Soludo’s Triumph, INEC And The 2023 Conundrum

Adeboye 'Fall My Hand'

The November 6, 2021 Anambra governorship election has been won and lost. There were so many uncertainties around the election. There were many questions if the poll will be or not. There were also worries if the election will be crisis and conflict-free. However, to the joy of all who insist, pray and hope that elections should never be do or die, or that elections must not be seen as a war where lives are lost, its outcome was a welcome relief. Thankfully, it went well and left many heaving sighs of relief that indeed, it was not only conflict-free but also lived up to the practice in Anambra where elections are usually keenly contested but as well peaceful with no life lost in the end. There are lots of lessons to learn from the people of Anambra in this regard.

The victor, Mr. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, was third-time lucky, having been twice unsuccessful in the past. Now it is time for work and time to strategize on how to bring to reality all those lofty ideas and dreams he so passionately spoke about during electioneering and as contained in his manifesto. If he will walk the talk, it is for all to wait and see.

Prof Soludo is condemned to performing because anything to the contrary will be a disservice to all those who advocate for sound academic qualifications as well as youthful age as sine qua non for seeking public office. Soludo meets these requirements and is also very experienced and exposed. How he will harness these positive attributes and aggregate them to the benefit of the state, is another puzzle that only time will unravel.

As for his other co-contenders, they just might wait for another opportunity in future to give it a go again. The beauty of the election is that the outcome reflected the desires of the voters and was well received by all and sundry, or do we say the majority of the people?

For Anambra it can as well be said that the state for now is APGA or is it that the choice of the candidature of Soludo was acceptable to the people or that APGA is Anambra and Anambra is APGA?

How Soludo will achieve his electoral promise to make Anambra investors’ destination at a time when Nigeria and indeed, the world is hemorrhaging owing to the financial constriction across the globe, no thanks to COVID-19, and the peculiar challenges confronting the nation is left to be seen.

For the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), it was another successful outing for which they have earned the bragging right to swim in the accolade and praises being heaped on them now. It was also a vindication for those who have insisted on the systematic adoption of technology as we progress in our electoral evolution as a nation. It is a clear testament to the fact that the deliberate choice of our politicians and the often acquiescing INEC in frustrating adoption of technology was aimed at rigging or manipulating the process.

It was ludicrous to see politicians argue against adoption of technology on flimsy excuses in a geopolitical entity where our entire existence is now being automated. It was difficult to believe that our politicians meant well when they insisted that the process must remain manual to give room for ballot-box snatching, violence leading to deaths and maiming of the people in a process whose outcome or benefit only accrues to the cheating politicians.

Again, INEC deserves the praises and we cannot but concede to the fact that it was yet another of the several litmus tests we have placed before them in the past. This time they came to the party ready and they delivered a topnotch act.

INEC’s switch from card-readers, which with their limitations facilitated electoral fraud, to Bi-modal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS), in spite of some few glitches, was the joker. In fact, the reason behind the huge gap of numbers between the figures the candidates allegedly scored during the primary and the number of votes they all got at the election proper was the BVAS. No wonder the device has now been dubbed as the vaccine against electoral fraud. INEC’s directive also, that unless the BVAS recognises or captures one’s fingerprint you cannot vote as well as the strict enforcement of no use of incidence form where the BVAS failed was spot on.

Similarly, the electronic transmission of results by INEC also put a lie to the claim by INEC that the 2019 presidential election results were not transmitted to the server. It proved beyond doubt that INEC has always been complicit and a party to the massive rigging of the nation’s electoral outcomes, especially the presidential election of 2019 that spuriously gave victory to President Muhammadu Buhari.  Why did they acquire the server in the first instance, if it was not meant for elections and uploading of results from polling units or collation centres? How do you acquire several gadgets and devices that do not have a common server? Now we know better.

However, beyond all the accolades, there is still work to be done. As we head towards 2023, there are still Ekiti and Osun elections before the major general polls in 2023. INEC should use these governorship elections to prepare for 2023. This time these elections would be devoid of the apocalyptic outcome many feared of the Anambra governorship election. INEC should also ensure that they avoid the tendency to always declare elections inconclusive. They should see to it that these elections are concluded the same day given that technology as an enabler has come to reduce to the barest or almost total eradication of human intervention in the process.

All said the Anambra election with all its plaudits still fell short in terms of the voters’ turnout. Of course, that may not be unconnected with the fact that the prelude to the election was enough to scare voters away, but it also speaks to the fact that INEC should also step up and push for electronic voting that would ensure that people cast their votes in the comforts of their homes, far from the eyes of political thugs prancing confidently and unleashing mayhem in broad day light knowing that they are untouchable.

For the presidential election in 2023, it would be a different kettle of fish. The stake will be much higher and interests and spread of the election would stretch INEC infrastructure to the very limit. We must sustain the gains of the Anambra election with deliberate efforts to constantly improve the system in order to restore the confidence of the electorate in the process. Anything short of this will make playing football, watching movies or engaging in other things more attractive and rewarding to our teeming youth population than wasting precious time exposed to the vicissitude of the weather in the name of exercising their franchise.

INEC owes it a duty to save this nation from the current troubles and woes grappling her. We must get the process to reflect the wishes of the people so those holding political offices would appreciate that they hold those offices in trust on the wishes of the people.

Beyond the air of uncertainty and the fear of the possible outcome of the Anambra election, it is also a fact that the voter apathy, especially among the youth population, is very high and calls for concern.

At the end of it all it will be a win-win situation for all as the Anambra outing has proven. For those who had hoped that it would be business as usual, it was a rude shock for them. It also served as a valuable lesson for those who failed to do their homework by convincing the electorate on why they should be voted for believing that one way or the other the outcome would be manipulated to favour them. If INEC again ups the ante in the 2023 elections and beyond, our elections will be devoid of bitterness and the acrimonious experiences associated with elections in the past. It will save us all the trouble and unnecessary dispute that follows the outcome of elections in this country. It will also return power to the people to vote for or reject any candidate.

 

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