The hope of many Nigerians that the presidential election would be concluded and done away with last weekend was dashed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the early hours of Saturday, February16, as the agency shifted the exercise by one week to this Saturday, February 23. The midnight calling off of the poll at the unholy hour of 2am, about five hours away from the commencement of the exercise, caught many people of guard. Many aspiring voters were, indeed, getting set to go to the polling booths when they got the shocking news on the postponement of the exercise.
Expectedly, the shifting of the poll date is drawing much ire from all parts of the country with multiple accusations and counter-accusations coming from all quarters. Leading politicians in both parties have been shouting blue murder, accusing one another of influencing the decision to the other’s personal advantage. While some pundits of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) say the decision was influenced by the opposition Peoples democratic Party (PDP) to allow its leaders to re-strategise after the seizure of some of the millions of dollars they were flying around the country to influence voters, and also the arrest of one of their foot soldiers in Abia State for having already filled electoral result sheets in their possession 24 hours to the commencement of voting, some opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stalwarts say the poll was shifted because the APC and President Muhammadu Buhari were not sure they would win the election if it held last Saturday. They have argued that the shift was ordered to give the party more time to gain more ground in the campaign and improve its chances of victory at the poll.
Postponement of elections in Nigeria is not a new development. Many polls have been shifted from their initially fixed days for sundry reasons. Even the 2015 poll was postponed by about two weeks. We have even also had a poll suspended and postponed four hours after voting began. In that and some other past instances, the postponements were hinged on the Nigerian traditional ailments of incompetence and ill preparedness. In recent times, however, insecurity has proven a useful excuse for the postponement of elections, even though it is widely believed that it is often a resort of the ruling party when it feels any election might not go its way. This is what is believed by some to have played out last Saturday even though it is unclear what can be done within one week to change the outcome of any election.
Although INEC has tried to explain that the shift is in the national interest, as it had noticed logistical challenges that could have marred the exercise, it still smacks of incompetence that the agency could not get its acts together to conduct a credible poll that was fixed over one year ago. Worse still, is the fact that it did not come to the realization that it could not conduct the poll as scheduled until a few hours to its take off. This sad realization, sadly, dawned on the electoral umpire after foreign observers had arrived in the country to monitor the exercise. Schools had been shut down, some offices had closed early on Friday and many voters had travelled to their home states to cast their votes.
This unceremonious postponement of the election is a great embarrassment for the country. It reinforces the already poor image of Nigeria as an unserious nation full of incompetent people whose leaders are unable to perform even the most basic tasks. Conducting of elections should not be rocket science for which we need the help of foreigners. This is however not to appreciate the peculiarity of Nigeria and the desperation of our politicians and their foot soldiers to torpedo any process that is put in place to ensure free and fair polls. For instance, information has been given on the arrest of a man with already filled election result forms in Abia State on February 15, which is about 24 hours to the commencement of voting. A truck with already thumb-printed ballot papers was also reportedly intercepted somewhere in the northern part of the country. Electoral materials for some states also appeared to have been jumbled up, either advertently or inadvertently, with the result that voting materials for some states in the Eastern part of the country were sent up North, thereby making going ahead with the polls implausible in those places. The simple truth is that INEC is expected to have done everything to avoid such things by appointing fit and proper persons of unimpeachable competence and integrity to handle the process to avoid this embarrassment it has visited on itself and the country.
The cost of this poll postponement is quite high and disruptive of the personal plans and livelihoods of many ordinary Nigerians. Suddenly, many people who had planned marriages, burial ceremonies and birthdays for the days that were not initially scheduled for the polls suddenly now have to shift their programmes, at huge financial and logistical costs. Even the dead are not left out of the fallout of this postponement as a woman who was scheduled over three months ago to be buried this Saturday can no longer be laid to rest on that day, as the presidential poll will now hold on that day. The burial has now been shifted indefinitely.
Many people who had also looked forward to the conduct of the poll last Saturday to free their minds of all kinds of contending fake news that had taken over the social media now have to endure the menace for another week, even as the two leading parties and their supporters continue their acrimonious mudslinging campaigns online. Indeed, the 2019 campaign season has been one of the most acrimonious in recent times. It is an election in which fake news actually deserves the award of “ Man of the Electoral Season,” on account of the level of fake news dripping with hatred that have taken over the social media. It is a season in which scrupples have been thrown overboard and people happily peddle falsehood, as long as it jells with their political preferences.
The postponement has also increased the cost of the polls for the country. The cost is expected to move from a staggering N189 billion to anything from N40 billion over that. There is also the fact that the INEC chief had consistently assured the nation that it was set for the election, but alas, the contrary was the case.
With this shift in the poll date, it behooves INEC to put its best foot forward this time and ensure a hitch-free and credible exercise. The agency should not rely on those trying to find excuses for the postponement by saying money was only released to it two months ago. If such financial constraint was going to scuttle the presidential poll, INEC should have said so long ago and not wait till the last minute before throwing its postponement bombshell.
Some have also found an excuse in the sheer number of presidential candidates (72 on the ballot); the over 1500 people jostling for other executive and legislative seats, and the 84 million registered voters. The task, indeed, seems gargantuan, but it is not insurmountable. Bigger countries hold elections and this particular timetable was set by INEC itself. So, there is really no room for excuses. Let there be a credible exercise on Saturday.