OUR democracy is unique. The practices are peculiar. When it is election time, the preparations assume a crescendo determined to crush anything that stands on the way of those who want results.

Results are everything. Consequences can wait; we will deal with them if the need ever arises. These seem to be the attitude of the Federal Government, which is behaving as if Nigeria is the first country in the world to conduct elections.

The decision to further compromise the low quality of education in schools by shutting schools for one month, to register voters, is one of the most unimaginative decisions any Nigerian government has made. The government even expects applause for its ingenuity in reducing the number of days of the closure.

According to a government statement, “The President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, concerned about the quality of education at all levels, has further reviewed the number of days public and private schools will be closed for the voters registration exercise. He has directed that schools should now resume on 30 January 2011, which is a week earlier than 4 February as announced previously.”

What progress are we making if we are closing schools to register voters? How did we register voters in the past? Are the elections so important that everything must stop for them? Why should the schedules of schools, most of which are often closed for other reasons, be further disrupted just to register voters?

Nigeria is acquiring notoriety for ridiculing itself. Unfortunately, the ridicule bears official stamp. Elections are made to appear so important that anything can be stopped to hold them, at unimaginable costs, to produce results that increase our troubles.

Of all the facilities that can be sacrificed for elections, government finds schools the most suitable. It is a judgement on the value government places on education. Even if schools must be used for the exercise, how much space do registration officials require that we must shut down whole schools throughout Nigeria for them?

Does government realise this decision is only the beginning of disruption of education this year? Schools used for registration will also be venues for verification of voters’ register. Will the schools be shut too for the verification exercise?

“However,” the government statement said, “SS III students who are preparing for their final examinations are not affected by this extension”. How thoughtful of government!

Its promise, “The Federal Government is determined to ensure that this extension does not impact negatively on the school calendar as arrangements would be made to compensate for the time lost,” resounds in hollowness. Do public and private schools have the same schedules?

Government should let each school find adequate space for registration officials, in places that will not disturb school activities. Otherwise, the same street spaces used for past registration exercises can be used. We should stop undermining education of our children and condemning them to a future worse than a persistent pestilence.

Registration of voters is not a good reason to shut down education.