Election 2011
Elections in Nigeria come up next year. For some reason (I forget, IF I EVER KNEW!!!) our jobless lawmakers wanted to move elections to January from March/April (is that correct?) Of course, that meant INEC got some huge amount for "electoral reform" and to "meet up" with the new January date. They need to update the voters register, re-validate previous registered voters and employ people to do all of this. Sounds reasonable, does it not?
Well, it would, if we were carrying out elections for the first time or our democracy was still "nascent"!!! In 1998, we spent the better part of our weekends standing in line to get registered as voters. Then even more time in the sun in the few months before the election re-validating that registration. On election day, we had to re-validate, again, before we could vote. In 2003, same process - I had to ask the INEC official who re-registered me what happened to the old register. She looked thoroughly confused and replied that they were compiling the voters register and she did not know there was an old one. Couldn't blame her - she was a youth corper so had no memory of previous voting registration events!
In 2006, we had to go through the process AGAIN. I would really love to know what INEC does with the registers once elections are over - do they delete the data from whatever server they have and sell the hard copies to the guguru & epa or boli vendors? A register, once created, only needs to be updated, not re-created each time it needs to be used. And I am amazed at the fact that not one lawmaker, government official nor even our dear GEJ asked INEC why the register has not been updated as the years have gone by. Is it rocket science? Create voters register/database in Year 1. Elections take place. In year 2 and subsequent years, anyone who turns 18 walks into any INEC office and is added to that database. For election periods, a cut-off date should be specified to allow ample time for system updates and new voter card production before elections. How do you delist dead but registered voters? For now, each hospital should send to INEC, on a monthly basis, a list of names of people for whom death certificates have been issued. I have no other ideas for that!!
Seriously though, I am always amazed at the ineptitude of our leaders and governmental bosses and their seemingly innate inability or refusal to plan, even for recurring events. We KNOW we hold elections every four years. We KNOW we have to vote during those elections. We KNOW we need to have registered voters to vote during those elections. We KNOW all of this, yet we wait for a few months before the elections to start processes that we KNOW ought to take several months to carry out properly. I guess therein is the reason - we do not wish to do anything properly. We plan to fail and botch the process because no-one is held accountable for anything. May the good Lord help us!
Well, it would, if we were carrying out elections for the first time or our democracy was still "nascent"!!! In 1998, we spent the better part of our weekends standing in line to get registered as voters. Then even more time in the sun in the few months before the election re-validating that registration. On election day, we had to re-validate, again, before we could vote. In 2003, same process - I had to ask the INEC official who re-registered me what happened to the old register. She looked thoroughly confused and replied that they were compiling the voters register and she did not know there was an old one. Couldn't blame her - she was a youth corper so had no memory of previous voting registration events!
In 2006, we had to go through the process AGAIN. I would really love to know what INEC does with the registers once elections are over - do they delete the data from whatever server they have and sell the hard copies to the guguru & epa or boli vendors? A register, once created, only needs to be updated, not re-created each time it needs to be used. And I am amazed at the fact that not one lawmaker, government official nor even our dear GEJ asked INEC why the register has not been updated as the years have gone by. Is it rocket science? Create voters register/database in Year 1. Elections take place. In year 2 and subsequent years, anyone who turns 18 walks into any INEC office and is added to that database. For election periods, a cut-off date should be specified to allow ample time for system updates and new voter card production before elections. How do you delist dead but registered voters? For now, each hospital should send to INEC, on a monthly basis, a list of names of people for whom death certificates have been issued. I have no other ideas for that!!
Seriously though, I am always amazed at the ineptitude of our leaders and governmental bosses and their seemingly innate inability or refusal to plan, even for recurring events. We KNOW we hold elections every four years. We KNOW we have to vote during those elections. We KNOW we need to have registered voters to vote during those elections. We KNOW all of this, yet we wait for a few months before the elections to start processes that we KNOW ought to take several months to carry out properly. I guess therein is the reason - we do not wish to do anything properly. We plan to fail and botch the process because no-one is held accountable for anything. May the good Lord help us!
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