Nigerians might have overcome the anxiety and trauma caused them by the sudden shifting of the February 16 polls by the Independent National electoral Commission (INEC) a few hours before the commencement of the aborted exercise. The electoral agency cited logistic challenge as being responsible for the botched poll.
Whether the electoral umpire’s reason is believable or not, the fact remains that this was not the first time an election is being postponed in the country. The only difference, however, is that the postponement of the 2019 poll was done just a few hours to the time.
That can explain why everybody including President Muhammadu Buhari who was in Daura to cast his vote were disappointed with INEC over the incident. In fact, everybody is blaming INEC for the shifting of the poll. In 2015, the general election was shifted by about one month because of some challenges best known to the then umpire, Prof. Attahiru Jega and those in power then.
The abrupt postponement of the election did not go down well with the two leading political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and perhaps some other fringe parties. Just as in 2015, Nigerians were visibly angry with the APC government and INEC for the botched poll.
Just as the PDP and the then INEC were blamed for shifting the 2015 polls, APC and INEC are now at the receiving end. History moves in cycles and repeats itself. But in Nigeria, history does not only repeat itself, it repeats with accurate precision. We always go back and back instead of moving forward.
We tend to love the past with great relish. If things are not working well for us, we shift the blame to people in the past including our dead parents and past leaders. I don’t know why we blame others for our misfortunes. Why must we go through the same cycle all over again just to elect our leaders?
Why must Nigerians be subjected to such humiliation and forced to stay at home for an election those in charge knew will not hold? Why must many weddings and burials and other social events be postponed for the February 16 poll only to learn in the dawn hours that the election has been shifted by only one week? Why only one week and not two or three weeks?
We lost billions of naira because of INEC’s midnight decision. The postponement of the poll did not in any way show us as a serious people. How do we cope with the foreign observers and extension of their stay and the huge expenses? In other climes, people would have demonstrated over the insensitive decision.
Where are the human rights and pro-democracy groups we have in this country? But in Nigeria, we are docile and ever willing to tolerate every mistreatment and abuse by politicians and their agents. INEC should save us this monumental embarrassment by giving us at least one month notice before any election can be shifted again in the country.
Excuses are very cheap and common in Nigeria. Even where excuses are lacking, the officials in charge can manufacture some with bold or harassed face. Tomorrow’s poll, if it holds, will witness either more voter turnout or low voter turnout. I say this because some of those that travelled home to vote have come back while some will still travel. In some areas, there may be voter apathy, especially with the presidential order to security agents to deal ruthlessly with ballot snatchers.
Truly, ballot snatching is a serious electoral offence, but the penalty is never a death sentence as some supporters of the president and his party, want all of us to believe. The penalty for such offence is clearly spelt out in the Electoral Act. All these ‘die, die and die’ over the snatching of ballot boxes is unconstitutional and against the laws of the country.
Electoral offenders when arrested must be tried and if found guilty punished according to the provisions of the law. That order alone can scare many willing voters, especially the first timers. On the snatching of ballot box, Section 129 (3) of the 2010 Electoral Act states clearly that “any person who contravenes any of the provisions of this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of N100,000 or imprisonment for a term of 6 months for every such offence. Such offences include “snatch or destroy any election materials.”
So, where do death penalty and ‘die, die and die’ emanate from? If we kill anyone for snatching a ballot box, what will happen to those that re-write results at collation centres, underage voters, the buyers and sellers of voters’ cards and those that compromise the card readers? The politicians must act responsibly and spare the polity of unnecessary overheating. I say this because their ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian.
Election should never be a ‘do or die’ affair. The war of words over this election is nauseating and worrisome. Now that INEC has assured all of us that it is ready to conduct tomorrow’s poll, we shall give it the benefit of doubt.
We hope the agency has sufficiently overcome its logistic challenge.
We hope that the ubiquitous card readers are configured to function effectively. We hope all the sensitive materials have been adequately delivered to where they would be needed for the poll. Nigerians would never want to hear that the card readers do not work in some states.
We are indeed getting sick of unnecessary excuses by the electoral agency. It must by now put its house in order and conduct a free, fair and credible poll. Nothing less will be acceptable to all Nigerians. The police must ensure that there is adequate security before, during and after the poll.
All security agents posted for election duties must remain patriotic and apolitical. They must work for the interest of the nation and not for any person or political party. As Nigerians cast their ballots tomorrow, let them do so peacefully and let their votes count.
Since this is the major election the electoral agency will be conducting under the watch of Yakubu, it must endeavour to get it right. The world is watching how we will fare in the exercise.
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