Kogi: From tragedy to farce - TheNation .

Kogi State residents were still struggling to come to terms with the sudden death of Abubakar Audu, their former governor who was on the cusp of returning to Lugard House for a record third stint, following his commanding showing in the November 21 election.

Amidst the mourning and the wailing, tragedy quickly turned into farce.  And the whole thing has remained a perfect calendar of farce ever since.

I am not referring to the jubilation that punctured the funereal ambience, following reports that Audu had resurrected, Lazarus-style, on account of a miracle worker’s intercession.  Elsewhere, that would be farcical indeed.  But in Nigeria, such claims, and even more brazen ones, are made routinely by syndicated charlatans with eyes on the main chance.

This long-running farce began when, without research and without consultation, the returning officer, Professor Emmanuel Kucha, declared the election outcome inconclusive.  Audu and his running mate on the APC ticket had built a lead that their opponent, incumbent Governor Idris Wada, could not surmount even if he won every ballot in the constituencies where the voting had to be rescheduled because of logistic problems or election malpractices

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