If you are still wondering whether or not the elections will hold, I have personally decided (do not ask me in what capacity) that it will hold. In fact, it must hold. Or how do we explain our predicament to the world? Ordinarily, there should not be so much ado about elections anywhere in the world, especially in civilised societies. Well, I mean in places where there are civilised people. And we are a civilised lot. So the elections must hold. Not even lack of adequate preparations should be enough reason to stop or postpone the elections.

But I am compelled to start sympathising with the thousands or millions of people who, from all indications, will not be able to find their polling booths. It may sound like a joke, but it is not. Many of the over 60 million registered voters by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will not be able to vote. It does not matter that some of them may genuinely want to cast their votes and make a difference. The simple truth is that they will have to make do with the sidelines at the crucial moments of decision because they registered at mobile or nomadic registration centres. If that sounds confusing, then I will throw some light.

During the last voters’ registration exercise, many Nigerians were encouraged or coerced to register with a threat that the registration card could soon be the much-needed passport to the good life. So, much against their will, they started looking for the registration centres that were not there. If you were on Lagos Island and you heard there was a place on the mainland where you could register and get a card, you ran with your entire family, friends, enemies and all to the place. Most of the time, it was a wild goose chase. The registration centres appeared and disappeared at will. This was hardly surprising: the electronic voters’ registration machines that were available at the outset of the exercise were a drop in the ocean. In a way, some registration officers were merely trying to help by moving the few available machines from place to place.

Sometimes, the machines earmarked for a particular area were hijacked and moved to other areas by some influential people or those who were just desperate to register. So, some machines ended up registering people in locations that were not part of their assigned areas. It remains to be seen how these nomadic registration centres will transform to polling booths during the elections.

I believe one of the ways INEC intended to know who was living in particular areas were the residential addresses of those registered. But you would be amazed that many people found their ways around this by putting the addresses of any of the places around where they were registering, irrespective of where they were living. They did not think that was a big deal as long as they got a voter’s card.

The sad thing is that some of those who registered did not get any card. Some got slips with a promise that the cards would be ready shortly, but as I write this what they are still holding on to are the slips. At least, those ones have something to hold on to. What of the vast majority of others who do not have anything to show for their registration? Now that the public enlightenment towards a successful election has reached a crescendo, and I believe many more people would like to cast their votes, what will happen if they do not have a card or slip? Will a driver’s licence, international passport or national identity card suffice for identification, if you are able to find your polling booth? If it will, then we are back to the same problem we were trying to run away from by adopting the electronic voters’ registration system.

Although I have a voter’s registration slip, I have not seen anybody, since I registered, at the place where my polling booth should be. Maybe it has gone on a journey and will soon be back. Maybe it will never come back. It does not matter that I registered just two streets away from my street. In fact, my wife and I had to go there to register because that was the only place we could find around our neighbourhood after searching endlessly for days and weeks. A registration centre however surfaced in front of our house towards the end of the registration exercise, but it came too late. And that one has not come back since then. If my registration centre, which should naturally transform into a polling booth, does not come back then I cannot vote. I will simply take my place among those at the grandstand: watching, cheering, encouraging or criticising those who are voting.

Of course, our slips did not come the same day we were registered. And when they did, it was in a peculiar way. It was my sister-in-law who was on a visit and had gone to register a day after we did that came home with our slips. Now, I still cannot fathom why she was allowed to collect my slip and that of my wife. After all, we do not bear the same surname. And there was just no way she could have been mistaken for my wife as their semblance is not particularly striking. She said she simply told the registration officers that she knew us and they entrusted two registration slips into her care, without the consent of the owners. That means anybody could have collected them and use for any purpose. Forget the fact that my picture is printed on my slip. The image on that slip can pass for that of a boy, a girl, a man, a woman or anything.

