Lagos — When the Save Nigeria Group, SNG decided to exercise its democratic rights by taking to the streets of Lagos and Abuja to protest against renewal of Professor Maurice Iwu’s tenure as chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, a pro-Iwu group also in exercise of their rights demonstrated on the streets in solidarity for Iwu ,easily the most vilified electoral umpire in Nigerian history.
That singular act of protesting against protesters, in my opinion is a clear indication that the practice of democracy in Nigeria is slowly but surely deepening.Apart from the civil society march against the military rule of General Sanni Abacha in 1998 which was countered by the famous Daniel Kalu led , One Million Man March in support of Abacha, protesting against protesters without bloody clashes was not a common occurrence in Nigerian politics.
The current trend is a welcome development because in the past, the supporters of a candidate or personality being protested against would attack their opponents with machetes and other dangerous weapons resulting in loss of lives, which was the regular trade mark of politics of yore, particularly the Ibadan axis renown for ‘wetie’-the act of setting ablaze opposition party members after dousing them with combustible substances such as petrol.
It is encouraging that the peaceful physical demonstrations on the streets of Abuja and Lagos by the antagonists and protagonists are sort of climax to the intellectual fireworks which had been ongoing in the media through engagements in television talk shows, feature articles and interviews by the feuding parties.
To throw more light on the issues at stake for the benefit of those who may be apolitical, It is apropos at this point to put in context the arguments for and against renewal of Iwu ‘s tenors as INEC boss.
The antagonists are of the view that the sack of professor Maurice Iwu would be the cure to the malignant malaise of electoral malpractices in Nigeria , arguing that the appointment of INEC chairman by the National Judicial Council, NJC, recommended by the Justice Lawal Uwais electoral reform committee as opposed to the present practice of President of the federal republic of Nigeria appointing the INEC chairman would end the era of electoral fraud in Nigeria as the umpire would be unbiased having been appointed by an uninterested judicial body.
On the other hand, the pro Iwu activists are convinced that the solution to the electoral challenges in Nigeria is beyond the individual occupying the INEC chairmanship seat and therefore no ‘silver bullet’ approach such as firing the incumbent chairman, would provide the much desired panacea. They buttress their point of view by contending that the June 12, 1993 election adjudged the freest and best in Nigeria by most commentators was conducted by Professor Humphrey Nwosu, appointed by former military President, Ibrahim Babangida just like former President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed Maurice Iwu, not the NJC.
The arguments which were balanced and justified by the contenders have undoubtedly enriched the non active politicians with political knowledge. From the prism of Iwu supporters, he has helped to deepen democracy via hot and intellectual exchanges between him and critics in the media and at seminars/ workshops but his persecutors do not share such sentiments as they believe that his engagement with critics casted him in the mold of an activist instead of an unbiased referee. This implies that Iwu should not have joined issues with his accusers but Justice Ovie Whiskey of blessed memory was credited with saying that he will faint if he sees one million [1,000,000] naira in response to the allegation that as chairman of Nigeria’s electoral body, he received millions of naira in bribe to doctor election results in favor of some candidates.
Be that as it may, it should be clear to whoever takes over from Iwu, that the job of an electoral umpire is a thank less one, like the job of a football referee, the side that loses will always accuse the umpire of being biased. Former president, Olusegun Obasanjo alluded to that in a recent interview.
Whatever the case maybe, l share the popular sentiment that professor Iwu , having become the issue in Nigerian electoral crisis, should have exited on his own volition like a judge would transfer a case before him to another court if he is accused by a litigant of bias, whether proven or otherwise. If Iwu had chosen that path, he would have been joining Ibrahim Babangida who in 1993 bowed to public opinion and stepped aside as military president and thus doused the tension generated by the annulment of June 12, general elections.
Interestingly, as the Iwu’s chapter in Nigeria’s checkered electoral history comes to a close, another malady stares Nigerians in the face because barely six months to election 2011, the nation is pre occupied with replacing the ousted INEC boss with somebody who obviously maybe without experience and would have to learn the ropes, except the new acting chairman, Philip Umeadi Jnr, with considerable experience is retained or professor Humphrey Nwosu, the man who conducted the 1993 election, believed to be the best, accepts to do an encore.
In an article l wrote and published in various Nigerian Newspapers immediately after the general election in 2007 titled “Election 2007 And National Interest” l argued that more than the individuals responsible for conducting elections in Nigeria, logistics is a major factor militating against free and fair elections in Nigeria. I charged members of the Nigerian intelligentsia to establish think tanks that would examine electoral trends in Nigeria with a view to identifying the impediments to free and fair elections and proffer viable solutions.
Soon after the article, there was a rash of think tanks springing up all over Nigeria but they soon fizzled out because the conveners and joiners were only interested in the political relevance conferred on them through membership instead of the positive outcome of the critical thinking exercise that they were expected to engage in for the benefit of Nigeria.
How well the Yar’Adua reform agenda has lived up to the expectation of Nigerians is implicit in the impact that the improvements so far made, have had on the psyche of the of the average Nigerian voter.
Let’s look at the progress to date.
