As Nigerians continue to shower praises on the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, for a job well done, CHUX OHAI writes that there are still grey areas waiting to be addressed in elections in the country
A former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Chibudom Nwuche, declared before journalists in Lagos recently that the 2011 general elections conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, were free and fair.
Nwuche said that in spite of the widespread riots that erupted in Northern Nigeria after President Goodluck Jonathan, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, was announced winner of the presidential ballot, the credibility of the elections was still not in doubt.
Also, in a speech that sounded almost like an echo of other opinions preceding his own, the former deputy boss of the House of Reps said the outcome of the elections was a reflection of the will of the people.
Nwuche only lent his voice to several others acknowledging the conduct of the elections, which took place between April 9 and April 26, 2011. While others noted that the polls were a huge improvement on the 2003 and 2007 elections, which were believed to be heavily marred by rigging and other irregularities, he emphasised the credibility of the recent polls.
Similarly, the Coalition of Domestic Observers recently commended INEC for conducting free, fair, and credible elections in Akwa Ibom State. A public statement released by the civil society group specifically directed its appreciation to the chairman of the commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega.
The statement read, “In our opinion, the elections were conducted in substantial compliance with the provision of the Electoral Act. To this end, we wish to appreciate the good work done by the chairman of INEC, Prof. Jega.”
Indeed, nearly everybody that witnessed the April 2011 polls in Nigeria, including international election observers, has praised INEC’s conduct of the elections, in spite of the attendant flaws.
Judging by the manner in which most Nigerians have reacted to the polls, it does seem as if only a few people had actually believed in Jega’s ability to deliver the goods where his predecessor, Prof. Maurice Iwu, had failed.
When, contrary to expectation, Jega announced a postponement of the National Assembly election, which had been initially scheduled to take place nationwide on April 2, 2011, most people did not only cry themselves hoarse in disappointment, they were inclined to question INEC’s preparedness to conduct, free, fair, and credible elections in the country.
The doubts were reinforced by the memories of INEC’s disastrous effort at organising an election that was acceptable to the nation under Iwu’s supervision. Not even Jega’s explanation that he was forced to suspend the election because a contractor failed to deliver election materials on schedule would placate the electorate.
Some critics went on to insinuate that the INEC chairman might be nursing a secret agenda in collusion with the ruling People Democratic Party to delay the elections beyond May 29.
The uproar over the April 2 postponement had hardly died down when the NASS election was shifted for the second time in 15 senatorial districts and 48 constituencies in 26 states of the federation.
On April 7, 2011, Jega explained why INEC had to make the decision. He had said the action became necessary in order to address the issue of the missing logos of certain political parties in the ballot papers discovered during the aborted National Assembly election, as well enable the commission to reprint additional ballot papers, a significant quantity of which were believed to have been used, in spite of the suspension of the election.
At that point, most Nigerians did not realise that the shifts were driven by Jega’s desire to fulfil his duty to the nation and not to leave any room for failure. Also, they had failed to understand that given the initial wave of scepticism that greeted his appointment as the INEC chairman, as well as the fact that he had a very short time to deliver credible elections and he had inherited a flawed structure from Iwu, the professor of political science was determined not to allow any obstacle on his path to success.
At every stage of the elections, Jega had to deal with problems arising from the areas of logistics, planning and security. In spite of this and additional pressures from forces outside the command of INEC, he managed to deliver what many observers have described as free, fair and credible election.
The civil society groups, who played key roles in the elections as monitors and observers, unanimously expressed satisfaction with Jega’s performance as INEC chairman. For example, the president, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, Mr. Olasupo Ojo, remarked that Jega had discharged his duties to the nation beyond expectations.
Ojo said, “Prof. (Attahiru) Jega was appointed to lead a corrupt INEC, the integrity rating of which was very low. However, he brought his personal integrity to bear on the commission and worked assiduously to build public confidence in the institution.
“He reached out for his rich civil society background and he enjoyed tremendous support from the civil society. He himself mobilised them for action. He opened the hitherto closed or blocked doors and ears of INEC. Transparency and openness were injected.
“I did not expect a perfect election because he still had to make use of the same manpower that constituted the rot of the past. That he was able to manage the existing state of manpower to achieve the much he has achieved made me to appreciate him more. He has proven his capacity and ability. I commend him.”
Not a few people attributed Jega’s success to his personal qualities and his efforts at transforming INEC into a functional institution within a short time of his appointment as its chairman.
Describing the steps taken by the INEC boss to ensure that the April elections fulfilled the expectations of Nigerians, the chairman of the Transition Monitoring Group, Mr. Mashood Erubami, said, “Prof. Jega has proved that he is honest, courageous and committed to national development and character of integrity in the discharge of his duty as INEC chair.
