ballot boxes and intimidate political rivals. These politicians offered political jobs and other incentives for their services. However, these jobs failed to materialize.
Leading up to the elections in April, one prominent gang leader pronounced that the upcoming elections will be… “bloodier. This time it’s [the gangs] who will say this person is good, this person can work”. Unfortunately for Nigeria and the rest of the world, these highly motivated gangs operate in and around the Niger Delta which serves as the hub for the cultivation and trade of Nigeria’s chief export: crude oil. Because the terrain of the delta is so difficult too manage, the gangs operate impervious to local police and military force. The gangs claim that political office is really a “low intensity” struggle to obtain the rights to control Nigeria’s rich oil trade. The gangs also are making their clarion call in the name of accountability, in the sense that political corruption leads to the impoverishment of their cities and people. Consequently, in a sad turn of events for all Nigerians, these gangs are openly declaring to the people that their vote will not determine the 2007 ‘democratic’ election, but instead determined by the gangs.
Unfortunately, this article begs the question about the viability for democracy in Africa. If political and in this case the power to control the lucrative oil trade changes hands every 4 years through bloodshed, is democracy really the best option? Wouldn’t stability in the form of a benevolent albeit probably corrupt dictator prove better?
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