WE are a resilient people. We are patient, most times. We are religious too, ascribing all things, the commonest mistakes inclusive, to the embracing powers of the Almighty.

That we are voting for legislators tomorrow, though the elections should have been concluded last week and the equanimity with which we accepted the situation say something about the large heart of the Nigerian.

It is possibly another pointer to the low standards that we have elevated to national ethos. Where we are pressed for deeper consideration of the dilapidating foundations on which we benchmark performance, we throw up our hands in the air.

Professor Attahiru Jega, Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, understood this Nigerianess very well. He sounded apologetic on television yet he pulled in the Almighty to share in the blames for the botched elections. “Man proposes, God disposes,” Jega said. Did the Almighty participate in mismanagement of the logistics?

We are in a haste to put all that behind us as the elections hopefully hold tomorrow. The challenges may still be there. INEC no longer speaks with certainty about the elections in all parts of the country as earlier planned. It admitted that electoral materials may not be available at all polling booths.

INEC’s logistics manager may have only discovered that there was more to logistics than planes that were diverted to emergency operations in Japan and Libya. How much longer did INEC need to be ready?
Nigerians should troop out and vote with all these clouds. We support democratic rule. Elections afford voters regular bases to endorse or reject candidates. In Nigeria’s democracy, elections are the only times politicians remember the people, a pity for governments claim to act for the people.

We ask the people to vote as they pass the verdict on individuals as well as the political parties on whose platform they got into office. Voters are familiar with unfulfilled electoral promises. It is time to punish unfaithfulness.

Some did well as individuals, governments, and political parties. It should follow that an appreciative electorate will reward them with another term. Instead of spending the next four years complaining about the ineptitude of governments, voters can make choices that can bring about the much-sought changes quicker.

Among the candidates are men and women who can produce better returns than what we got in the past 12 years, voters should not ignore them, even if they lack experience. Freshness is crucial for improving performance in some places.

The authorities should do everything possible to ensure that people feel secure enough to exercise their voting rights freely. It is time for voters to score legislators, governors and the political parties. In a free and fair election, the people can decide to jettison the dreadful darkness of the past or continue with it.

Whatever they choose is their right and they live with it for the next four years. Voting wisely entails considering all these before taking a stand.