Jega should be encouraged to midwife credible elections

By OKOLI COLLINS
Posted: Thursday, April 7, 2011

Man is fallible, which makes him a product of uncertainty to definite situation. But the level of fallibility of a man depends on the ability of an individual to organize his arsenals in order to be ready for the unforeseen. On this note, Politicians and political pundits should encourage one another to perfect the strategies of Jega and his team in order to ensure that there is smooth transition of power come May 29.
The issue of electioneering is never an institutional affair that should be left in the hands of an individual, rather it is a holistic project that should involve human and material resources of all institutions that preache true, free, fair and credible electoral processes that will actualize the yearnings of the nation's nascent democracy after so many years of military rule.
Who should be held responsible for the absence of election result sheet and other sensitive electoral materials in most of the polling stations during the National Assembly election that was recently cancelled, is a question each and every individual that is patriotic to the well being of this country should ask.
The question above can be answered by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega and other National Commissioners that constitute the commission's board.
All eyes are on the "number one citizen" of the country when it comes to conducting an electoral process that will usher in a new and dynamic leadership that will champion the cause of the nation in the next four years. However, another question that comes to mind is, can Jega as an individual conduct a transparent election that will be devoid of rancor amongst the political parties and their candidates? It is therefore suggested that the system of operation of the Independent National Electoral Commission has to be revisited not by recruiting new staff but the full utilization of the existing staff that are willing to give their loyalty to the institution. Delegation of duties and strict adherence to the guidelines of the commission should be obeyed to the letter. Furthermore, strict supervision should be another means that can ensure that the staff all over the federation do what is expected of them. What is expected now from the Jega led INEC is accountability and truth to save the over 60 million eligible voters that devoted their time to go out against all odds to register in order to participate during the general elections.
The logical reasoning of who gets what, when, and how is the major factor that has mitigated transparency and accountability in most institutions in Nigeria, especially the INEC. Prior to the recently postponed National Assembly election, there were several signs that all was not okay with the institution. This was as a result of logistic factor that had dampened the hope of the majority of the people especially in the past elections after the death of the last military head of state, Gen. Abacha. Logistics is the web-like coordination of activities in segmented aspects through delegation of authority and obedience of strict adherence to the supervising authority. Through this medium, there exists a channel of communication from the peak to the lower level. The non-provision and mobilization of adhoc staff are the crucial reasons that gave rise to the cancellation of the April 2 National Assembly. These two issues have been discussed from two perspectives and on different political platforms especially from the ruling and opposition political parties, which ever analogy these platforms have vexed their anger in respect of the cancellation and the rescheduling of the election, one should support the school of thought that things should be done in an orderly way in order to promote effectiveness, efficiency and other positive values that guarantee an untainted electoral victory for any political party cum candidates that emerge the winner.
The political vexation, displeasure, annoyance and other negative indices that have not encouraged the institution called INEC is an appalling scenario. From the onset, several groups stated through public debates, discussions and other related platforms give room for freedom of opinion that Prof. Jega as a university don is different from the Jega that chairs the INEC. This is because, the former is less stressful than the latter when it comes to manpower and responsibilities.
The recent exposure of ballot materials to the public during the botched National Assembly is another factor that might affect the up coming polls. This is because these sensitive materials that are met to curb any electoral fraud but as a result of exposure to the public, one is of the opinion that the materials can be replicated by unscrupulous politicians in many ways in order to see that the election is flawed. That was why prominent personalities and agencies have called upon on Prof. Jega to resign after he had made a public declaration to the world that the election had been cancelled. Prominent among them is the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) which is a government agency. Political pundits have stated that the Attorney General of the Federation must be an agent of the federal government to vex his anger on Jega through the commission. Anyway, we should stand up and fight for one cause and stop insinuating negative consequences that may befall the nation.
Subsequently, non-adherence of queue is another factor the commission has to take note before April 9. This is because, the position of the commission that there should not be more than 300 voters at a particular polling unit was not adhered to during the cancelled National Assembly election.
Ahead of the National Assembly elections, INEC should endeavour that inputs from the public that are relevant to the conduct of free, fair and credible elections should be adhered to. This is because the National Assembly will be used to determine the conduct of the presidential, gubernatorial and state assembly elections.