May 29: Sam Amadi says it makes no sense to defend mandate after assuming power

Sam Amadi, who is the director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts, has insisted that “the nation can’t build legitimate governance without electoral justice.”

According to him, it is “completely dumb” to run an electoral system that puts someone in power and then asks that person to defend his election as commander-in-chief. He called this practice “completely dumb.”

You may remember that Amadi asserted that the inauguration of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, could be delayed until after May 29, insisting that he has a serious case pending before the tribunal that could go either way.

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In a tweet sent out on Sunday, the former Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, also known as NERC, urged those who disagreed with him to “get on electoral justice and exit the track of electoral triumphalism.”

He wrote that people who believe they have a lot of intelligence ought to be giving serious consideration to the years to come. A new government will take office in Nigeria with a mandate that is both limited and contested. Consider how to handle this crisis on top of a state power that is nearly extinct rather than how to make the most of your time at Aso Rock.

“We have got to get off this path of electoral triumphalism and onto the path of electoral justice. This culture of “grab it, smash it” or “do die” is what caused the downfall of all of the republics that came before it. Building a legitimate government is impossible in the absence of electoral justice. Let’s not waste time badmouthing Sam but rather find out the truth.

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“You can begin today to think about how we operate an electoral system that does put someone in power and asks him to defend his election as commander-in-chief in a third world country. You can start thinking about this right now. In risk analysis and engineering, that is the epitome of stupidity. Start thinking about how to fix it for the year 2027, assuming that it will come.