While political pundits and psephologists are punching furiously at the keyboards of their computers to predict the outcome of the Ekiti State governorship election, the more fundamental concern of lovers of democracy is the system being adopted and how well agencies involved would discharge their responsibilities. Friday, the nearly one million registered voters would be called upon to decide who would run the affairs of the South West state over the next four years, and all attention has shifted to how the election management body ensures that the election is free, fair and credible.
As the first election to be conducted with the new Electoral Act signed into law by the President in February, domestic and international observers, as well as analysts would be looking forward to discovering how the new legal framework is able to deliver fool-proof results. In the 16 local government areas, and 2,445 polling units, voters are encouraged to cast their ballots without fear or favour and under the watchful eyes of security agencies.
For this purpose, the Nigeria Police Force has deployed personnel from its various units, including the air wing, tactical command, mounted troops, counter-terrorism unit, among others, to oversee the polling process. They will be backed, according to the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Usman Baba, by helicopters, armoured personnel carriers and drones. It is an awesome assembly of police assets for a civic exercise conducted by other countries without much fuss. Even by Nigerian standard, this is frightening for a state that is one of the least populous in the country.
At a time when the general security of the country is most precarious, especially when the terror attack on the Owo Catholic Church has brought this closer home, all eyes are on the Ekiti State gubernatorial election. It is for the purpose that the police are sending more than 17,000 men and officers, to be supervised by a Deputy Inspector-General of Police, three Assistant Inspectors-General of Police for the three senatorial zones, and five Deputy Commissioners of Police to the state. Other senior officers being deployed are 18 Assistant Commissioners of Police. The Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has also deployed about 10,000 men for the purpose.
This may alarm and frighten would-be voters but the security forces should make themselves welcome so as not to make the citizens stay away from the polling areas, or even relocate. We hope those sent for this all-important assignment were carefully chosen to save the people from the accidental discharge syndrome. Members of the security units are known to be unruly sometimes, susceptible to gratification on other occasions, and at others, to terrorise the people.
At the heart of the conduct of the election is the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). It has come out with revised regulations and guidelines. We hope that all their electoral officials, both permanent and ad hoc, have been sufficiently trained to handle the machines to be used for accreditation and transmission of results. As good as technology is for election conduct, the wrong use could have a more devastating effect on outcomes and reactions of the people.
The Anambra State governorship election conducted last year has shown that many of the officials who were using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for the first time found it difficult to operate. In many places, it delayed the process and caused avoidable tension. In the case of Ihiala Local Government Area, the election had to be postponed for a day. This is one luxury that we cannot afford in other elections, going forward. It was easier for participating political parties to accept the Anambra election result because a clear winner emerged with a clear majority. If the result had been close, it could have led to a breakdown of law and order. The electoral commission and security agencies should realise that what they make of Ekiti State would determine what the general public is to expect of the Osun State election coming up next month, and the 2023 general election.
As has become the practice in recent times, it is good that the National Peace Council led by General Abdulsalami Abubakar and Bishop Matthew Kukah took the gospel to the state where contestants were made to sign a peace accord. We hope it would help in bringing down the temperature and all would accept the principle of politics without bitterness first made popular in Nigeria by the late Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim of the defunct Great Nigeria Peoples Party (GNPP) in the Second Republic.