Lagos — THE "plot to hang" Prof. Maurice Iwu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has, indeed, reached a crescendo and those articulating the "Iwu must go" campaign believe that they have a cast-in-iron case against the electoral boss.

They have gone ahead to amplify their case in the media to the extent that they have literally drowned out every other point of view, especially those that attempt to suggest a sober analysis of the events that preceded the controversial April 2007 poll as well as those that occurred during and after the elections.

As far as they are concerned, Prof. Iwu came with intimidating credentials, passionately promised to deliver free and fair elections and has, in their view, failed to do so, and must therefore be hounded out of INEC.

The constitution of Nigeria, 1999, guarantees these individuals and groups freedom of expression, and, indeed, it is possible that they are motivated by the highest ideals of patriotism, contrary to allegations that their vicious, sometimes personalised attacks on Iwu are orchestrated by politicians who lost out in the April elections and see the INEC chairman as the whipping boy, where they can vent their frustrations. Whichever is the case, the fact remains that the elections were not the best that the country could have got if the conditions for proper poll had been in place. Virtually everybody is in agreement on this fact, including Prof. Iwu, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua and, of course, the candidates that lost at the states and federal elections.

Prof. Iwu himself had insisted that the environment was not conducive for elections and several times alerted the nation concerning what needed to be done for there to be free and fair poll, but evidently, there were forces that did not even want the elections to hold at all, and these forces operating at the highest levels of government, worked to frustrate the poll.

At the risk of repeating what is well-known to Nigerians, it is clear that the forces rooting for a third term for former President Olusegun Obasanjo or at worst, an extension of his tenure would have benefited from a postponement of the poll and so worked hard to muddy the waters to create the environment for the postponement of the poll.

Two major issues point to this game plan. One is the fact that because the release of the funds of INEC is still subject to the whims of the presidency, they saw to it that the funds needed for the elections were not released till late, which was a strategy to ensure that the process failed.

The second issue was the late release of the list of purportedly indicted candidates based on which INEC was prevailed upon to act. The disqualification of some of the candidates, expectedly, became an issue for the courts and judgments in some of the cases, like those of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Dr. Chris Ngige of Anambra State, came on the eve of the elections, literally disrupting arrangements for the poll.

Besides, politicians, sharply polarised along the lines of the conflict between the then president and vice president adopted the "do or die" approach to politics and were ready to do anything to win.

They unleashed thugs to terrorise their opponents, and to snatch ballot boxes and stuff them with illegally thumb-printed ballot papers.

These desperate and criminally-minded politicians subverted the electoral process at will, believing that might rather than consent of the people would translate to right. Some of them carried the day but are today being tamed by the election tribunals. If there had not been an election, however imperfect, would there have been opportunity for tribunals to operate, to right wrongs? Fortunately, the tribunals are not subject to Prof. Iwu or INEC.

It has also been pointed out that the Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC) are not, by the prevailing law, subject to Iwu. They are not appointed by him and he cannot sack them. After state assembly and governorship elections, whatever figures they dispatch to INEC headquarters are what are announced without alteration. Indeed, only the election tribunals can annul, confirm or alter whatever figures the RECs submit.

But because Iwu is the man at the headquarters, he is taking the flak for whatever went wrong at the states as well as during the presidential poll, the only election that he was the returning officer of. It is similar to asking President Yar'Adua to take responsibility for the transgressions of state governors, who constitutionally do not report to him.

From the foregoing, it is evident that Iwu is receiving more fire than he deserves. Why, for instance, should he take responsibility for the desperation and recklessness of politicians, from the different parties, who, without his prompting rigged elections? Why should he take a beating for any REC who, without his saying so, subverted the electoral process? and, indeed, why should he be the fall guy for a presidency that almost torpedoed the election over a personality clash?

Would it have been better if he played into the hands of those that wanted the poll postponed? Would Nigerians have preferred that he did not go ahead with the elections? How would the constitutional crisis that would have ensued been handled? If, indeed, he had buckled under the weight of the various factors that stood against a successful election and called off the poll, would the country have gone on record as having conducted its third election in a row? Something that had never happened in the history of democracy in this country?

Yes, there were flaws in the elections, but where do we not have flaws? The bull has been gently steered out of the China shop. Now is the time to rearrange the shop to ensure that no more bulls come near it. Fortunately, President Yar'Adua has started the process through his Electoral Reform Committee.

All Nigerians must rally round to ensure that through this process, a proper electoral system is put in place for the country. As that is being done, there must also be a reorientation process targeted at politicians, and aimed at purging them of the do-or-die political mentality.

These are some of what must be done early in the life of this administration and all energies should be channelled, not at pillorying Iwu, but at evolving a system that would insulate the electoral process from the manipulation of desperate politicians.