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From Nigeria’s pre-independence
electoral commission, headed by Eyo Esua, to the 21st century INEC
under former chairman, Maurice Iwu, the office, under several labels,
has hosted many teachers, professors and trade unionists.

Of the total eight former
chairpersons of the commission, at least three were professors — two,
of Political Science — like Mr. Jega, who is a former chairman of the
Academic Staff Union of Universities.

Mr Esua, who superintended
Nigeria’s first indigenous electoral commission in the early 1960s,
like Mr Jega, was an outstanding labour union member and a teacher.
Many of the office holders too, like Mr Jega, were appointed amid huge
public acclaim and optimism.

But the similarities he shares
have somehow conjured up concerns, more about his destination than a
robust background of academic activism, which he possesses.

In the wake of his naming last
week, the Nigerian Bar Association and the All Nigerian Peoples Party
Chairman, Edwin Umezeoke, and other commentators cautioned Nigerians
against expectations of rapid change merely by virtue of the
appointment, reminding Nigerians of an issue that has somewhat
alienated Mr Jega’s coming from the rest: “His moving into a polluted
ambience,” as the NBA put it.

Perhaps no other of the past
federal electoral commission chairmen assumed office under as much
controversy left behind by a predecessor as Mr Jega would, commentators
have said. And that poses the greatest challenge he will face when he
eventually takes office after the Senate’s two-week break.

“People will expect him to perform
miracles with the next elections coming and based on where we are
coming from, he needs to do that for Nigerians to have faith in him,”
said Joshua Ishiaka, a member of the House of Representatives from
Bornu State.

With a prolonged history of flawed
elections fresh on the nation’s psyche, and the extent of scandalous
elections handling by the immediate chairman of the INEC, Maurice Iwu,
Mr Jega’s takeover bears hope as much as it bears risk.

“Where we are now, if he just
slips, he will lose the goodwill he enjoys and Nigerians will condemn
him. That is something he needs to be careful with,” said Mr Ishiaka.

Lawmakers, like opposition parties
and other political groups, say the key to sustaining goodwill and
being able to succeed will rest on Mr Jega’s management of the new
election time-table raised by the recent constitution amendments and
the contentious question of providing a plausible voters’ register.

“We believe if there is will and
determination, a credible voters’ register can be completed within one
month,” said Musa Adar, who heads the House of Representatives
committee on Electoral Matters. “When he settles down, he should study
the situation, come up with a blueprint and assure Nigerians. Even if
the elections are to be conducted in less than one month, it will not
cause any constraint against free and fair elections. It can be done.
And even if you give two years, if there is no will, nothing can be
done.

“I expect him to do a proper
restructuring, remove those who cannot work with him and bring forward
a sense of honesty and impartiality,” said Aloysius Etok, Chairman
Senate committee on Rules and Business. “He must try and create a new
orientation that will give Nigerians a free and fair election.”

Cautious optimism

The All Nigeria Peoples Party
National Director of Publicity, Sabo Muhammed, said the enabling
environment for the conduct of a free and fair election is not
guaranteed in the present formation of INEC. “Notwithstanding Jega’s
credibility and pedigree, government must create an enabling
environment for him to conduct free, fair and credible elections in
2011,” he said. “Government must assure the new INEC helmsman of all
necessary support. First, by ensuring the neutrality of security
agencies during and after the conduct of the 2011 elections.” The
president of the Trade Union Congress, Peter Esele, also said that
whatever might have been the tradition of the commission that has not
allowed it to reputably discharge its duties must be changed.

“It is left for Jega to do a
surgical operation on INEC and remove what will not make the 2011
elections to work. We urge him to ensure credible elections next year,”
Mr Esele said.

Olisa Agbakoba, former chairman of
the Nigeria Bar Association, who was one of those mentioned in relation
to the job, however, charged the federal government and all those
involved to speed up things, as he said there is a limited time to
achieve the task of a credible election. He also asked Mr Jega to work
through the process with an open mind and reaching out to all necessary
people to ensure success.

“I have known him for a long time
and he is a very credible and principled person,” he said. “I do expect
a lot from him and I do know that he has the antecedent to tackle the
issues. But the challenge is whether we have not overplayed the issue
of who is INEC chairman and overlooked the other institutional
structures that would have to be in place to support the work of an
INEC chairman.

“So I think that more needs to be
done, even for the fact that the new INEC would have to be allowed to
run with new recommendations because we need an INEC that will be
totally independent in terms of service delivery. That is the most
crucial aspect, because INEC needs to be independent of the executive.
Not doing so will make INEC very weak and if that is the point, it will
not lead to the kind of election we so desire. We need to act very
quickly.”

According to him, having success
in an election is not a question about the INEC chairman. “We need the
new INEC chair and his commissioner to, without delay, draw a new
national election plan and also to revalidate the voters register,
whether it is manual or electronic is not the issue.”

Yinka Odumakin of the Save Nigeria
Group said, considering the position of the present acting chairman of
the commission, that the 2011 election might no more be feasible owing
to lack of preparatory time, and Mr Jega and his team need to work
extra hard.

“The Acting INEC Chairman says
election may no longer be feasible in April 2011 due to limited time.
We sincerely hope that Jega will go ahead to issue a fresh timetable
and conduct the election, notwithstanding the comments,” he said. “The
SNG is also hoping to see an INEC that will immediately begin the
process of mobilising Nigerian voters so as to discard the apathy
associated with elections in the past in Nigeria.”

Voting process

Biodun Adegboye, an economist with
the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, however, cautioned against
what he said might be over-expectation.

“Tell me where he is going to
start,” he said. “Even Iwu himself was confused when he brought out two
time tables for Nigerians. Don’t be surprised to know that none of
those timetables will be useful for anything. Why? They were made by
people that were not wanted and to satisfy the wills of some
individuals.

“The issue now is which electoral
system are we following? How are the elections going to be conducted?
Are the rules still the same? So many questions and yet the answers are
still tied to the lackadaisical style of the legislative business in
the country. So, tell me if they expect magic from whomever they are
appointing,” he said.

A former governor of Ogun State,
Olusegun Osoba said in Lagos on Friday that considering the structural
inefficiencies within the INEC, “Nigerians should know that we cannot
celebrate yet. I will only celebrate when 2011 comes and I see the
right people winning the election and not some people arranging victory
for them. No, we will not take that,” he said.

Meanwhile, Abdulwahed Omar, the
NLC President said, “It is highly imperative that Mr Jega gets a team
that is competent, upright and non-partisan, so as not to sabotage any
effort at rebuilding an INEC that is genuinely independent.”

Belief in INEC

Meanwhile, with so many hurdles
ahead, Mr Jega has been described as an optimist that maintains his
belief in the possibilities of making it right. Speaking four years ago
in New Jersey on the challenges facing the 2007 elections, he
controversially reassured participants that Mr Iwu would not disappoint
in delivering the best that Nigerians needed. He also described the
situation in Nigeria as a murky political one, which he said was
dominated by “militicians” and not politicians.

“Trying to democratize a highly
militarized society like Nigeria is a tough job,” he said, adding that
leadership is critical for everything.