Much as I have tried to convince myself that INEC has done its best, it is obvious that its best is and will not be enough. I guess it is too late now to ask for a free and fair election. Not with so many people disfranchised already. So where will INEC start from? Some of us just want the elections to come and go so that life can at least return to the same old drudgery. Maybe some things will change after the elections, maybe they will not. But I strongly believe that we can hold those who will emerge winners at the elections accountable to us. Whether or not they attribute their victory to anything we did or did not do, they can be made to dance to our music. To bow our headsin humble submission is to accept defeat. So let us start sounding it loud and clear that it will not be business as usual. They must stand on their toes to serve us. Or is that not why they are offering themselves for elective offices?  

Robot  Villager

# 1 If you are still wondering whether or not the elections will hold, I have personally decided (do ...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 05.04.2007 16:48

akuluouno  Villager

# 2 Dear Villagers, During my NYSC days a good friend of mine will always say let us confuse them first and later convince them. Historically nigeria is not good on issues bordering on statistics and numeracy. If we take the census for instance, then the answer to ur query will be that on the e day you will never find your polling booth. BTW the results have already been baked and cooked like the french chef in the US who while trying to impress his interviewers in his halting English told them that he can also cook the books. The whole issue reminds of an old pagan who was on the verge of being converted but on attending his first service heard the pastor saying that as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end, and then said that there is no need to proceeed further with his conversion since that means that this staus quo ante was irreversible. INEC cannot but be as it was in the beginning except we had adopted option A4 which brought about MKO in the freeest and fairest election ever held in Nigeria. :neutral: :frown: :frown: Posted by akuluouno| 05.04.2007 17:03

Shoko Loko Bangoshe  Villager

# 3 Sylvester, At least you've let the whole world know of your situation. But I'm sure you know others who have experienced the same problem. I don't know if you're aware, but NVS has launched an 'Election Reports 2007' initiative where people can send reports of their experiences in the forthcoming election. You can get them to send their stories on how they were unable to register and therefore unable to vote there. The more people report this, the more difficult it will be for INEC to claim there was a fair election. Posted by Shoko Loko Bangoshe| 05.04.2007 18:24

gwobezentashi  Villager

# 4 Mabushi, Asokoro residents’ names missing in INEC list By Idris Ahmed Some electorates residing in Mabushi and some parts of Asokoro district in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) could not find their names in the list of registered voters displayed in some centres by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The confused persons said, unless their names are included in the list, they might not be able to exercise their civic rights in the April polls. Some of those who did not find their names on the INEC list said they participated in the voters registration exercise and were given temporary voters card. Mr. Emeka Uche said: “I registered in December last year and was given a temporary voters card, but when I went to the area where I did the registration to check my name, it was not included among the list displayed. I don’t know where to go to have my name included because without that, I might not be allowed to vote for the candidate of my choice during the elections.” Another electorate, Juliana Paul whose name was omitted from the list, said INEC should make provision for people who registered but have their names omitted from the list. She said: “Many of us could not find our names on the list and yet were promised that everyone who registered would get their names printed out in the voters list. Here we are yet to see our names on the list. I am appealing to INEC to look into this so that we don’t unnecessarily get discriminated during the elections.” Apart from those that had their names omitted, another set of people had their names misspelled or were given different INEC registration numbers. Suleiman Umar of Mabushi quarters was given a name different from his number. He said: “I registered my name as Suleiman Umar, but the name that accompanies my number on the displayed list reads Suleiman Usman. I only hope this would not be used to disqualify me during the election.” http://www.dailytrust.com/city.htm QUOTE OF THE DAY I registered my name as Suleiman Umar, but the name that accompanies my number on the displayed list reads Suleiman Usman. I only hope this would not be used to disqualify me during the election Mallam Umar, it should disqualify you because you are not Mallam Usman. Anomalies such as this are the reason why the register is required to be published so they can be corrected and a supplementary register published not later than 60 days before a general election. Iwu has published the voters register 10 days to the general elections but he says he is 99% ready to conduct elections. What he does not ask himself is, what manner of elections he will be conducting. An election of ghosts for ghosts perhaps where no one is eligible to vote or be voted for unless he is a PDP card carrier. 20. (1) Subject to the provisions of section 17(1) of this Act the Commission shall, by notice appoint a period of not less than 5 days and not exceeding 14 days, during which a copy of the voters’ register for each Local Government/Area Council or Ward shall be displayed for public scrutiny and during which period any objection or complaint in relation to the names omitted or included in the voters’ register or in relation to any necessary correction, shall be raised or filed. (2) During the period of the display of the supplementary Voters’ list under this Act, any person may: (a) raise an objection on the form prescribed by the Commission against the inclusion in the supplementary Voters’ register of the name of a person on grounds that the person is not qualified to be registered as a voter in the State, Local Government/Area Council, Ward or Registration Area or that the name of a deceased person is included in the register; or (b) make a claim on the form prescribed by the Commission that the name of a person registered to vote has been omitted. (3) Any objection or claim under subsection (2) of this section shall be addressed to the Resident Electoral Commissioner through the Electoral Officer in charge of the Local Government/Area Council. 21. Not later than 60 days before a general election, the supplementary voters’ list shall be integrated with the voters’ register and published. -ELECTORAL ACT 2006 Posted by gwobezentashi| 05.04.2007 19:57

