Suspicion Of Ethnic Bias In The Appointment Of The Incoming INEC Chairman -By Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

Since the coming of the All Progressives Congress (APC) regime in 2015, a lot of unimaginable things has happened in the Nigerian political landscape. In the APC government, the principles of separation of power is dead, the principle of Federal Character is destroyed and so are the principles of equity and justice. Aberration is now the norm: impunity has replaced the rule of law and harassment and intimidated have all become instruments of governance. There is blatant abuse of the constitution and the rights of the citizens. And while the citizens grumble silently in anguish, the insensitive and adamant government agents remain unperturbed. 

One of the most glaring crimes of this regime against the Nigerian people, is the denial of the people of their inalienable rights to decide who governs them. The Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) is everything but independent. The commission operates as an extension of the executives, doing the biddings of the “powers from above” instead of the will of the electorate.  We cannot over-emphasize the importance of a neutral and an efficient electoral system in conducting a free and fair credible election. Under the APC regime, the elections are neither free nor fair. The APC regime has elevated electoral malfeasance to an absurd degree. Elections are marred with violence, rigging, ballot box snatching with the active connivance of not just party thugs but with the security agents and other gross irregularities like result alteration, result swapping and falsification. Under APC government vote-buying is institutionalized. And as observed by a colleague of mine, where the APC gang cannot rig, the election will either be declared inconclusive or they would use a dubious court process to overturn it. 

The INEC’s ignoble role has been responsible for the most of the problem of inept leadership that we have in the country today. Politicians do not care about the electorates because they know that they can do without them. They do not bother about manifestoes or campaign promises because they know that with INEC’s connivance they can rig their way through.  And the result is tension, frustration and voters’ apathy. This is the dilemma of the nation called Nigeria. 

This is therefore the cause of the rumble in the social media currently about the appointment of a new INEC chairman. Nigerians are concerned about the integrity and neutrality of the incoming chairman now that the incumbent Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, whose performance will go down in Nigeria history as the worst and the most fraudulent, has been asked to proceed on retirement leave. Already, there is apprehension among Nigerians that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is set to appoint one of his kinsmen to head INEC; something many see as another aberration after Buhari committed the same blunder by appointing Prof. Mahmood to succeed Prof. Attahiru Jega. The suspicion is fuelled by the publications from Tinubu’s media team that openly canvass for it in different media platforms. Their argument is that no Yoruba man has ever been appointed the national electoral commission chairman and therefore it is their turn to produce one. And many interested observers have come to interpret this to mean that Tinubu is using the adverts to pre-inform Nigerians about what he has decided to do. 

Without mincing words, it will be unfortunate if Tinubu decides to appoint a Yoruba man as INEC chairman at this time when Nigerians are complaining about the lopsidedness in his key appointments. Tinubu government from all indications breached in many ways the federal character principles in his key political appointments. And if Tinubu goes ahead to appoint a Yoruba man as the new INEC chairman, it means that he is planning to rig the 2027 general election as insinuated by Nigerians and that will be an invitation for anarchy. Nigeria is a multicultural nation with scores of ethnic groups and over 250 different language groups. The principle of equity and representation should apply in making major appointments. A situation where the President, the Chief Justice of the Federation, the Chief of Army Staff, the Inspector-generation of Police, the Central Bank Governor, the head of Customs and Excise, the head of internal revenue services, the head of Department of State Services (DSS) and other key appointments come from one ethnic group out of scores of others is an aberration and a clear violation of the principles of federal character and power sharing. It is the worst exclusionist government in the history of Nigeria. And to appoint the next INEC chairman from the same ethnic group that have so unfairly favored in this regime is to aggravate an already tense situation. It would be the height of insensitivity and irresponsibility in governance.  

I would advise the Nigerian electorates to resist any attempt by Tinubu to appoint his kinsman as the next INEC chairman if the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly are not vigilant and courageous enough to turn down his recommendation, if they ever hope to have what looks like Democracy again in this country.

Long live Nigeria!

Hajia Hadiza Mohammed 

hajiahadizamohammed@gmail.com 

An actress, social activist, politician 

London, UK