Nigeria’s democracy offers hope for Africa, says UN scribe

Abuja – UN Secretary General, Mr Ban Ki-Moon has said Nigeria’s present democracy offered bright hope for the rest of Africa.

Ban made the remark during a meeting with INEC chief, Prof. Attahiru Jega in Abuja.

Ban described the 2011 general elections as largely credible and commendable, urging political parties that had issues with the elections to seek redress through the judicial system.

“Whatever the complaints or allegations have been received should be thoroughly and transparently processed through the judicial system.

“What is most important is that there needs to be some firm belief among the people that democracy and all its principles come from ballot boxes, not from violence on the streets.

“This is what we have to educate the people about,” he said.

He regretted the violence that trailed the April polls in some areas of the country.

The UN chief expressed condolence to relations of those who died in the post-election violence.

Ban canvassed intensive civic education by relevant authorities to acquaint Nigerians with fundamental procedures and principles of democracy.

“I know that there is cultural unity, but national unity is important for your country.

“I notice that you have the largest population in Africa, even though the size is not the biggest; but in terms of population, you have the largest in Africa,” he said.

Ban said the UN was eager to work with INEC to promote participatory democracy in Nigeria.

Responding, Jega reassured that INEC was committed to serving as an unbiased umpire for achieving genuine democracy in the country.

He acknowledged the many challenges that confronted the commission during the recent polls.

Jega said INEC did its best to deliver elections that were far more credible than what the country had experienced before.

“We have done our best as a commission to be non-partisan, impartial and to create a level playing field for all contestants.

“We are pleased with what we’ve done even though we know it was not perfect.

“There were many areas we have identified from experience, which will require improvement in the future,” said Jega.

The INEC boss lauded the UN for its support, particularly through its role in the Joint Donor Basket.

“We received tremendous support and encouragement, and that kind of support really inspired us to be able to do the few things we have done,” he said.

The INEC chairman added: “I was very pleased about your comment about the scope for strengthening democracy in our country and we look forward to opportunities for doing that.

“We are committed to continue to do our best as a commission to further reform the electoral process and to consolidate some of the gains that have been achieved through the April elections.

“The key challenge is to try and develop the INEC as a very strong Election Management Body (EMB), to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

“We will have to do a lot of restructuring and reorganisation, things that we did not have the time to do before the elections.”

Jega said INEC viewed the post-election violence as a tragic and an unwarranted incident.

“We have learnt a lot of lessons from that, and as we prepare for future elections, we have to integrate the strategy of anticipating and managing these kinds of crises,” he added