At the new height of election irregularities that marred the tenure of former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the country found itself in turmoil of leadership incredibility. Most of the leaders and representatives were ushered into the position of authority through election malpractices. A former Nigerian President, late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, accepted in the public glare that the election that produced him as the nation’s number one was marred by irregularities. This submission led Nigeria to an endless search for credible process that will enable her elect leaders with absolute majority, election that will be conducted based on superior numbers and not mere frivolities of ballot snatching and stuffing.
President Goodluck Jonathan upon assuming office promised among several other things that future elections in the country shall be credible and fair. His party, the Peoples Democratic Party, concurred with this promise. Interestingly, every Nigerian applauded the President’s plan for election credibility, which has dented the image of Africa’s largest economy. He became more celebrated when he appointed one of the nation’s finest political activists, a former Vice Chancellor and union leader, Prof. Attahiru Jega, as the new helmsman of the Nigeria’s electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission. The veteran began his electoral exercises starting with Anambra State gubernatorial election, followed by Ondo and Edo States, all done without Permanent Voter Cards or Electronic Card Readers.
The situation changed when there was the need to have elections in Ekiti and Osun States. Clamour for election credibility assumed a new dimension. Several billions of Naira have been allocated to INEC to organise elections that will satisfy the clamours of both local and international observers. INEC has developed an effective software to checkmate rigging and election malpractices. The parties and the general populace accepted the new solution. Hopes were once again rising. There is a future. Tomorrow is brighter.
Those were the thoughts of Nigerians with the assurance that the best and people’s choice will begin to get to the places of authority. The trusted will have their way. The country can move forward. Even the major political players, including the political parties, agreed to this great achievement. So why the present objections?
The present objections against the use of either PVC and ECR, particularly by the apologists of President Goodluck Jonathan and his party (PDP), came as jaw-dropper, even when Mr. President had once declared in one of his recent campaign outings that the adoption of PVCs is one of his legacies to ensure the empowerment of Nigerian voters, that the initiative would eliminate lapses in past elections. It is worrisome to note that the much acclaimed legacy has sadly become an appendix for election rigging. The INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, opined that his commission has reached a comfort level with PVC and ECR to deliver credible, free, fair and transparent elections in 2015 that will be much better than they have done in 2011. The unnecessary antagonism by some Nigerian politicians and other organisations sparked suspicions and left the nation in shock. The protests by militia groups, which included the Movement for the Actualisation for the Sovereign State of Biafra and the Oodua Peoples Congress, have added new dimension to the whole issue. To what interest is their protest if I may ask?
The antagonism reached a new night when the PDP announced to the whole world that the INEC was planning to rig them out with the use of PVC and ECR. PDP ought to be merry for the adoption of such technology having boasted of being the largest political party in Africa and in turn the most acceptable with followership spread across the nation, the party has also boasted of his numerous members, with whom their support will win them elections in the next 60 years. What brought about this assumption by the ruling party remains a mirage. The party at the centre has argued that the PVC was acutely distributed mostly in their dominated areas of South East and South South. Their argument, coupled with the security complexities in the nation’s North East, has led to election postponement. It is now believed that with additional weeks of its distribution, we should all be ready for this election.
Suspicious role of opposition in the implementation of the new technology too has sparked some controversies. To some extent, the All Progressives Congress has become the front runner in pushing for the usage of the card readers. Is there anything for APC to gain from such usage apart from its transparency? To all the watchers across the world, computerisation has accounted for probity. Nigeria will not be an exemption. Our politicians should see the emergence of Jega’s team and their developed PVC and ECR as a panacea for election rigging and nothing more. We need credibility, we need fairness and we deserve leaders that are elected by majority, not the one forced on us by few political thugs. It is time to appreciate the new technology. It is time to be practical and time to move forward as a nation.
Jacob Ogunseye is of the JEDD Centre for Leadership and Direction and writes from jeddcentreflandd@mail.com.
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
