Professor Mahmood Yakubu |
Professor
Mahmood Yakubu, the
new Chairman of INEC and five new commissioners, namely Mrs. Amina Bala Zakari, Dr. Antonia Taiye Okoosi-Simbine, Alhaji Baba
Shettima Arfo, Dr. Mohammed Mustapha Lecky and Mr. Soyebi Adedeji Solomon,
have also been confirmed by the Senate and sworn into office. With their
appointments, the president has fulfilled his constitutional role in compliance
with Sections 154 (1) (3) and 156 (3). Now, interestingly, the commission’s
first test is immediate and work must begin on the two forthcoming
gubernatorial elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states.
Since 1999, electioneering
and election management in Nigeria have been bedeviled by many contradictions
with a consequential image problem for the umpire, INEC. The appointment of Prof. Attahiru Jega in 2010 shored up
the commission’s credibility as his ascent to the leadership of the commission
on the heels of electoral reforms implemented by the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua administration brought a lot of changes to
electoral administration in the country.
Prof. Jega, a man of
admirable character and iron resolve, will be remembered for raising election
management to some appreciable level in the country, especially with the data
capturing machines and its complementary card reader, not to talk of his own
personal comportment. Indeed, technology combined with the personal character
of INEC’s leadership to inspire hope in the democratic process in the country
and earned the outgone chairman many accolades especially with regards to the
2015 elections.
And following his voluntary
exit, the worry in the public domain had been whether Jega would have a worthy
successor to continue his commendable work as well as a consolidation of the
machinery for fair and credible elections in Nigeria. Nigerians actually called
out vociferously that whoever would succeed Jega must necessarily outdo him and
not go below the standards he had set.
Prof. Yakubu, the new INEC
boss, certainly comes to the job with impressive credentials and enough
gravitas to inspire some confidence. He is a professor of political history and
international studies who studied at Usman
Dan Fodio University, Sokoto, Nigeria and Oxford University, United Kingdom. He was until his appointment the
Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
During his tenure as
secretary, he established a National
Book Development Fund supporting 102 journals of professional associations.
Also, he served as Assistant Secretary of Finance and Administration at the
2014 National Conference. But good credentials are only meaningful to the
extent that they are validated on the crucibles of performance. It is expected
that the new helmsman will be able to bring to the commission his deep
knowledge of bureaucracy to traverse the complexity of elections as well as
bring innovation to bear on election administration. Voter registration, wards
delineation, voter education and information, media monitoring, electoral
dispute resolution and, above all, conduct of fair and credible elections are
tasks that certificates and experience prepare you for only to an extent. Then,
character takes over.
It is very reassuring that
Yakubu himself has vowed that “no elections ever, under
my watch, will be won and lost at INEC headquarters.” According to him,
anyone who wants to win elections should go and canvass for the votes of the
Nigerian people. “We will protect the interest,
integrity and sanctity of the decisions taken by the Nigerian people”, he
vowed.
“Never again will
elections be won and lost at INEC headquarters, at the headquarters of the
state electoral commissions, and the EOs (Electoral Offices) at the local
governments.”
Reassuring words indeed. On
Yakubu’s watch, INEC must be repositioned to be independent and non-partisan in
the true sense of these terms. And the new INEC leadership must guard against
any perception of bias or partisanship. For starters, Yakubu’s INEC can draw
insight from ‘Elections Canada’, a truly independent agency appointed by the
Parliament in Canada to manage the country’s elections. Its independence is
demonstrated by the powers of a non-partisan Chief Electoral Commissioner, who
heads the agency and solely manages it in concert with his own appointees, and
is only responsible to the parliament.
Yakubu must also take off
from where Jega left and make technology a friend. By the introduction of the
biometric data capturing system, Jega’s INEC did well to elevate the service of
computer technology to election management.
The need for continuous
improvement in the use of technology lies in its benefits to furnish the nation
with reliable statistical and demographic data appropriate for desired credible
elections. Once again, the Kogi and Bayelsa elections will serve as litmus test
for the new INEC helmsman, Yakubu and his lieutenants, and Nigerians are
waiting with bated breath to see if the right umpire had been picked for the
game. (guardian)
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