Jega: An umpire’s date with history
Posted by: Emmanuel OLADESU
in Featured, News 6 hours ago
Attahiru Jega, political scientist, university
don, pro-democracy activist and Chairman of
the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC), is walking on a tight
rope. The electoral agency under his watch is
on the weighing scale. Will he survive the
electoral tempest? Will the commission live up
to expectation?
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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