Profegee  Villager

# 5 Who is deceiving who in Nigeria? The INEC, FG, National Council of State or CNPP. Why the applause given the INEC when millions of Nigerians drove miles away from their homes before they could register simply because some state and local governments made it a criteria for social privileges and rights. Will there be traffic flow during the election? Then, it gives rooms for manipulation by INEC... Posted by Profegee| 06.04.2007 00:44

gwobezentashi  Villager

# 6 Children found on voters register By Andrew Walker & Tashikalmah Hallah Election regulators have admitted registration teams allowed children -some babies in arms- to be included in the final voters register. Civil society organis-ations told Daily Trust yesterday the problem is widespread. Election monitors have seen children on the display of the voters register in three states of the country and Daily Trust has proof of underage registration in a fourth. Spokesman for the Independent National Electoral Commission, Pastor Segun Adeogun, confirmed pages of the final voters register obtained by Daily Trust showing children, and some registry entries with no picture at all, are genuine. He said: “We are aware of this problem it is being dealt with. These children will not vote on election day. They are babies!” But Diego Okenyodo of the Alliance for Credible Elections, said it is a way of rigging the election. He said: “If no one knows exactly how many people are registered at any one polling unit, they will be able to manipulate the figures on voting day.” Riggers need more people registered at polling units than actually vote to disguise the changes, Mr Okenyodo said. He said ACE members saw children on the voters register in Katsina and he saw children being registered in Kaduna and Oyo states. Chibuike Mgbeahuruike, programme manager of the Transition Monitoring Group, said INEC should publish the whole voters register so that people could see for themselves. He said: “I myself have not been able to get hold of one. I went to pick one up but they said there was none left.” Other election groups have not been given copies of the register which went on display this week in polling units but is not published in its entirety. Daily Trust has discovered false records bearing the photos of children in Kirfi Local government area. INEC said the discovery proves the system is working and that no manipulation will be possible on voting day. Pastor Adeogun said: “Every party will have an election agent. They will have a copy of the register they will count off the people who vote and note down the number. If the number of people who voted is not the number of people registered, they will know.” But Mr Okenyodo said: “It is possible that some children would even be able to vote in more remote areas”. The local government area of Kirfi is 70kms away from Bauchi city and is not served by a tarred road. INEC has not displayed any form of voters register in this LGA this week. The pages of the register clearly show false records have been created, inflating the number of people registered. The examples also show that the most basic checks were not carried out by INEC in order to screen register entries. Daily Trust has a record which shows a 34-year-old Umaru Musa was registered twice with the same details. The Voter Identification Numbers of the two records are one after the other. It is possible two records were taken by mistake, but thumbprint recognition technology or cross checking for duplicate names in the database did not pick it up. A page of the register holds 18 records, in one example page, half the records are clearly under 18. One child is obviously a toddler, about 2-years-old. They are listed as “students”, aged 18 or 19. In another example, a snotty-nosed baby has been held up to the camera. His data shows him to be Ismail Gwamna, a 29-year-old public servant. The record immediately after this, the picture is black, and the name registered as “EETYTY E SDF”, all letters close to each other on a normal computer keyboard. Another example, children can be seen lining up to register in the background. The register also shows records with “fake” pictures, which appear to be taken in front of illuminated studio backgrounds. One of these is the registration of a man named “Muhammed SK” he is shown wearing dark glasses that hide his identity. At the polling station in Kadolli Primary School, Kirfi local government area, not one of the 390 entries in the register has a picture attached to it. Pastor Adeogun said: “The missing pictures may be a technical problem that has already been fixed. The problem of under age registration has been acknowledged by the chairman since. This shows the system is working because none of these people will be able to vote. They will be arrested if they turn up on the day. These people are probably illiterate and don’t know any better.” Politicians are responsible for pushing children to be registered, he said: “In 2003, some godfathers put people forward to be registered and then took their cards for N50. They thought that the system would be the same this time but we caught them out.” John Odey, spokesman of the People’s Democratic Party said: “Political parties are not responsible for this, registration was INECs responsibility.” Senator Saidu Umar Kumo, national secretary of the All Nigeria People’s Party said: “It is a clear attempt to rig the election.” http://www.dailytrust.com/news.htm QUOTE OF THE DAY Politicians are responsible for pushing children to be registered, he said: “In 2003, some godfathers put people forward to be registered and then took their cards for N50. They thought that the system would be the same this time but we caught them out.” What did INEC do when it found its data capture machines in the homes of friends of the president? Aluta! Gwobezentashi Posted by gwobezentashi| 06.04.2007 04:13

