Nairalanders, i am really curious about the kind of man our would be inec chairman is. Can any one please help me out. Is he a kind of man that would stand on his two feet when push comes to shove? Can he deliver or is he another maurice iwu?

I have known Prof Attahiru Jega for almost 18 years, to the extent of knowing all his siblings(Mahmud, editor Daily Trust; Abbass, ED, Afribank, gone with SLS whirlwind; Ibrahim, late ED(public sector) UBA that died last year, my favourite among them; and the last one, can't recall his name, a Judge in Kaduna court of appeal or somewhere). They are all from Jega in present day Kebbi state but grew up in Sokoto. I know all these through my over 15 years of reading newspapers plus my recent reading of Mahmud's columns, where he mentions one or two things about his family in some of his writings.

Attahiru is the eldest, I think, and the first one I know, like I said since early 90s even as a primary school pupil. He was ASUU president then and a firebrand progressive that fought for the life of education in the country. He was a thorn in the flesh of IBB junta.

He became VC of Bayero University, Kano some years ago and is still. If later becoming a university administrator has not changed him, the I expect him to deliver.

A good friend and one of my mentors in writing, Farooq Kperogi, wrote this of Jega recently: http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15611&catid=288&Itemid=46

@Jarus, thanks for the exposé.

@ poster

Ask you yourself what kind of man was prof. Iwu before his appointment as the INEC chairman and who was he during and after he left the position. Who cares to know what kind of man he is, when we know that a new wine can never be put in an old bottle, together with an old wine. I don't need tell you the outcome when you make such mistake.

I don't know when Nigerians shall learn their lesson. Jonathan knows and accepted that the head of INEC was not the problem, but the system. I guess that was why they initiated for an electoral reform. I expected him to lobby and push the NAAS to pass the new electoral reform bill ASAP, knowing we have less than a year before election. Instead he is in a haste appointing a new INEC Chairman. A wise person would ask, is the head of the electoral body more important than the body itself? why has this bill not yet been reviewed by the NAAS, and the president kept quite over it? Are they Ignorant of the limited time we have for the 2011 election? You and i knows the answer to these question.

America's health care bill was a good example of a president who want things done. Obama was going from state to state campaigning and lobbying for the bill to be passed, becoz he understood the importance of it to his government. What kind of people do we have as presidents in that country?

I don't know why people waste their time trying to know who the INEC chairman is. Even if he is an angel, how can he produce a good result with the same electoral system that made it easy for PDP to still hijack people's vote.
Am surprised many still believe in PDP doing anything right which definitely will end their evil era. Until that electoral reform is being passed by NAAS and implemented, i shall see PDP taking us for fools again to Hijack our votes come 2011.

@princekevo, are you that pessimistic? Don't you know that when the head of a fish is rotten, there is no remedy to the fish? Look at institutions that have excelled (nafdac-akunyili, debt management-mrs obiageli, finance ministry-mrs iweala, etc.) We had people before these guys and the laws governing these institutions were not changed. In countries that practice the presidential system of government, who appoints the electoral chair? With the electoral laws we have now, any credible, strong willed and patriotic nigerian can conduct a free and fair election. Take the case of Ekiti rerun, if mrs Ayoka had cancelled or ordered a rerun of ifaki/ido osi wards, would there have been issues? As i said earlier, what we need is a strong willed, credible, and patriotic electoral chair who can tell whoever, whenever to go to hell

E nice:

@princekevo, are you that pessimistic? Don't you know that when the head of a fish is rotten, there is no remedy to the fish? Look at institutions that have excelled (nafdac-akunyili, debt management-mrs obiageli, finance ministry-mrs iweala, etc.) We had people before these guys and the laws governing these institutions were not changed. In countries that practice the presidential system of government, who appoints the electoral chair? With the electoral laws we have now, any credible, strong willed and patriotic nigerian can conduct a free and fair election. Take the case of Ekiti rerun, if mrs Ayoka had cancelled or ordered a rerun of ifaki/ido osi wards, would there have been issues? As i said earlier, what we need is a strong willed, credible, and patriotic electoral chair who can tell whoever, whenever to go to hell

