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The seat was hot for his predecessors-Eyo Esua, Michael Ani, Ovie-Whiskey, Eme Awa, Humphrey Nwosu, Okom, Dagogo Jack, Ephraim Akpata, Abel Guobadia and Maurice Iwu. Today, the seat is hotter, owing to the dynamics of politics, stiff competition for power, political antagonism and growing electoral corruption, intolerance and gross violation of electoral due process. Reminiscent of the earlier dispensations, elections, rather than being a festival of choice and change, are a nightmare.
The INEC boss is conscious of the weight of historic responsibilities on his shoulders. The eyes of the political class and the international community are on him. To observers, he is a key player in an election that has been described as a make or mar exercise. Due to the contradiction in the polity and the perception of election as war by critical stakeholders, Jega carries a national burden. On many occasions, he has reiterated his determination to conduct credible elections. “I can assure you that we will do everything humanly possible to deliver a free and fair election,” he said in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). It is an irony of fate that the chief electoral officer, who was commended for conducting a transparent poll four years ago, is now being viewed with suspicion by both the ruling and opposition parties.
To rekindle public trust and confidence, Jega said the electoral agency will not compromise its integrity. He said INEC officials will demonstrate patriotism and ensure the credibility of the electoral process. Unscrupulous officials, he said, would be shown the way out. In the face of multiple challenges and barriers erected by stakeholders with competing political interests, the commission has been up and doing. But, when Jega rose swiftly to assert the independence of the electoral body, reality dawned on him that the commission still has a long way to go.
Jega has been a household name in Nigeria before he became the 11th umpire. He has served as the Vice-Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano. He is also the former President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). In the human rights community, he is a vocal voice. Under the Yar’Adua Administration, Jega also served as a member of the Electoral Reforms Committee led by the former Chief Justice of the Federation, Mohammed Uwais. But, his job as the chief electoral officer of the nation is the most challenging.
Many Nigerians hailed his appointment in 2010. Reflecting on his appointment, former President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and House of Representatives member Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele, who shared the same cell with him when they were detained by the military, said many were surprised by the appointment. “It was either the President meant serious business or he did not know what he was doing when he appointed him,” he said.
His first baptism of fire came in 2011. He nearly lost the opportunity to write his name in gold. Four hours after the commencement of the polls, the Chairman cancelled the exercise. It had flopped in many states. There were cries of despair by voters. Many voters complained about shoddy preparation for the exercise. In many polling units, officials did not turn up for the electoral duty. In others, they came late. There were complaints about shortage of personnel and polling materials. Within two weeks, the mistakes were corrected. Unlike the 2007, which was acknowledged as a severely flawed exercise by the late President Yar’Adua, the 2011 poll was applauded.
Basking in the euphoria of the success, INEC has also conducted parliamentary by-elections and governorship polls in Anambra, Ondo, Ekiti and Osun, with varying degrees of controversy.
However, today’s elections are a turning point. Some loopholes have been exploited to discredit the agency. The controversy over the distribution of Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) and card readers was deliberately fuelled to convey the impression that INEC was not ready for the election. When the exercise kicked off nation-wide, it was a disaster. The All Progressives Congress (APC) cried foul, saying that there was a deliberate attempt to disenfranchise registered voters in its strongholds. In the North, there were even allegations that people were collecting PVCs by proxy.
Also, PDP Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, had an axe to grind with the commission. He alleged that non-indigenes, who he said, were in the majority, were being denied PVCs in Lagos, adding that the scenario is the same in other APC states.
When the commission came up with the idea of card readers, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) raised an objection. However, INEC overcame the challenge when the test-run was successful. When Jega tried to convince skeptics about the commission’s preparations and readiness, insecurity, which was outside INEC’s purview, came to the front burner. Nigerians were shocked when service chiefs said that they could not guarantee security for INEC officials and voters in the Northeast, which has been ravaged by the Boko Haram insurgency.
The Federal Government demanded for a six-week postponement. Jega was under pressure to postpone the election. When he mustered the strength to assert his independence, he became a subject of blackmail. PDP leaders, including Senator Edwin Clark, Dr. Doyin Okupe, and Femi Fani-Kayode, alleged that Jega was acting the script of the APC. The umpire was compelled to surrender and the poll was postponed.
When the poll was shifted, it was feared that riots might break out in the North. But, the APC presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, pacified his supporters. Criticisms trailed the polls shift. APC alleged that the PDP influenced INEC to shift the exercise to avert imminent electoral defeat. But, PDP chieftains fired back, saying that INEC was not ready.
Shortly after the postponement, the agitation for Jega’s sack by the PDP chieftains assumed a new dimension. Clark said that INEC had sold out to the opposition, thereby forfeiting public confidence. But, members of the civil society groups rejected the agitations, saying that it was devoid of logic. Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), pointed out that Jega’s five-year tenure as the INEC chairman enjoyed the backing of the law.
Last week, another coup against the electoral process was in the offing. The Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Kenneth Minimah, said the onus was on INEC to decide on whether to conduct elections in three local governments in Northeast states because, despite their liberation from the Boko Haram sect, the governance structures germane to peaceful elections were still absent. But, according to observers, INEC jettisoned pressures to shift the polls again in utter sensitivity to public mood.
As the first leg of the elections kicks off today, there are some mistakes the commission must avoid. INEC has a duty to properly organise the poll without compromising ethics and sacrificing the rules of the game on the altar of partisanship. Many election observers have pointed out that, while election can be free and fair at the level of voting and counting at the polling units, electoral fraud can be committed at the level of collation of results at the collation centres. According to the Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reforms (CODER), a transparent election is possible, if the officials exhibit patriotism and candour in the discharge of their duties. Its convener, Ayo Opadokun, warned that the exercise can be hijacked and manipulated at the polling unit, local, state and national collation centres. He urged returning officers to avoid any break or adjournment during collation because it can be exploited to declare false results.
During the Anambra State governorship elections, there were no result sheets in many polling units. Many officials also reported late for the assignment in many local governments. Where the officials reported for the exercise, they did not show up with the non-negotiable polling materials. Voters were disillusioned. Many returned home in protest. Later, the commission shifted the exercise in some units till the next day.
Elections have become a burden in Nigeria, owing to the do-or-die contest, thuggery and violence. Ahead of the polls, there is tension. According to observers, troops deployment, in defiance of court rulings, may scare away votes. This may result in low turn out of voters in some communities.
Many electoral observers have wondered why the INEC is reluctant to invoke the various provisions in the constitution against electoral malpractices. Electoral officers who act in concert with politicians and the police to commit atrocities against the ballot box should be prosecuted.
Jega’s staying power has been his integrity. Will his integrity still be intact after today’s polls? Can INEC weather the storm? Everybody watches.
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