Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu
13 September 2007
opinion
Lagos — By his choice of the Chairman of the panel, the highly respected former Chief Justice of Nigeria, and its other very distinguished and accomplished members, it is clear that President Yar' Adua has deliberately placed upon himself a weighty moral burden of compliance with the outcome of their deliberations.
For example, Justice Mohammed Uwais, the former Chief Justice of the Federation, presided over a judiciary that asserted the tenets of constitutionalism and the principles of separation of powers among arms and tiers of government. Whether on the Bench or out, he spoke in defence of democracy, the rule of Law and the integrity of the political process. Olisa Agbakoba, the President of the Nigeria Bar Association, is one of the leading lights of the modern civil rights movement having played prominent roles in the formation and development of the Civil Liberties Organisation, CLO, and elections monitoring coalitions that assessed the elections we have held in the past two decades.
Alhaji Musiliu Smith, the former Inspector General of Police, has presided over a critical unit in the electioneering process. His experience and expertise will no doubt guide the panel on the controversial issue of the impartiality of the law enforcers and the security of the elections. Similar eulogies could be made for others on the panel. In fact, his reaction to their deliberations and report will most likely be the defining character of his presidency. It would be foolish for government under this president to ignore the report of the panel. The public outrage will be too great and this president has shown that he is a man who reacts positively, if not always to everyone's satisfaction, to public opinion. He in fact had presaged what will happen to the report of the committee when he stressed that he would quickly pass on to the National Assembly, possible constitutional and legislative recommendations for their consideration.
That reform of the electoral process is urgent is not in doubt, and I commend the President for confronting the problem head on. It has not often been our experience that a leader stares long and hard at his reflection in the mirror and decides that he needs to do something about the image that stares back at him. It takes great courage and political will. And we must not be un-mindful of one critical fact -that from the list of issues that Mr. President referred to during the inauguration of the committee, e.g financial independence for INEC, resolution of electoral disputes before swearing-in, and caution that the panel be mindful of on-going petitions- it is clear that President Yar' Adua has given this problem a lot of thought.
As to the complaints that he should have waited till the end of the petition process, with all due respect to those who have expressed such anxiety, I say "no". Why? Because the task is urgent and we cannot afford to linger for much longer in a fog of uncertainty about the future of our democracy. Judging by recent past experience, it would be foolish to try and anticipate when the judicial process will end. If we tarry and equivocate, before we know it, another election will be upon us and we will be faced once again by the same old demons of illegitimacy. The fire-brigade approach has never served us well in any aspects of our lives, and it will serve us less and even more damagingly at this critical juncture of our national life. If we truly want civil institutions that are strong and virile, institutions that will deepen our democratic ethos and strengthen the integrity of our nation-state, then we need to work long and hard to create them and deliver them when they are most needed. We should not rush the persons charged with this very heavy responsibility. Genuine electoral reforms is a very involved and demanding process. The time to start is now. We must give them our full support.
Personally, the political and partisan animal in me still harbours some niggling doubts. A few twinges of misgiving about whether the result of any project embarked upon by a PDP-led government can bear edible fruit, I have been able, from personal knowledge and my well-honed instinct about' a person's true intentions, to look beyond the party and focus on the man himself. I am heartened by Mr. President's clear and unequivocal commitment to the rule of law and the actions he has since taken in expression of this commitment. By kick starting this process now, Mr. President has shown rare insight into the essential reality that observance of the rule of law in the absence of strong institutions is but a hollow ritual. I doubt that the President is a man who would enjoy eating his words, and as a former democratically elected two-term Governor, he is certainly better prepared for the insistent demands of democracy than any of his predecessors-in-office.
I would urge the distinguished members of the panel to look into ways of making sure that the personnel who will head the national electoral body and the national commissioners are appointed in a manner that truly confers on them the garb of independence, and more critically, independence of thought and action. Contrary to 'winning'-party wisdom, the boss of the Chairman and Commissioners of the INEC are the voters and not the President. Appointments of electoral commissioners and their principal officers has to be rooted in a system which does not allow a sitting President or Governor to appoint electoral umpires that will supervise elections into which they are either participants or personally interested in. Only under such a system will the people's confidence in the electoral process be restored. We are tired of arrogant electoral managers abusing our sensibilities and refusing to take responsibility for their failings because they do not fully appreciate their impartial umpire's role. The recent inappropriate and undiplomatic virtuperations of Prof. Iwu against the European Union Electoral monitor representative is an unfortunate aggression that undermines Nigeria's credibility in the comity of civilized nations.
There are also issues of the voters register. The voodoo manner with which it has been handled in the past makes a mockery of our status as the largest nation of black people on earth. There should be one unquestionably accurate list, posted permanently on the internet and up-dated continuously in terms of those coming to maturity and those who drop off due to death. There is nothing mystical about this, especially in this modern, technologically proficient age. The waste of man-hours, the frustrations and confusion of the present system must be addressed. Elections must be routine exercises, not periods of bureaucratic malingering, administrative incompetence and political gerrymandering that disrupt lives and economic activity. In conclusion, once again I commend Mr. President for his bold initiative. I call on all Nigerians irrespective of ethnic background (a mere accident of fate), and of whatever political or religious persuasion, to rally round to ensure the success of this very vital national building-block. It is a call to a national duty of a most profound character and its success is in our collective interest. I congratulate the Chairman and members of the panel for their appointments. I have no doubt at all that they will live up to what is perhaps the most onerous and challenging, yet most exciting task in Nigeria's political history.
This is the proverbial 'line' in the sand and we cannot afford to fail.
-ASIWAJU TINUBU is the immediate past governor of Lagos State
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