I  was in the audience when the governor of Delta State, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, delivered the 45th anniversary lecture of the Faculty of Arts, University of Lagos on June 29. It was on 2011 and how to deliver credible elections.

The topic, no doubt, is one that elicits great interest from the generality of Nigerians, seeing, as has become the case, that  elections have become our Achille’s heel since independence. The largest black nation on earth has been unable to deliver credible elections in all of its 50 years of existence, save perhaps, the June 12 1993 edition  which,  unfortunately, was annulled by the powers-that-be.

It was a topic which, as the governor disclosed, the organizers gave him the luxury of choosing for himself, but which, nonetheless, required courage and tact to navigate. Did he do justice to it? It would appear so, especially when you have the  distinguished presence of Deacon Gamaliel Onosode, who was chairman of the occasion to help you on.

The Delta helmsman was witty, brief and straight to the point- an attribute which many in the audience that day liked, if their off-the-cuff remarks after the lecture were to be relied upon. Of course, the patrons and the students of the faculty were happy too as the governor made their day by committing his government to building a new hall for them provided it would be named in honour of Professor J.P. Clark, a distinguished Nigerian academic and eminent son of the state who was himself in the audience.

The governor’s proviso was granted immediately through a resounding voice vote of “Yes”. And you could say: Democracy in action!

That simple act in itself was part of the commitment Uduaghan made at the event. He said the era is gone when leaders thought they could ride roughshod on the people into office and remain in office without showing evidence of performance. Or that those aspiring into offices come in without putting a convincing manifesto on the table.

The signs, he says, are there for anyone who cares to see. His party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has in the last few years embarked on internal reforms, and that the processes are even now being intensified under the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan. Uduaghan pointed to the lessons drawn from Rivers and Imo in the 2007 elections as leaving the parties with little choice going forward.

To this can be added the recent judgment of the Appeal Court in Enugu in the case of the senatorial election in Ebonyi Central and that of Nnewi South II Constituency in Anambra State House of Assembly where the occupants were asked to vacate their seats on account of wrongful substitution by their party(PDP). In all of these cases, the message is clear: parties must play by their own rules before elections.

On this point, Uduaghan said there is a new commitment amongst the leadership of the country to do things differently. He pointed to the appointment of Professor Attahiru Jega as the new INEC boss which was hailed by most of the stakeholders at home and abroad.

He also noted the appointment of federal commissioners for INEC and the dropping of some on account of party affiliation which was well received. To this, you may add the emergence of Okweselize Nwodo as the new PDP chairman, which process appeared in the main to have reinforced internal party democracy. But as Uduaghan pointed out, all that notwithstanding, the journey to credible elections have only just begun.

To make the point self-evident, he went back to the retired Justice Bola Babalakin Commission Report of 1985, set up by the Babangida administration in the aftermath of the woeful 1983 elections. And the frightening conclusion that can be reached is that 25 years on, not much may have changed.

Quoting directly from the report, he said a key recommendation is that the “ law to govern future elections must be enacted at least three years before elections are due, and the Federal Electoral Commission (in this case, INEC) must similarly be appointed three years before elections are due.” But what do we have?
Going by the recently amended 1999 constitution, elections must hold, latest, February 2011- that will barely afford six months of preparation time, especially against the backdrop of the appointment of Jega and most of his board only last month.

Some other key recommendations of that  report, as he pointed out, bordered on who the INEC appointing authority is, the weighty issue of voters register and leading politicians changing parties in election year. All of these concerns are still very much with us, as have been witnessed in Cross River, Abia, Zamfara and Bauchi states where a number of the political gladiators have changed parties.

There will even be a lot more activity on this front as we move closer to the elections. This is a clear alarm bell that the governor is sounding, but is anyone listening?

The feeling amongst the majority of Nigerians is that with the appointment of Jega, the 2011 elections will go well. But Uduaghan says it is a lot more than that. With less than six months to prepare for the huge task ahead, how much time does the new INEC team have to get acquainted with themselves and their new surroundings?

The ideal is that they will have time to test their options, make mistakes and correct them before the big dance in 2011, but with the present reality where is the opportunity?

Anyone who has followed elections in this country since 1999 knows how contentious the voters register has been. It is perhaps the major reason the recent Anambra gubernatorial election,  despite the best efforts of Iwu, is being tested in court.

Looking at these concerns, one may be tempted to recommend a postponement of the elections to allow the much needed time to prepare, but since that recommendation may not be popular, do we then await unpleasant surprises?

If that were to be the case, then it would not be Jega as many are wont to do, but the system that we run that should be blamed. Udughan drew the analogy of the Super Eagles and our recent World Cup experience in South Africa.

He said we all knew the rot in the system, knew about the untidy build up, yet expected things to happen differently. It is the classic case of a man doing the same thing the same way and expecting a different result all the time. It doesn’t work!

Where there is a “discernable political culture” which Uduaghan agrees with the Babalakin Commission is presently absent in Nigeria, things would probably be done differently. The political elite would come together and agree on the minimum irreducible conditions for the country going forward.

After all, what is the use going ahead with these elections if the outcomes would not be significantly different? But that too may be a bridge too far if what we are presently witnessing with the zoning or no zoning controversy is anything to go by.

Meanwhile, there is an important job for all to do. If Nigerians think that they can continue to sit on their hands and leave the important job of politics and governance to politicians alone, then they have a re-thinking to do. According to Uduaghan, nothing will change if the people-all the people – do not subscribe to a new way of doing things.

Whether it is the masses, the elite known for their siddon look attitude, the civil societies, the new watchword must be vigilance, as he noted that a major missing link is “the failure of the people to insist on compliance.”

While acknowledging the role a proper voter education can play in all this, he said Nigerians must embrace the opportunity afforded in the resurgent “one man-one vote campaign” as a strong mobilizing tool to educate the people.

By EJIRO IDAMA