Looking beyond IRI, NDI report on 2019 elections

As it ought to be, even where there are some reservations and disagreements, the Presidency has welcomed the joint report of the International Republic Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) on the 2019 general elections in Nigeria and recommendations for the 2023 general elections.


The report of the institutions mainly dealt with the issues of low voters turn out for elections, the removal of the then Chief Justice of Nigeria for failing to disclose his assets as required by the law and denial of some people, like the disabled, from participation in the electoral process.  
Well, the 2019 general elections have come and gone, but mixed feelings will for a long time trail the outcomes with Nigerians and foreigners expressing their positions for or against the candidates and parties declared as winners.


While accepting the report of the institutions, the Presidency, through a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Mr Garba Shehu, expressed its concern with some parts of the report, saying it does not reflect the true situation in the country.


The statement reads in part: “It is instructive that President Buhari clearly won this vote and the report in no way disputes that fundamental fact. President Buhari won by almost 4 million majority, with a 14% margin. However, the most important thing in an election is that it reflects the will of the people which in our circumstances was acknowledged to have been a success by ECOWAS Observer Mission and YIAGA AFRICA whose parallel vote tabulation verified INEC’s presidential election result.”
Despite that, the Presidency accepts that the 2019 general elections, like others held elsewhere, were not perfect, and they could not have been, and says that improvements must be made in the process for the future.After all, the Presidency points out that, and it’s true, the sheer size, terrain and remoteness of certain regions in Nigeria pose serious logistical challenges to particularly the elections authority – INEC – and security agencies.And why won’t they pose same and more problems for 40 electoral observers deployed to observe elections in 16 states and the Federal Capital Territory, out of the country’s 36 states?


In the end, what is of significance to Nigeria, its friends and stakeholders is not finding faults and laying blames at each other’s doorstep. What are needed now and beyond are measures to be put in place to make subsequent elections better, credible, free and fair.And really, these needs are achievable and we can start with the use of card reader, automated voting and electronic transmission of results. These objectives should be captured in the Electoral Act to check illegal thumb printing of ballot papers and falsification of elections results.The need to make electronic-aided voting system effective cannot be overemphasised and these electronic gadgets for elections should be produced, supplied and configured or re-configured by contractors chosen by the National Assembly.Ideally, going by the country’s past experiences before, during and after elections, the 2023 elections should be fully automated or digitised to the extent that voting will be done electronically. In that light, mobile telephone handsets, even ATMs along with the BVN, registered telephone numbers, National Identity Card Numbers could be securely used to augment and guarantee transparency and credibility of the voting process.Already, mobile phones are used to conduct opinion polls and voting exercise for contestants in election in the entertainment industry, etc. So, one,m or all of the above suggestions can be used as method of voting during next general elections.Another way is to produce or procure special mini handheld electronic device like mobile phone to cast votes from any location and digitally wire all votes and scores to a central computerised server/website that simultaneously and in real time, instantly show results online and on televisions and radio broadcast for all to see transparently.No doubt, the 2019 general elections brought to the fore the issues of the size of geographical territories of Nigeria and inherent difficulty of successful conduct of elections and implementation of electoral policies and programmes.Thus, the need for creation of new electoral constituencies cannot be overemphasised. Undoubtedly, campaign experiences and election exercises have proved that new senatorial districts, federal and state constituencies, wards and polling units need to be created to ease election administration and ease the voting difficulties voters experience.This suggestion is even more valid considering the fact that communities and cities are growing in size and population daily. Thus, a new population census and electoral legislations are equally important to create new senatorial districts, constituencies, wards and units to improve future conduct of elections in the country. 


Three other recurrent disturbing phenomena in the country’s electoral system are appointment of electoral commission chairman and members, voter education and enlightenment as well as the number of political parties that should be registered to operate. These issues need to be addressed for simpler and better elections in future.Above all, like the Presidency said, and that gladdens our hearts, Nigeria has developed a tradition of improvements in its electoral process and enforced electoral laws “which resulted in the prosecution and conviction of electoral officers.”These measures must subsist if the country is desirous of realising its dream of conducting transparent, free, fair and credible elections. Bold nitiative to tackle insecurity in North-west
 The disasters, catastrophes and destructions of lives and property are obvious for everyone to see and solutions to the crises look far and uncertain to yield favourable results.But now the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration said it has found solutions and they’re certain to work. The administration said it would work with the North-western states governments to rejig security apparatus in the sub-region which it agrees has been infiltrated by bandits.This latest initiative is coming on the heels of the recent banditry killing of 34 persons in an attack on Tungar Kafau and Gidan Wawa communities in Shinkafi Local Government Areas of Zamfara state.The president, who expressed sorrow over the renewed attacks, extended his sympathies to the governments and people of Sokoto and Zamfara states, and charged all stakeholders, made up of the federal security agencies and the states involved in drawing up the long-term strategic defence plan to begin its immediate implementation.Under the new plan, the affected states will join the federal government to support the security and military operations, notably through provision of logistics.According to a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, the states would also provide additional vehicles to the security agencies.Banditry means occurrence or prevalence of armed robbery or violent crime. It involves the use of force or threat to that effect, to intimidate a person with the intent to rob, rape or kill.Banditry and other criminal acts like armed robbery, rape, arson and kidnapping are crimes against persons and the state and they should not be condoned.Regrettably, the prevalence of banditry and other criminal activities in the North-western part of the country appear to have been high and rising over the years and, in fact, they have grown in scale and viciousness.Many reasons, including the proliferation of arms and youth unemployment have been advanced for increase in the crime rates in the area. Related to the issue of unemployment is the incidence of poverty and socio-economic malaise, which creates an atmosphere of livelihood crises in society.This predisposes people to sundry tactics of survival which may entail criminal indulgence. The socio-economic factors are reinforced and often complicated by corruption, moral depravity and the culture of materialism that became deeply rooted in today’s Nigeria.Together, these factors explain the incidence and prevalence of armed robbery in the North-west and it is only by addressing the issues together can the federal and states governments end the worrisome criminal activities in the North-west.Violent conflicts give rise to humanitarian issues and it’s heartwarming that the federal and state governments have agreed that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the various State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMA) should streamline their operations to provide succour to the displaced persons, thousands of whom are taking refuge in the neighboring Niger Republic.

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