“To be? Or not to be?” That is the all-time poser by Hamlet, protagonist of William Shakespeare’s eponymous play, “Hamlet.” Do you have doubts, like the National Security Adviser to the President, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.) , and think that the presidential election should be postponed because the Independent National Election Commission won’t be able to distribute Permanent Voter Cards to all registered voters before February 14, 2015? Reports say about 65million, of the 68.8million PVCs produced, have been released, though not all have been collected.

Some argue that this number is good enough; because not all registered voters vote, anyway. They add that only 200,000 voters, from a population of about four million citizens voted the current Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose to office; that less than 50 per cent of American voters participated in the election that brought President Barack Obama to the White House.

Others counter that if the more discerning voters hadn’t been frightened off the streets by security men wearing balaclava, the Ekiti election would have gone differently. Though students of theoretical statistics may say that those who voted were not a true representation of the Ekiti State voter population, the argument will be essentially in the realm of conjecture.

Like the All Progressives Congress, INEC and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party have rejected election postponement. President Goodluck Jonathan says the May 29, 2015 Handover Day is sacrosanct. While some extremists posit that a postponement can lead to a coup, others argue that if the candidate of those who didn’t get the PVCs loses, there may be a reprisal post-election violence that may also lead to a coup! Scary no-win situations – as a large segment of voters in Nigeria’s North-East will be disenfranchised by Boko Haram, anyway.

The Goodluck Lagos Grassroots Project, a likely affiliate of the PDP, suggests that “to avoid the unfortunate incident of April 9, 2011, when elections were cancelled midway due to (INEC Chairman) Prof. Attahiru Jega’s wrong assessment of INEC’s state of preparedness, (there should be) an urgent and realistic review of the level of preparedness.” Nigeria must be saved this imminent global embarrassment of a crisis-proof preparation, the GLGP counsels.

This plea is in sync with the accusation by the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Lai Mohammed, that the PDP, like the Association for Better Nigeria that scuttled the June 12, 1993 presidential election, is using a proxy to ask a court to declare that Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) lacks requisite qualification to contest the presidential election. Section 131(d) of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution says: “A person shall be qualified for election to the office of President if: He has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.” If the other Buhari–Salisu–who became Speaker of the House of Representatives with forged credentials, was shown the way out, this recent Buhari should also be sent off the field of play if found afoul of the rules.

Consider Section 132(3) of the constitution: “Where in an election to the office of President, one of the two or more candidates nominated for the election is the only candidate after the close of nomination, by reason of disqualification, withdrawal, incapacitation, disappearance or death of the other candidates, INEC shall extend the time of nomination.”

Sections 76, 116, 132, and 178, stipulate that “an election (to the National Assembly, State Assemblies, and for the President and Governors respectively) shall be held not earlier than 150 days, and not less than 30 days before the expiration of the term of office of the last holder of that office.” There are 75 days between February 14 presidential election and April 29, which is exactly 30 days before the May 29 Handover Day.

Section 135(3) of the constitution allows that: “If the Federation is at war, in which the territory of Nigeria is physically involved, and the President considers that it is not practicable to hold elections, the National Assembly may, by resolution, extend the (tenure of the President) from time to time; but no such extension shall exceed a period of six months at any one time.” The bleeding in the North-East Nigeria is enough reason to take this route.

And clearly, the body language of some operatives and allies of the government looks like an orchestration to avoid the elections. Ralph Waldo Emerson says, “What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear a word that you say.” Dasuki gives the impression that the government he serves can’t fulfil its responsibilities to the people-by choice.

Political philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, accepts that citizens will forfeit some rights to their governments, but insists that their personal freedom and liberty must be guaranteed. Section 14(2)(a-c) of the constitution agrees that sovereignty belongs to the people; declares that security and welfare of the people are the primary purpose of government; and insists that the people must participate in governance.

The best way for a people to participate in governance is by choosing their government, as democracy is government of the people, by the people and for the people. INEC has a great responsibility to ensure that qualified Nigerians register and vote.This election can make or break Nigeria. As President Obama would have said, this is a defining moment in the annals of Nigeria’s political history. There is no going back, the European Union observers are already on the ground, and so the show must go on.

German-born American philosopher, Hannah Arendt, demonstrates the thin line between totalitarianism and the rule of law: The former tells the people what to do, and the latter tells them what not to do. Dasuki’s counsel treads that thin line. He is telling the people what they should do (don’t vote on February 14) by telling them what not to do (don’t choose your President on February 14). Are you still there? As someone has famously said, “There is God o.”

With the theory that the Federal Government seeks to prevent elections from holding, Governor Babatunde Fashola has urged Lagosians to eschew violence. He alleges that recent transfer of senior police officers, to and fro the Lagos State Police Command, is a plan to undermine security in Lagos State. The former, who are familiar with the Lagos terrain, are being replaced by those known to confront some APC governors.

American Secretary of State, John Kerry, urges Nigeria to stick to the timetable, and appeals to the political class to respect the results. Kerry declares: “It is imperative that Nigeria holds its elections on time,” and avoids after-election violence. Aware that Nigeria is smarting from America’s rebuff of her request to buy its Cobra helicopters and other weapons (from third-party Israel) –claiming that Nigeria can’t maintain them, or may use them against non-combating civilians targets –he offers the carrot of the US commitment to helping Nigeria end Boko Haram insurgency.

In an epiphany of lumen natural, that’s just a big word for commonsense, a co-host of an all-female weekday morning TV chat-room, suggests that INEC should hire temps, and send bulk SMS alerts to voters whose PVCs are ready. It is commendable that INEC has extended the PVC collection beyond January 31. In addition to the novel idea of door-to-door distribution of the cards, some suggest a public holiday. Pull has really come to shove.[/b][b]