At the end you could not answer the few questions i put up above. Why do we always do things through the short cut, and the wrong way, but expect the same result of doing it the normal way. My question to you now is, was there anything wrong with the formal electoral system before Yaradua decided to reform the entire system? Why has this not yet been approved, and why are we in a haste to appoint a new INEC Chief when the new process he is supposed to follow is being toyed with by the NAAS.
Another important question you refused to answer is who was Prof. Iwu before we made him INEC chaiman.

Man, this is not abt being pessimistic or whatever but abt doing things the right if we will ever achieve any good result. We can not keep on doing thesame, expecting to achive a different result. It is impossible.

^^^^
Answer to your questions
1. With the present constitution, GEJ has the right to appoint the inec chairman.
2. We practice a constitution of separation of powers. GEJ has no authority to tell the NASS how to go about its job. His ball stops at the court of sending a bill to the house. Look at the FOI bill, what happened to it? To amend the constitution, you need 2/3 majority in the NASS, 2/3 in the state house of assembly in 2/3 of the states. This would take time and we need our new chair to acclimatize.
3. Agreed that maurice Iwu may have been a saint before his appointment as inec chair but much questions were not asked about his competencies.
I am not saying that your concerns are not in order but that since we know the way they play, we can surprise them at their game.

What we need from him is to perform; as people are already testifying that he is good, but the system need to be changed for him not to be corrupted.

^^^^
Answer to your questions 1. With the present constitution, GEJ has the right to appoint the inec chairman.

I never Said the president has no power to appoint the INEC Boss, but on what system is he coming to operate on?
You and i can see it is begining to look as if he is gonna operate on the same old system tht corrupted someone like IWU. Since you said we have to wait eternity for NAAS to pass into law the new bill.

2. We practice a constitution of separation of powers. GEJ has no authority to tell the NASS how to go about its job. His ball stops at the court of sending a bill to the house.
Look at the FOI bill, what happened to it? To amend the constitution, you need 2/3 majority in the NASS, 2/3 in the state house of assembly in 2/3 of the states.

Sorry i beg to disagree with you here, unless the same politics play in other part of the word are not the same we play in Nigerian. In as much as the president has no Authourity over the NAAS, i still believe he can push forward the bill through his party members, knowing how important and urgent the bill is for Nigerians our democracy. Oh Please dont tell me that PDP has no 2/3 house majority they need to push foward a bill that came from a PDP president. Not even an electoral reform bill that an average opposition party would want it be implimented immediately. So am sitting here wondering why you think NAAS need a decade to pass the bill, while some useless motions as their own allowances are passed in a week.

I am not saying that your concerns are not in order but that since we know the way they play, we can surprise them at their game.

Lol .This is very funny, well am waiting and watching the outcome of the whole thing and you are gonnan beat PDP at this their game they knows bes.

@poster,
it is not about who jega was is or will be rather it is about certain laws that have come to stay and such laws include;
1. power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
2. he who pays the piper dictates the tone
3. jega will not bite this finger that is about to feed him - jonathan

we are all nigerians so let us be more concerned on how independent inec is and who will this man(jega) report to? will it be another ribadu reporting to obj for final decissions?
nigerians have been fighting for one thing and that is independence of inec and that will definitely make the chairman and independent man who only look upto the constitution in carrying out his duties.
at the end of the day, i don't have confidence in the obj led pdp.

It is not about who he is but what he will do when he takes over the mantle of leadership at INEC. How he steers and leads INEC is what will matter to the people not what he was before he began piloting the affairs at INEC. . . . .

