The emergence of Mr. Peter Gregory Obi on the platform of the Labour Party, and his choice of Senator Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, as his running mate, backed by the Third Force coalition of political parties, civil society groups, and social movements, all under the Big Tent heralded, perhaps the most important values-based political change initiative that can be recalled in post-military Nigeria political experience.

A revolutionary movement that was considered implausible, that was derisively characterised as “four men tweeting in a room,” ultimately metamorphosed to come farther than anyone ever thought it will in trying to unite Nigeria through politics in the just ended campaign. Our movement was indeed warmly received and embraced by Nigerians desirous of positive change.

When this revolution started, barely nine months ago, many actually laughed it off as so implausible that only people who take wild risks, who believe in the esoteric could have imagined anything like what has been accomplished.

According to Professor Utomi, Convener of The Big Tent Coalition, “the Nigerian people were fed up, they were tired of being taken for granted by politicians who felt that all they needed to do is to annoy you enough not to care about voting and have enough cash to distribute to a few miscreants, and they can continue to run a government of politicians by politicians for politicians. But they completely under-estimated how fed up you and other Nigerians are with the current order.”

Big Tent ensured laser focus on an issues based campaign devoid of the traditional divisiveness of general campaigns along ethnic and religious lines of fractious and emotional approaches and looked at uniting Nigeria with ideas that will make Nigeria better for everyone.

Sadly the less-than-professional shenanigans by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and those who tried to thwart the collective will of Nigerians on February 25 nearly stopped us short from saving Nigeria. Beyond some of the playing by INEC and those who tried to rig on February 25, the worse tactics that were unfolded on March 18 during the gubernatorial and state houses of assembly elections became the tragic pull back from nearly saving Nigeria and taking the country down to a “Hotel Rwanda” kind of situation. It was in keeping with the divisive and primitive rhetoric of a Presidential candidate who encouraged “Grab it, snatch it, run with it” as a political principle.

Surprisingly, earlier in the week that just ended, President Muhammadu Buhari, while hosting Mary Leonard, the outgoing US Ambassador, described the flawed elections as one in which he was “inspired by the fact that voters were able to make their own decision.”

Hardly had he finished that statement than the United States of America officially denounced the elections, stating unequivocally that they had been marred by violent voter intimidation and suppression. “The United States is deeply troubled by the disturbing acts of violent voter intimidation and suppression that took place during those polls in Lagos, Kano, and other states,” the statement read. The US went further to state that “The use of ethnically charged rhetoric before, during, and after the gubernatorial election in Lagos was particularly concerning,” and urged President Buhari to “hold accountable and bring to justice any individuals found to have ordered or carried out efforts to intimidate voters and suppress voting during the election process.”

The US government even warned that it will also “consider all available actions, including additional visa restrictions, on individuals believed to be responsible for, or complicit in undermining the democratic process in Nigeria.”

It is against this background that the NATIONAL CONSULTATIVE MEETING OF THE BIG TENT at its just-concluded meeting in Lagos agreed to denounce, in strong terms:

1. Terrorism against the citizens
2. The loss of civility in public life – use and abuse of power, military and the police, which has caused major loss of civility in public life

COMMITMENT TO HALT DESCENT FROM CITIZENSHIP AND FOR VOTE REDEMPTION IN STATES

We have therefore undertaken to implement concrete steps to halt the descent from true citizenship, through to tribes’ men status and in many cases to a complete drop into the idiots’ category.

The unfortunate events of February 25 and March 18, respectively, through which the drowning political elite laboured to push some Nigerians who were in the process of liberation into behaviour that dropped them from move towards citizenship to a collapse into a state of idiots and the great harm it has done, is an important task that we have resolved to reverse.

Big Tent shall deploy the above as part of deliberate strategy to reclaim the states that Labour Party was clearly robbed of electoral victories as a way to begin a new process in which Nigerians realise how they were abused by states’ terror that was unleashed on March 18 by the ruling party and other big parties.

Overall, progressive-minded Nigerians are assured that the big goal that Big Tent is pursuing is on course regardless of the flawed outcomes of the just concluded shambolic elections. Our movement – the peoples’ movement – has won big time because we have got our country and its people thinking differently.

We are more determined to encourage the Nigerian people to keep their voices up because “vox populi, vox Dei,” people are the voice of God and we are therefore determined to have them properly informed so that their voices can stay up.

CHARLES ODIBO

Director of Media & Communications