The Campaign Trail

Chapter Thirteen

67 Chapter Thirteen s the campaign hysteria raged on, the chief executive of state, President Utum Tar, could not just sit with folded arms. He had to convene a meeting of (the Ruling Organ of) the party to map out campaign strategies. Various teams were set up and sent to electoral districts across the length and breadth of the Republic. This kept the whole state busy. Every top civil servant in the administration had to return to his land of birth to organise rallies. The Treasury provided huge sums of money for these missions. The ministers knew that the President would reorganize his cabinet after the elections and that their performance would determine their reappointment. Many of the ministers had acquired fortunes through their positions and were able to contribute extra money to the election fund to enhance their prospects. This is when those expensive all-weather fourwheel drive vehicles would be useful. The election teams came in with cartons of nice wine, bags of salt, soap, rice and many other valuables to pamper the electorate. Every neighbourhood enjoyed unusual feasting. The team that was sent to Ndindi, Jampassdie’s stronghold, was a special one as they knew this would be a hard nut to crack. It was made up of people with a religious belief in the ruling party. The right man, Minister of State Adamu Ndi, was chairman of the team. They got to Ndindi late at night after a tedious journey of pushing the car on a muddy road and found lodging in a local hotel. These imminent personalities either brought girlfriends with them or made new ones on the spot. Minister Ndi never took anyone with him. As chance would have it, the first lady he met in Ndindi was Natti and he could not resist her A 68 charms. His body guard immediately made arrangements for the minister to have a nice night. Then the team paid a courtesy call to the Head of Administration, the main organiser of the elections, and gave out the confidential instructions from party headquarters. These contained all the rigging manoeuvres put in place by the ruling party. The instructions were uniform all over the territory and the main one was that some ballot boxes should be stuffed well in advance with ballot papers. The Head of Administration had to fill some return sheets and fake signatures on them well ahead of counting. Then, for purposes of popularity, people could be brought in from neighbouring villages to vote twice. Most importantly, voting cards of known opposition members had to be hidden. The Head of Administration was responsible for updating the voting register right up to the morning of voting day. Most members of the ruling party were permitted to own extra cards in the names of dead relatives or people living too far from the village to come in for the vote. Before Election Day, forces of law and order were to be mobilised all over the territory to prevent rioting. After the brainstorming meeting, the minister returned to his hotel room and social matters. The professional traditional dancers that entertained at every rally soon invaded the market arena. The same people attended the ruling and opposition party rallies. It was hard to say whether they were heeding the opposition’s call to enjoy the tax payer’s money or simply hanging on to the party that brought good food and nice wine. Everyone was clothed in newly printed t-shirts and fez caps bearing a picture of the Head of State, giving a real glamorous appearance to the scene. The spray of bank notes was more generous than ever before. 69 Before the rally could end, the opposition stole the show. What an embarrassing situation to the minister! The confidential text bearing party instructions on the rigging procedure had been pasted on the entrance to the market. Another copy had been pasted on his car. The minister stood dumbfounded. Sweat trickled down his face and he was totally drenched in perspiration. He ordered the police to do their job and scolded them for lack of vigilance. He wondered inwardly if there was a malicious hand behind this betrayal. With frail limbs, like a convalescent, anaemic patient, he walked to his hotel room. He had locked the door and, surprisingly, it was still intact. His suit case, containing all these valuables, was neatly locked and he had taken...