Obinna Nwanze
5 November 2009
The topic was both exciting and interesting . The venue, very strategic and popular. The audience; high profile and the commoners. Atmosphere; charged and expectant, while the language of delivery and discussion was both academic and combative in many cases. But at the end, it left a lasting memory in the minds of most participants.
The issue we are trying to describe, was the 2009 Better Society Lecture organized by the Champion Newspapers Limited. The event took place on Thursday, October 29, 2009 at the Yar'Adua Centre located at the central business district in Abuja, the nation's sprawling capital city.
The topic of the lecture which many observers described as "timely and well considered", was: "2011: Political behaviour and the future of elections in Nigeria ."
The speaker was the man, who heads the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Maurice Iwu, an intellectual of high repute.
For an occasion that was slated to start by 11am , anxious audience started trooping into the venue as early as 9.30am, apparently to hear what next would come out of the mouth of a man some people regard as controversial and combative in the course of his duties. And he lived up to the billing, at the end.
Interestingly, expectations were high due to the advertised topic, which has much to do with the 2011 elections and the high profile individuals being expected to grace the occasion. And by the time the event started proper at exactly 12.13pm , it was indeed a harvest of who-is-who in the country .
One of the early arrivals, was the executive chairman of Champion Newspapers, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu.
Few minutes after Iwuanyanwu's arrival, siren-led convoy of other dignitaries found their way into the arena one after the other, and in quick succession. Indeed it was the moment everybody was waiting for as some of the excited audience, rushed out to know who was arriving.
On the reserved seat, popularly known as high table was the chairman of the occasion, the Senate President, Senator David Mark, who came with entourage of six senators and other personal aides. The governor of Imo state, Ikedi Ohakim, was also on the high table. He too came with a team comprising some members of the state executive council, and state legislators.
The governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, who prefers to be called chief servant was represented by his commissioner for Information Baba Barau, the chief host, Chief Iwuanyanwu, was on the high table and so also Professor Iwu, who came with two national commissioners of INEC and some resident commissioners, was on the high table.
Others are the former governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, the Minister of state for Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chuka Odom, Senator Chris Anyanwu, Senator Anthony Manzo, a royal father, Eze (Dr.) E. Kanu, and Senator Joy Emodi.
Also present were Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Chief Hope Uzodinma, a PDP chieftain from Imo state, Chief Cosmas Iwu, the SSG of Imo state, former NLC president, Pascal Bafyau, Professor Osemokhai, Professor Placid Njoku, General Abdulahi (Rtd.), Mrs Irene Chigbue, former Director General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), member of the House of Representatives, Hon. C.I.D. Maduabum, top military and police officers, among others.
Chief Iwuanyanwu in his welcome address, expressed his happiness for the occasion, which he described as one of his contributions to serve humanity, his aim of establishing Champion Newspapers in 1986.
He thanked the dignitaries, who graced the lecture which is an annual event in Champion calendar.
He appreciated Ohakim for finding time to come, and described Professor Iwu as "a man who is capable of doing many things and doing them very well."
He also expressed his worries on how some Nigerians present the country in negative terms, warning that such negative comments are capable of destroying what the founding fathers were able to achieve.
He called on Nigerians to imbibe the democratic culture, advising the opposition to put their house in order so as to present a strong opposition.
In his own remarks, the chairman of the occasion, David Mark, described Iwu in glowing terms , saying nothing is in the Electoral Act that says that people should snatch ballot boxes or commit other crimes. He said "we should change ourselves first."
The Senate President revealed that the Senate is well disposed to passing the Freedom of Information Bill "as soon as some grey areas are ironed out."
The representative of the Niger State governor, Barau, said the only thing that could justify democracy against autocracy is good governance.
He wondered why people, who claimed to be representatives of the people do not go to the grass root to find out what they want.
Professor Iwu started by reviewing the topic of the day. "I am particularly thrilled by the topic of this year's lecture", he said, pointing out that the topic seeks "to resuscitate a critical issue which ought to be at the heart of our quest for a better political climate and process, but which has been deftly pushed almost out of attention."
He posited that on the issue of change which has become a slogan, "the person who bore the brunt of the abiding slogan and inclination for change was always the incumbent elected official. It didn't matter what he did or did not do. The beneficiary was, of course, the challenger who was not yet known. He invariably represented change, until the next time around."
He said a politician whose track record in electoral recklessness is well known "takes a public podium to speak and without qualms proclaims with a straight face that the electoral system has gone terribly bad and the answer lies in nothing else but electoral reform".
Reflecting on the problems, he asserted that "the problems that have dogged Nigeria's elections over the years have remained more or less, constant."
He noted that these problems are steeped "in personal indiscipline and inordinate ambition." He pointed out that in a nutshell, these two factors are the real problems of Nigeria's political and electoral processes.
"It is anchored in individual tendencies and behaviours that are substantially at variance with the norms and values that obtain in a healthy democracy", Iwu said, making it clear that "every other problem of Nigeria's electoral system derives either substantially or tangentially there from or is inextricably linked to acts of indiscretion by participants in the process."
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