Tag Archives: Nigerian Elections 2019
Obe Ess – Artful Dodger
In this conversation, a political office-holder is seen talking with an acquaintance on their resolution to retain power in 2019. Soon, the conversation moves from how to achieve their resolution to the invocations of God to fish out their political opponents or enemies that may want to put sand in their garri (garri is a staple grain in Nigeria). Such is the mindset of a typical Nigerian politician. It’s very easy for them to bring God into conversations that may not even concern God.
In the end, one of the people talking concludes
that their best bet for winning the election would
be provide food to voters. This statement is tricky. One may want to ask: provide ‘food’ in terms of food security or food to lure voters to vote for their party?
Obe Ess – Changing Language
Here, Ess is playing with words while also taking us through the mind of a typical Nigerian politician running for an office.
In what looks like President Muhammadu Buhari having a conversation with a member of his cabinet or party, Ess mocks the leadership of the All Progressives Congress’ for failing to keep up with its campaign promises, and then declares the party “rootless”.
Obe Ess – No Condition Is Permanent
This is a conversation between two individuals on how they voted in a gubernatorial election and how they would like to vote in the general elections in 2019.
Here, there is a man that was “settled” to vote in a certain way but voted otherwise. “Settled” in the Nigerian parlance could mean “bribed”. So, the man was bribed to vote for one candidate but went for “change” instead. In this context, “change” is a loaded word.
First, change could mean transformation or transition from one state to another. Second, it may refer to the campaign slogan used by the members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the 2015 electioneering process. Third, it may have monetary undertones. It could refer to what one gets after a transaction. Or, also in the Nigerian parlance, a small amount of money that one begs for or gifted.
Therefore, in this instance, the man who voted for change, voted for the APC. He might have done so because he really wanted a change in government, or because he was given a certain amount of money to vote for APC.
The big picture in this cartoon is that vote-buying and -selling is an issue in Nigerian democratic processes.
Obe Ess – Strange Bedfellows
In this conversation, two individuals are discussing the recent wave of defection in (possibly) the All Progressives Congress. While one of the individuals sees the defections as something that should be avoided while the other thinks that there is a way to render defected politicians valueless in their new political parties.
Their strategy for rendering them valueless is to recover their loot (almost certainly by reporting them to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In essence, this piece foregrounds how Nigerian politicians think about corruption and the so-called fight against it.
Obe Ess – The Return Match
This is a a reflection on voters’ suppression and victimization in Nigeria. Overall, it reveals how state’s security operatives are being deployed by the Federal Government to intimidate opposition politicians.