See me see attack sha! Guys, take it easy on me now. I did not ask who prof. Jega was because i can get that from the dailys. I asked "what kind of man" he was (his character). His he that kind that would chop money and add a zero to 1000 to make 10000 (corrupt)? his he that kind that would see a moses and call him musa (religious bigot)? Mr Jarus has provide me with the answer i need that the prof. Is competent. If you have an opposing view, why don't you guys post it (with facts). There is this saying that "the further backward you look, the further forward you will see"

Mr chidichris, forget about laws. We already have so much laws in this country that even the judiciary is having problems interpreting them. Our problem has always been implementation. Give a biased man (Aaondoaka) all the laws on this earth and he would still come out with rubbish. Give a just man no law and he would find a way to do justice. A question for you. Do the british have a written constitution?

Atahiru Jega? Think of a Gani without legal connections.
Jega is a serious radical.

Oshiomole was a radical; look at the mess he has created in Edo state.

chidichris:

@poster,
it is not about who jega was is or will be rather it is about certain laws that have come to stay and such laws include;
1. power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
2. he who pays the piper dictates the tone
3. jega will not bite this finger that is about to feed him - jonathan

we are all nigerians so let us be more concerned on how independent inec is and who will this man(jega) report to? will it be another ribadu reporting to obj for final decissions?
nigerians have been fighting for one thing and that is independence of inec and that will definitely make the chairman and independent man who only look upto the constitution in carrying out his duties.
at the end of the day, i don't have confidence in the obj led pdp.

Ribadu? Obj? What have these men got to do with INEC?
What has Obj got to do with INEC and since when was PDP led by him? Is Jega's second name Ribadu? We need to be objective and rational here.
The problem is that you have a one track approach to politics which really clouds your thinking, e.g. you support the likes of Ibori, simply because they are on the wrong side of Obj. . . Hello! Clear your thoughts and get rational, we are supposed to be talking about Atahiru Jega here.

otokx:

Oshiomole was a radical; look at the mess he has created in Edo state.

Really? Some years ago, passing through Edo state was like walking into a hideous shrine. Benin was dark, dirty and decaying. . . Have you noticed the incredible transformation Oshiomole has wrought?
Only a radical would have been able to take on and defang a big beast like Anenih.

Abeg free Oshiomole jare!

otokx:

Oshiomole was a radical; look at the mess he has created in Edo state.

what did Oshoms baba do? Is it because of his developmental programs given the meagre resources at his disposal or is it the one man one vote rally to which he invited IBB? My guess is that your thoughts are on the later. One definition of politics is that "we can agree to disagree". Politics of divide and rule(us and them) has never been successful anywhere in the world. Some people are just being sanctimonious. Given the chance, they would do worst things than Hitler.

@Princekevo.

I concur with most of what you have written and I share your trepidations. You are essentially saying that by "failing to plan we are planning to fail" because of how everyone is focusing totally on the integrity of the INEC boss without a thorough look at the urgent need to overhaul a very flawed system that might frustrate even Jesus Christ if he were our INEC boss.

Jega alone cannot deliver free and fair elections regardless of how radical, fearless or upright he is . Far more needs to be done to secure free and fair elections. Afterall we are dealing with the same Country that produces systems that hounds and attempts to discredit performers (eg Fashola, Duke) who are simply trying to do what is right for Nigeria while blatant criminals (OBJ, Babangida, Danjuma, etc ) walk about freely enjoying patronage and financial largesse .

We saw Madam Ayoka Adebayo (Ekiti REC) bullied into announcing a PDP gubernatorial win in Ekiti when she had initally refused to endorse results that "went against her Christian conscience".

Without a system that will legally protect Jega and enhance his work as our ultimate electoral umpire, rigging will be the order of the day come 2011. Many Nigerian politicians are do-or-die gangsters. Without an electoral policy overhaul ( i.e full implementation of the Uwais report) that is backed by adequate constitutional amendments , Jega , solely , cannot deliver free and fair elections.

If , for example, there is no law in place to severely punish election rigging why should any politician be deterred from rigging election when there is so much to gain (billions) and little to lose?