President Muhammadu Buhari recently directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to ensure that the forthcoming rerun and by-elections elections in the country are free and fair. The president gave the directive at a meeting in Abuja with the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu.
Arising from this presidential directive therefore, the electoral umpire and the police should work together to ensure that our elections are free, fair and transparent. Apart from INEC and the police, the politicians are expected to ensure that their supporters do not do things that would taint the electoral process. It has been observed that the desperation of politicians to win election at all costs has often undermined the outcome of some elections in the country.
Our experience since the return to democratic rule in 1999 has not been palatable. Even more worrying is the fact that the country has regressed in recent times from the modest gains recorded in the previous general elections, particularly that of 2015. Remarkably, that election marked the end of the tenure of Prof. Attahiru Jega and the coming into office of the incumbent INEC boss, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.
Since his ascension into office, the electoral agency has been grappling with one problem or the other in conducting polls in the country. We recall the last-minute postponement of the 2019 general election in the early hours of February 16, which whittled down the confidence the people had in the electoral system and the capacity of the agency to conduct free and fair poll. More so, the recently conducted gubernatorial elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states left much to be desired. The polls, which were characterised by unprecedented violence, showed that the electoral umpire had not learnt sufficient lessons from the mistakes of past polls.
It is sad that after the 2019 elections, INEC had 30 rerun and supplementary polls as ordered by the courts across the country. Of the 30 polls, INEC had conducted two elections in Kogi West and Ajaokuta federal constituencies, leaving a balance of 28, which have been scheduled to hold on January 25, 2020 in 11 states of the federation.
For transparent exercise in the rescheduled rerun polls, INEC must be adequately prepared. The electoral materials and other logistics must be ready. The issue of failure of card readers must not be entertained any longer. There should be no excuses. The police must be ready to provide adequate security for the polls. The Yakubu-led INEC should not fail the nation. The electoral agency must ensure proper training and deployment of its own, and ad-hoc staff that would be used for the elections. The INEC must be very careful in recruiting the ad-hoc staff that would be used for the purpose of the re-run elections to ensure that only fit and proper persons, learning from its many past failures, are recruited for the job. INEC must realise that it costs so much to conduct credible elections and must do all within its powers to ensure that the coming polls meet the best global practices.
Many countries in Africa have delivered acceptable and credible elections. There is no reason our country cannot do the same. This is why the police and other security agencies that would be engaged for the elections must resolve to do away with their negative and unpatriotic tendencies and ensure that the rerun elections are free and credible. Their tendency in the past to jump into the political arena and seek to profit therein can no longer be tolerated. As the INEC Chairman observed recently, the emphasis should move away from meaningless huge numbers to more strategic deployment of the security personnel. The police and other support security agencies that would be deployed for the elections must be on top of their game and carry out their assigned duties without fear or favour, as their professional callings dictate.
We believe that President Buhari means well in his determination to leave a better legacy in terms of election outcomes in the country, and we urge all stakeholders in the march towards a better democratic experience for the country to team up with him and ensure more positive results. The forthcoming rerun elections to be held in the 28 designated constituencies throughout the country present INEC and our political actors another great opportunity to fine-tune their acts and correct past mistakes. They must seize it to redeem themselves for their own good and that of the country.