inec faces challenges

By ANUMNU MIKEL
Posted: Monday, April 4, 2011

As Nigerian eligible voters close their works and businesses just as they did during the last voter's registration to exercise their civic right, the Independent National Electoral commission tried its best to make sure that all things were put in place to make sure that the senatorial and House of representative election were all free and fair. But the fact still remains that the time that was given by the commission to start up the accreditation exercise did not work out as many of the staff of the Inec did not live up to their expectation as planned by the Chairman of the commission.
In Kaduna state, the hiccup started when the commission released names of the Adhoc staff that were suppose to conduct the election. But unfortunately the corps members which every citizen of Nigeria applauded during the smooth and successful voters registration were no were to be found as most of their names were substituted by either political party agents or party supporters who neither attended the Inec training nor have the requisite qualification for such a national assignment.
The names that were suppose to be published in the early hours of Friday did not come out until quarter pass the hour of six in the evening. A lot of NYSC ad-hoc staff said the delay might have been to make sure that by the time the list will be released there will not be time for anybody to complain to the appropriate authority about the mixup. Well, thank God for prof. Attahiru Jega who in his own wisdom noticed a lot of short comings in the whole process and called for a nation wide cancellation of the election.
The election was faced with a lot of challenges which reders from, the late arrival of the eletion materials, to shortage of materials and to back it up, a lot of people went to the field without the use the registration forms that were supposed to be used as records for the election. Lack of logistics to conveying the ad-hock staffs to their different polling unit resulted to party agents carrying corps members in their private cars of which everybody knows what the final implication of this might be at the end of the day. The turn out of people no doubt was nothung to write home about but the increasing number of underage children who either claim to be nineteen or twenty years was highly confusing as people in the area keep insisting that they must be accredidated. As a friend to all, the Nigerian police force was there to protect the life and property of citizens but what one can never say at thing point is, if the women will be removed from the force as most of them can neither control the staff nor even give instruction on the manner in which these political agents are conducting themselves
In a similar development, the security system that were iused for this honorable exercise need to be streghtend as most of the police men are not armed. I wonder how an unarmed policeman, civil defence will face the the dealings of armed political thugs who have sworn to deal with anybody that try to stop them from their usual political business. The Nigerian police force no doubt tried to make sure that every polling unit have one police personnel but the issue still remains that one police officer will never be enough for a polling unit going by what we all experience in the house of representative and senatorial elections that was cancelled. There is need for everybody to fasten his seat belt in the next election because Nigerians would not want and will not be ready to experience the type of elections that we have been having in the past.
However, for Nigeria to have a free and fair election it is not only the responsibility of the independent national electorial commission but also the responsibility of the political parties and the electorates. Nigerians should also have in mind that the future of this country is in their thumb and there votes is there power. There is need for us to get things done right atleast for the first time in the history of this country.
Moreover, due to the level of trust that Nigerians have in th corps members, if for no other thing, the way and manner in which they conducted the last voters registration, if given the chance to conduct this general election, the country will experience a transparent election this April. In view of that, I urge the leadership of Inec to make sure that they engage the services of all corp members including the recent Batch A corps members that just finished there training from different camps in the federation.
The leadership of prof. Attahiru jega have been applauded by all and sundry but let these whole efforts towards a successful general election in Nigeria be dragged to the mud as many of the officials are almost trying to mare the whole system.