AWARD-WINNING Nigerian author Chimamanda
Ngozi Adiche has spoken in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday about her most recent article on the conduct of the 2023 Nigerian presidential election, which has received considerable attention.
She called the election ‘a slap in the face of the Nigerian people and an insult to the collective intelligence of Nigerians’ in her article, Nigeria’s Hollow Democracy.
In the interview, the author clarified her position, claiming that the Nigerian people preferred an explanation to the ‘two-facedness of the US government’ with regard to African politics.
She claimed that there is evidence to support her claim that the election was utterly flawed, adding that the claim that technical difficulties were to blame is not believable.
She demanded an adequate justification for the election’s controversy from the Independent National Electoral Commission because it was ‘unconvincing’ to assume there were technical problems.
She stated that she wrote the article to uphold this truth and expose what she perceived to be the United States’ hypocrisy towards Africa. They both oppose and support undemocratic behaviour in African countries, she continued.
She went on to say that a group tasked with governing a democracy owed respect to Nigerians. Therefore, nobody has disclosed in public how that happened in the country, she said.
When asked about her concerns regarding criticism and lawsuit threats in response to the rumours she had made in the article, Chimamanda said she not only anticipated them but also had no worries about them because she ha
d stated in the piece that while the rumours were unfounded, it still highlighted the need to look into each one and provide the public with an explanation of the alleged election fraud that had taken place.
She expressed regret over how INEC handled the election and that she was unable to get her PVC.
When questioned about her opinion of Wole Soyinka’s assertion that Yusuf Datti had made fascist remarks, she responded that INEC and the government were actually fascist for denying voters the right to take part in a fair election.
She concluded by saying that even though the judiciary may have made questionable adjournments in some cases, which may have alarmed the people, she still had faith in the people for a fair hearing and a just ruling from the tribunal.
