A Welcome Disruption -By Ike Willie-Nwobu

As civic awareness has grown in Nigeria at the same time as leadership failure has released its brakes, Nigerians have become more aware of the cost of having the incompetent and corrupt among them in power.

With this realization of the catastrophic implications of having the wrong people in power has come a kind of startling clarity about the place of elections in Nigeria’s democratic journey. More than ever, Nigerians, many of whom used to approach elections with so much apathy, have come to recognize its role in shaping their democratic destiny.

In any country where citizens believe that those who represent them in the legislature are corrupt and self-serving, there are always going to be flashpoints. For many Nigerians, those who represent them at the National Assembly are only there to feather their nests. The cold relationship between the National Assembly and Nigerians came to a head recently when reports emerged that the National Assembly had rejected a bill to make the electronic transmission of results during elections compulsory in Nigeria. The law, which would have drastically improved the integrity of elections in Nigeria, was reportedly thrown out over concerns of technology availability and viability. The Senate has since buckled and backtracked under the immense pressure generated by Nigerians.

During future elections in Nigeria, electronic transmission of results will be compulsory.

Previous elections in Nigeria have provided a litmus test for institutional and operational resilience in the country. Apathy, low voter turnout, and logistics issues have marred previous elections.

However, for many Nigerians, none of the aforementioned issues that have marred previous elections have posed the kind of stern challenge that corruption manifesting as various shades of electoral malpractices has provided. Allegations of manipulating results have always come up during elections in Nigeria. It is why election results in Nigeria have provided such rich fodder for resources for judicial examination in Nigeria.

Compulsory electronic transmission of election results would educe to the barest minimum the chances of manipulating election results in Nigeria. Technology, which has proven so transformational to many facets of human life around the world, steps in to ensure that.

Some of the senators repeatedly argued that mandating real-time transmission of results could disenfranchise voters, especially in areas with poor network coverage or rampant insecurity.

But it is such a relief that a middle ground has somewhat been reached. The intense noise generated by the controversy shows that Nigerians do not trust the Senate. It also indicates that many Nigerians believe that elections in Nigeria are often rigged in favor of the rich and powerful. But it also reaffirms the belief many Nigerians have in the power of technology to transform the electoral system in Nigeria.

What Nigerians need is to have their faith in the electoral system restored. This faith has long been eroded by the massive irregularities that have greeted elections in Nigeria since democracy returned in 1999.

Nigerians need to know that when they step up to the ballot box, they can purchase free tickets to public offices for those they wish to have there. Nigerians need to know that the choices they make during elections will stand and not be subverted by the whims of a few powerful people.

Nigerians know that many of the challenges they face stem from a failure of leadership. They also know that this failure of leadership is a direct consequence of rigged elections. They are now prepared to fight back. It will be interesting to know how far they are willing to go.

Ike Willie-Nwobu,
Ikewilly9@gmail.com