The first action taken is the setting up of Justice Lawal Uwais led Committee by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua for the purpose of overhauling electoral laws. That committee has completed its work and the report has been sent by Mr. President to the parliament for review and passage into law as deemed appropriate.
The second move is the current directive to Professor Maurice Iwu, the INEC chairman by Acting President, Good-Luck Jonathan to proceed on disengagement leave with immediate effect.
The third major event since the current administration started making conscious efforts to review the electoral laws are the conduct of Ekiti state re-run election, the Edo state by-election and the Anambra state governorship elections as well as Abuja council elections which have been adjudged to have been organized with a reasonable measure of success.
However, we cannot discountenance the fact that in Anambra, the former vice president, Alex Ekwueme could not vote because his name was missing from the voters list. Obviously, such an unfortunate incident is attributable to administrative and logistics challenges faced by the electoral commission.
This is a poignant demonstration of the fact that apart from the proposed amendments to electoral laws currently receiving attention in the National Assembly, NASS and the change of helmsman at INEC, there are more hurdles to be scaled before Nigeria can arrive at an electoral el dorado.
One of the hurdles is the nagging question of logistics. The role of logistics as a critical component of electioneering process is underscored by the rampant complaints of the electorate about late or non arrival of voting materials which are often lost in transit through ballot snatching or kidnapping of electoral officers which are primary rigging tactics in Nigeria.
It boggles the mind that in a country where lack of effective distribution of electricity power reflected in constant black outs making Nigeria the highest importer of power generators in the world; where distribution of letters by the state owned NIPOST is at snail speed hence the likes of UPS,DHL,FEDEX are the primary means of mail delivery; where telecommunication services penetration was a mere four hundred thousand [400,000] lines for one hundred and forty million [140,000,000] people until GSM came to the rescue barely ten years ago, Nigerians do not seem to realize that it is foolhardy to expect INEC, a government institution to overcome the legendary logistics and administrative challenges to deliver perfect elections.
Without a doubt, logistics issues which have made it difficult if not impossible for public utilities such as Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, Nigerian Postal Services, NIPOST, Nigerian Telecommunications ,NITEL, Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC and Government hospitals and Medical boards amongst others to deliver their mandate of providing reliable services to Nigerians cannot be resolved overnight as lack of basic infrastructures such as road, rail, and water way for ease of movement remains a bane of our society. Nevertheless, if we must achieve the much desired successful election process in Nigeria, we must make constructive efforts to surmount some, if not all the identified impediments.
Unfortunately, the man or woman to be appointed INEC chairman and who makes the appointment is being given priority over how to surmount the logistics issues which we are all familiar with every time we experience electricity power blackout or fail to receive our mails on time; and on election days when we fail to see our names on the list of voters or wait endlessly for officials to arrive at polling boots and go home without exercising our civic rights even if we wanted to.
In operational management paradigm, identifying the challenge in a given task is considered fifty [50%] percent solution. Professor Humphrey Nwosu came up with the option A-4 or open ballot system after identifying snatching of ballot boxes and stuffing same with stolen ballot papers as impediment. So he innovatively introduced open ballot system where voters queue up behind their preferred candidates thereby eliminating the need to stuff ballot boxes, hence the election was adjudged to be the freest and fairest. I believe it was under Maurice Iwu’s watch that the use of National Youth Service Corps, NYSC members as election officers in their primary areas of service was initiated, so for lack of better solution to the identified logistics challenges, since we cannot fix our transport /communication infrastructure gap over night, why can’t we consider outsourcing the distribution of election materials to the likes of UPS,DHL, FEDEX,REDSTAR etc which have demonstrated proven ability to deliver parcels even to remotest villages like Koma in the savannah of northern Nigeria? Accenture, PriceWaterHouse or KPMG can be commissioned to test the viability of such a move.
Ideally, the debate now should be about practical and pragmatic solutions such as the one proffered above. The one-man-one -vote campaign led by Edo state governor Adam Oshiomhole; the promise to Nigerians that their votes will count in 2011 by the acting president and policing of votes by staying at the polling centers to ensure the integrity of the voting exercise like Ghanaians always do are also viable issues that should be on the political front burner.
Having witnessed votes policing first hand in Ghana when voters waited to see their votes being counted in the full glare of all those who waited to hear the result, l don’t see why such patriotism cannot be replicated in Nigeria.
Equally, professional bodies like Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, ICAN, Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Nurses Association and other professional bodies can volunteer their services towards a successful election in 2011 because it is a collective responsibility which should not be left to INEC alone. It might interest Nigerians to know that United States of America’s president, Barrack Obama’s campaign organization was powered by volunteers. If we truly are concerned about the integrity of our votes, why can’t we make such patriotic sacrifice here?
Inevitably, whether the decision to direct Iwu to go on pre-disengagement leave was right or wrong cannot by determined by non-aligned members of the open society like me, but one thing that is certain is that the judgment call made by Acting president Good-Luck Jonathan to relieve Iwu of the INEC chairmanship position in the eleventh hour will continue to be a subject of debate many years after election 2011, perhaps like June 12, 1993.
-Magnus Onyibe, a development/political strategist sent this piece from Abuja.