ABTI-American University representatives and American University students challenged Nigerian Election Forum speakers about the intricacies of Nigeria's third election. The term "free and fair" repeatedly came up in discussion because of recent controversies among rivaling parties and accusations of corruption.
"If you think elections in Louisiana are dirty, we're going to talk about those in Nigeria," said Robert Pastor, Vice President of International Affairs, after he told a brief anecdote on name-calling in a local Louisiana race.
The three speakers were Nigerian Professor Rotimi Suberu, John Hopkins Professor Peter Lewis and Donald Heflin, deputy director for the office of West African affairs in the U.S. Department of State. They focused mainly on the presidential race.
Suberu offered a Nigerian perspective and Lewis supplemented his information. Hefflin presented the U.S. view on the election.
The Nigerian elections will occur on April 14 and 21. During the elections, Nigerians will vote for Parliament, state governors and a new president. Because Nigeria has a two-term limit for president, this third election in the nation's history since its release from colonialism presents an opportunity to overturn the government.
In Nigeria, fragmentation in the major political party has created a pool of 50 parties with an estimated 20 serious candidates, five or six of whom will be in the forefront. The final ticket will be made by Feb. 20, and Hafflin said there was a high chance for a second round.
"To see the processes is overwhelming and striking," Lewis said.
Hefflin promoted that the U.S. would maintain a hands-off role in the election, a statement that sparked controversy at the forum.
"It's the Nigerians who are going to have to monitor themselves, the political parties are going to have to monitor each other," Hafflin said.
Many attendees did not agree with Hefflin's statement.
"I am at a loss how Don can be so sanguine about letting Nigerians take care of everything," said Patrick Ukata, Director of the ABTI-Nigeria International Liaison Office. "I think the U.S. is missing a big opportunity to shape what's going on in Nigeria, and I don't know if it's to protect U.S. oil reserves."
Suberu and Pastor both said the U.S. served mainly as a supportive role in the Nigerian elections, but emphasized White House officials could do a better job of defining what the U.S. hopes to see in the country.
"We're not doing enough based on the resources being allocated," Lewis said. "If [White House officials] don't want to pony up the money, [they] could at least make a phone call with high level statements. It's cheap, but it resonates with Nigerians."
According to forum speakers and attendees, the Nigerian elections will have a great impact on the global political landscape and needs attention.
"A successful election is one where the Nigerians can accept the elections as free and fair even if it's not their candidate that wins," Hafflin said after boiling down the numbers.
