JEGA:A GENERAL WITHOUT AN ARMY Congratulations and condolences!Those were the words uttered by Professor Niyi Osundare,the famous writer,when the news of the appointment of Professor Attahiru Jega as the Chairman of INEC reached him. Osundare congratulated Jega because according to him he knew Jega to be of outstanding honesty,intergrity and a radical.He also congratulated him because he was happy that Jega would redeem the battered image of University Professors created by Professor Maurice Iwu.On the other hand,Professor Osundare condoled with Jega when he thought of the challenges he would encounter.He thought of the stealing of ballot of boxes,the purchase of votes,the handiwork of thugs,the corrupt INEC staff,the undesirable democrats who make elections do or die affair and concluded that Jega would not have it easy.History has indeed vindicated Osundare. The recent governatorial election in Anambra was a clear pointer to Osundares lamentation.There has been inflammatory and malicious comments about the INEC chairman.Frankly speaking,such comments are not addressing the crux of the matter.A critical look at the person of Jega and the problems militating against free and fair elections in Nigeria reveal that Jega deserves sympathy and understanding.One person cannot change the process of elections in Nigeria to produce the best result.The system is so rotten that many politicians can go to any lenght to connive with INEC officials and political thugs to subvert the popular will of the people. After the 2011 elections,Jega delivered a lecture in America in which he described the post election violence as a crisis of expectation.It is no doubt that Nigerians desired for a positive change in leadership.To achieve that,they saw the process of the last election as their last hope.For instance,many northerners were confident that Buhari would emerge victorious.When Buhari lost or some would say he was robbed of victory,they forgot that the CPC lacked the organisational structure to win in the South.The concentration of the CPC was only in the north and votes from the north alone could not yield the desired results.Burying this reality,Jega was made a scapegoat. In essence therefore,Jega could be described as a casualty of crisis of change.Nigerians in their millions are in a haste for a change and their believe is that only Jega can facilitate the evolution of such a change through free and fair elections.However,a tree does not make a forest.The same Nigerians who quest for a change are the same Nigerians who make change difficult.How many of us will vote candidates on the basis of merit?Can Jega alone identify the corrupt INEC officers,stop the stealing of ballot boxes?Can he single handedly fight the inflation of figures,the harrassment of voters,the connivance with INEC officials? Though the appointment of Professor Attahiru Jega is a good step in the right direction considering his proven intergrity,however,we need more Jegas at the state and local government levels.Many of us are very good in criticism but we tend to perform more devastatingly when we find ourselves in a similar situation.For now,we should understand that Jega is like a general without an army.
Posted on: Fri, 29 Nov 2013 11:53:19 +0000