SBI  Villager

# 7 I guess mine is a common predicament a good number of Nigerians are facing today. Just as the author said, a polling booth, to my great relief appeared at the top of my street in Abuja, but quicker than you could say 'Direct Data Capture Machine' it disappeared completely without a trace. Nothing relating to INEC has been seen in our neigbourhood since that day. That was a couple of days to Christmas last year and having lost out on the opportunity to register for the elections we weren't going to lose out on our well deserved Christmas break, so the next day we took off for the village. On the last day of our holiday as we had all packed into the car and set out to return to Abuja, just driving out what did I see right in front of my gate? Taraaa! INEC Officials with their full registration gear. Just like that. We all hopped out of the car and seized the opportunity with both hands and despite the one or two hiccups we got registered. I now had my temporary voters card snugly tucked into my wallet, confident that I was now fully in the electronic voters register and hopefully my name, photo and fingerprint can be called up from anywhere in Nigeria by INEC so I supposed, and I should be able to vote from wherever in Nigeria I find myself on the voting weekend. I mean, what's the process of getting a permanent voters card? Unfortunately, it seems that I have been mistaken. From all indications the only way I can hope to vote is if I return to the village. I'm not now sure if that trip will be fruitful as I have been unable to make the earlier trip to verify if my name is on the register. The thought of making that 7-hour road trip to the village and still not being able to vote fills me with trepidation. Given the kind of stories I'm reading here and the few things I observed during registration which I have euphemistically referred to above as hiccups, I suspect there is a strong likelihood that my registration in the village may have developed k-leg. One would have expected that our IT centric INEC would have allowed for online verification of the electronic register via the Internet and perhaps a print out of some document that would allow one to vote from the nearest polling booth of his choice. It's not far-fetched, Dr Iwu has already sufficiently projected himself as 'Dr of Innovation'. If INEC's e-voting machine project collapsed, and the DDC Machine for electronic registration has turned to confusion, is it unthinkable that the proposed wireless electronic transmission of results would not result in catastrophe? SBI Posted by SBI| 06.04.2007 18:49