“He has been very energetic in office, efficient and non-diabolical, traits which had helped bridge the wide gap of confidence between INEC and government on the one hand; and between INEC and the people on the other hand.
“As a member of the Justice Mohammadu Uwais election reform committee, he helped to bridge the gap created by the anti-people posture of the lawmakers.
“Jega introduced the first-ever election validators, who are well known university administrators, who came on board to serve with their antecedents of integrity and ethics in development.
“Also, he introduced the most effective restriction on movement through a partnership that works with the security agencies, a strategy that dissuaded the thugs and their promoters from ballot hijacking and stuffing.
“He is focused. Apart from that, he has successfully resisted every attempt to influence him to compromise his position as INEC chairman and thereby sin against God and his country.
“What more, Jega listens to advice and takes immediate responsive actions against all reported cases of infractions against the electoral laws.
“The result is that the April 2011 elections have successfully removed Nigeria from the list of countries with the worst records of rigging during elections.”
Mr. Debo Adeniran of the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders described Jega as a “leader of leaders,” who could not be swayed by moral or material lucre, as well as the lust for the trappings of office or power.
Adeniran said that confronted with serious challenges, the INEC chairman surprised everyone by learning his lessons fast enough and adjusting quickly to his role.
He said, “It was one of the reasons INEC was able to conduct one of the most credible, free and fair elections in the history of Nigeria, in spite of the challenges that it faced in terms of logistics and time.”
One of the highlights of the April elections, which somewhat strengthen the argument that they were free, fair and credible, is the dethronement of some key PDP politicians, such as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dimeji Bankole; Senator Iyiola Omisore, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, the governor of Oyo State, Adebayo Alao-Akala, and his colleague in Imo State, Governor Ikedi Ohakim.
It is generally believed that Jega’s insistence on conducting credible elections, as well as the strategies deployed by INEC to curb rigging and other election malpractices, was largely instrumental to the fall of these powerful politicians via the ballot.
Yet, Jega has his own flaws, some of which almost worked against his efforts to deliver the elections successfully. Addressing this snag, Adeniran said, “Jega is an administrator, who delegates authority but could sometimes over-consult and trust other people.
“He could easily be persuaded to entrust subordinates with vital assignments or trust reports without checking closely.”
Another critic pointed out to SATURDAY PUNCH that Jega almost ruined his assignment by not seeking a change of personnel when he was appointed the chairman of INEC.
Also acknowledging the fact that Jega, who was severely constrained by time, had to perform his task in a fire-brigade manner, Ojo said he ought to have overhauled the staff structure of the commission.
He said, “I urge Prof. (Attahiru) Jega to move to the next phase of rebuilding INEC as a credible public institution that is capable of discharging the sacred responsibilities of supervising the fragile process of political transition in this volatile country by overhauling the staff structure of the commission.
“The staff structure must be overhauled. Many of them were appointed on the basis of political patronage. New blood should be injected into the INEC and trained.
“The members of the National Youth Service Corps that participated actively and commendably have to be employed en masse and given new orientation of what INEC is supposed to be as an independent electoral institution, such that by the next election, much more success will be achieved.”
In spite of the outpouring of encomiums on the INEC chairman, there are some issues relating to the conduct of the elections that still need to be carefully addressed. One of them has to do with the controversy surrounding the outcome of the presidential election in some parts of the country, especially in the North.
A few days after the rerun of the governorship election in Imo State, civil society groups operating under the aegis of Project 2011 Swift Count, called the attention of the nation to INEC’s problem with logistics and how it affected the conduct of the April elections nationwide.
In another development, some ex-militants in the Niger Delta area, who were members of the Coalition of Niger Delta Freedom Fighters, threatened to blow up oil installations and facilities in protest against what they alleged as the imposition of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan on the people of Delta State in the April 26 governorship poll.
These developments, no doubt, constituted an indictment, however insignificant, of INEC and an indication of its failure to do a thorough job in the April 2011 general elections.
Although some political analysts sympathetic to the situation Jega found himself have argued that given more time, the chief electoral umpire would have delivered a 100 per cent credible election to the country and by extension, would have succeeded in changing the local and international perception of people on Nigeria’s political chicanery, many observers believe that the do-or-die instinct of the average Nigerian politician may never make that ideal come to fruition.
Beyond the popular opinion of the elections as free and fair, given the evidence of discrepancies and electoral malpractices in some parts of the country, can Nigerians, who actually witnessed the negative trend, truly describe them as credible?