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“If our political leaders are to be always a lot of political merchants, they will supply any demand we may create. All we have to do is to establish a steady demand for good government.”
—Lincoln Steffens
By Daniel Kanu
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu on Thursday, November 3, at the INEC headquarters in Abuja sworn-in the 19 newly-appointed Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) ahead of the 2023 general elections.
While 14 of the RECs were fresh appointments, five were re-appointed for a second and final term.
It would be recalled that in July, President Muhammadu Buhari transmitted the names of 19 nominees as RECs of INEC to the Senate for confirmation.
All the nominees were confirmed by the Senate despite serious allegations of corruption and partisanship levelled against some of them by Nigerians.
Expectedly, at the ceremony, Prof Yakubu reminded them again of the commission’s binding ethics.
He used the occasion to admonish them to be independent and impartial while discharging their services.
Particularly, he warned them not to be visitors to Government Houses, so as to maintain their neutrality.
Speaking at the event, Yakubu said that with exactly 113 days to the 2023 general elections, the task ahead of INEC is not an easy one, but promised that the electoral body will never disappoint Nigerians.
“Our loyalty is to Nigeria and our allegiance is to Nigerians. Only their votes should determine winners in the 2023 general election. Nothing more, nothing less. There should be no deviation from this path of honour and integrity”, Yakubu promised.
The INEC boss also used the opportunity to re-echo that the commission had worked tirelessly to reform the electoral process, as well as introduced many innovations that are generally acknowledged to have improved the electoral process.
In view of what is at stake, it is expected that INEC must live up to its name as an “independent” electoral body and should not compromise its obligations.
This is because democracy becomes a sham when the electoral body conducting the periodic election shows even the slightest hint of partiality.
But beyond rhetorical assurances and enticing promises, INEC is expected by Nigerians to do everything within its capacity to preserve not only its integrity, but also to sustain the existing democratic process in the country by conducting hitch-free and credible elections to the satisfaction of Nigerians and the international community.
There is no gainsaying the fact that there are huge expectations and serious concerns that seem to trail the 2023 elections.
While there are palpable fears about what INEC may not be able to do, due to its own limitations, there are equally apprehensions concerning insecurity and uncertainties looming in the air which are real and ominous to pose huge challenges to smooth conduct of the elections.
The optimism and ray of hope expressed recently by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba on the coming general elections in the country, no doubt, is reassuring, but given the charged atmosphere that the election is already engendering, Nigerians certainly need a double reassurance. The police, as well as INEC and indeed other stakeholders, need to work hard to give vent to that hope.
IGP Alkali said that the elections would be hitch-free. He spoke at the United Nations Chief of Police Summit (UNCOPS) held in the U.S, where he assured that the ongoing training and capacity building of members of the Police tactical units across the six-political zones of the country is an indication that the elections in 2023 would not be marred by terrorist threats, violence or intimidation.
Political observers agree that the commission must urge President Buhari to fulfill his constitutional responsibility of protecting lives and property in order to stave off insecurity and thus pave the way for the elections to take place as scheduled.
As a matter of compulsion, INEC must demonstrate the spirit of representative democracy by ensuring that power belongs to the people, and that sovereignty resides with the Nigerian people and this can only be true if INEC refuses to compromise the democratic standard.
There is also the disturbing issue of security vulnerabilities that can be exploited to electronically disrupt the transmission of election results by hackers.
Although the INEC chairman has continued to assure that the portal is safe, but security experts warn that if hackers could attack the election results portal for Ekiti and Osun elections, then INEC should not underestimate the power of hackers while preparing safeguards for the 2023 polls.
Cyber-attack hackers can destroy a computer network or system as it has been proved that election sites could be hacked to change actual election results.
INEC has been advised to utilise unique networks and custom-built databases with new and updated security protocols to checkmate hackers. The issue of hackers must be on the priority list of INEC.
Most Nigerians are casting so much hope in the 2023 electoral process to bring about the much-vaunted change in the country’s political leadership.
This is because the nation’s political leaders have not shown that they genuinely have the interest of the people at heart in their governance conduct.
Today, Nigerians yearn for a new political order where the work culture and serviceable public ethics would guarantee hard work, human flourishing, and the good life.
The daunting task of the success of the election in 2023 rests heavily on INEC under the leadership of Prof Yakubu.
Professor Mahmood Yakubu was born in Bauchi in May 1962. He attended Teachers’ College, Toro, Bauchi State.
He undertook his undergraduate studies at the University of Sokoto (now Usmanu Danfodiyo University). He graduated with a first-class honours degree in History in 1985, winning the Waziri of Sokoto Prize for the Best Graduating Student and setting an enduring record as the first student from Northern Nigeria to graduate with a first-class in History.