gwobezentashi  Villager

# 8 ‘Why we registered children’ From Tashikalmah Hallah, Bauchi, Aliyu Machika, Abuja The people of a remote, poverty-stricken Bauchi village said the government promised them development if they presented their children to be registered, locals say. A village elder of Denga village, Guyaba district of Kirfi local government area said they were promised drinking water and a good road to their village.Mallam Abdurrahman Jalo said: “We were asked to present our children, they said it is for clinic, road and water, we didn’t know it was for election.” He said election registration teams and government officials told them the voters’ registration was to assess if the population “deserved” development. He said: “We did not even take it seriously because we have been used to all this kind of promises. So, to our children it was all fun to see them pose before a camera.” Denga missed out in the Bauchi state development plan. The village has no access road and no pipe-borne water and could not boast of even dispensary for their health needs. The only means of getting to the village is either trekking or hiring Achaba-commercial motorcycle, which often carries heavy price. Villagers were not aware that the register should be displayed in the village. “We are not aware that they are coming to display our pictures, when are they coming” asked Jalo. Some who have seen the register say it is inadequate. Comrade Sabo Mohammed, a psychologist, said: “In my state especially in the rural area the exercise if yet to take off even in the cities like Bauchi, Misau, Azare and Ningi, you find a lot of conjecture of names missing and duplications and that is exactly the situation on ground”. Nazif Suleiman a member of the House of Representatives and an Action Congress Senatorial candidate accused the PDP of spreading confusion. But he said that in his area the vote was already decided. He said: “The PDP is not ready to leave office, that is why they created all this confusion. In my polling unit, the people in the area know how many people have been registered and are aware how many votes are going the AC way, how many votes would go the ANPP and PDP. Because we know ourselves, and there would be no rigging. We are going to protect our votes”. But Inuwa Labaran former National Organising Secretary of the PDP and Director General Mohammed Nadada Umar gubernatorial campaign said the PDP was not responsible. He said: “There is no way the PDP can ask the INEC to go and register underage children because they are not voters. In this era of global awareness to issues, there is no way that party agents would allow these children to cast their vote, and from what we gathered from INEC it is impossible for someone to use a voters’ card that belongs to somebody else, because of the pictures of the bearer that is engraved on it”. He said the party was successful in mobilising their supporters for registration. Alhaji SD Garba head of INEC’s public affairs unit in Bauchi told our correspondent the chairman of INEC has accepted responsibility of the flaws recorded on the voters’ register, and people criticising the register were politically motivated. He said: “Most of those who are criticising this register are politicians who don’t want to accept change as it comes. “The underage children as you notice on the register have been addressed, we have corrected them and if you go round now you may not likely see any of them.” National Organising Secretary of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Umaru Dahiru blamed the press for causing problems. He said: “Since the display of the register, less than ten percent of Nigerians have so far gone to check their names, so if some people are not only trying to make unnecessary insinuations when have they gone through the list and found out the irregularities with which to condemn the exercise. I believe they are just mere excuses.” Senate spokesman, Senator Victor Ndoma Egba said: “How many complaints have been made out of the millions of name displayed? I think people should stop creating problems where there is none. We should be more concerned on holding credible and successful elections and stop dwelling on excuses and allegations that would take us no where. I believe that even the constitution envisage that there would be shortcomings that is why we always have contingency provisions. It will be better if we all work towards the elections.” The All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) yesterday said the recent report on the underage registration done by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is another procedure to rig the April polls. The Secretary of the ANPP presidential campaign committee, Alhaji Buba Galadima described the act as a “grand plan” to rig the April polls in favour of the ruling party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). “We are all aware when INEC, in only two weeks said it has registered more than 20million voters. And later it was found that even children were part of the people registered. This is just part of their attempt to favour one party over others,” he said. http://www.dailytrust.com/news1.htm Posted by gwobezentashi| 09.04.2007 11:19