ONE DAY LOST AND THE SECOND’S HEADED FOR THE SAME FATE

There is no doubt that everyone that is abreast of happenings in the country woke up with a sense of anticipation, which by this evening can only be described as misplaced: the voter registration which was supposed to have commenced this morning could not take off as most of the anticipated problems and new ones reared their heads. However, the most devastating aspect to losing a day in this all important exercise of voter registration is not that it was spent gainfully troubleshooting and trying to preempt further problems; it was in my opinion, spent accumulating problems that we could do without, not to mention the morale depleted.
Forget the many news stories that might be aired across the states and the country reporting the commencement of the exercise. Even more, ignore all the very few registration centres, if any, that opened to the public for registration today for nothing was done, absolutely nothing!
All across the country, youth corps members were yesterday told to report to the various local governments Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) offices at 6 am this morning. The plan was that we would be there for about an hour or so, which time would be spent in coupling the machines and getting them to functional speed before tying some loose ends like paying outstanding allowances to those youth corps member who did not get their training allowance. Well, up until 8 am we were all under the illusion that everything would go as planned before we realized that most of the INEC officials were not on ground. Most of the Registration Area Officers (RACO) and the Electoral Officer (EO) were nowhere to be found as registration assistants huddled together in groups looking for some direction – any direction – forward.

At last they started arriving, but it was becoming clear to many by then that little if anything would be done as only some of the officials who did come spent the next 30 minutes or so going over the coupling and assembling procedure for the Direct Data Capture (DDC) machines. No flurry of activity, no mobilization to the registration centres and no one seems to be keen in seeing to these. Apparently, the all-important voter registration that is seen as the threshold in moving the country forward on the path to development is not seen as important enough to get Nigerian citizens moving, mobilizing and doing their jobs, which apart from carrying the all-important historical potential, carries also some cash remuneration… what is wrong with our work ethic and sense of purpose? Well, things were about to get worse.

Remember I mentioned earlier that some corps members were not paid their training allowance? That was because the INEC officials found it expedient not to use their heads, or at least with the aid of a calculator, compute the amount of money that is necessary to settle everyone. Therefore, some corps members spent the whole of yesterday doing nothing and for the time wasted they did not get the little which the federal government released to aid in any little way, give them some sense of belonging and keep the team-spirit which is always vital to exercises of these kind, aglow. The result: a lot of disgruntled corps members who are beginning to have a rethink if this whole process is worth it at all.

As if to add insult to injury, between noon and 13:00, a group of four comprising two INEC officials and two youth corps members were dispatched with a DDC to what was at that time an unknown destination, for an unknown mission. They would arrive about two hours later, and that is when it became clear that they were a ‘VIP’ delegation sent specially to the governor’s house, not his polling unit, to register him, and I gathered, his wife. The most outrageous thing of all was that one of the INEC officials sent there was dressed as a youth corps member, the purpose of which I did not know until I quizzed him:

ME: Sir, where did you people go to?
OFFICIAL: we went to register the state governor.
ME: In his house?
OFFICIAL: yes
ME: why then are you wearing the NYSC uniform?
OFFICIAL: the youth corps member sent with us (The Registration Assistant) did not know how to operate the machine
ME: but you did not have to wear an NYSC uniform; that is impersonation
OFFICIAL: well, you can take it how you want; it was the EO (Electoral Officer) that told me.

So, in an exercise that is primarily aimed at arming the citizenry with the power to take the country forward, not only does the state governor get registered first, he is the only one who gets registered… the hundreds who could have been registered today will have to wait till some other time I guess. I do not know if he looked out his window to see if everyone eligible was exercising their civic rights, I do not know if he thought about it, I do not know if he cared at all. What I know is that the process was supposed to start today, but due to the lack of ingenuity and sense of purpose demonstrated by those responsible, one day in history has just been lost. I did not switch on my TV this evening – well, I do not have any here – but I would not be surprised if one of the news items was, “Governor registers as voter registration kicks off across the state”. Pity!

Tomorrow does not look set to be too different, by now a lot of the youth corps members are getting jaded and beginning to think this whole thing is a waste of time. Tomorrow morning they are not going to wake up in a hurry, they will take their time. They will prepare breakfast, eat at a leisurely pace and I bet you a lot of people will go to church; they’ll remember that the INEC officials have never respected time, have never had the courtesy to apologize when they came late and if these are the people who are supposed to be the captains then why should they bother to be any different? Unfortunately, I say this not tongue in cheek, they will be largely right. There is no reason to be responsible while others are busy being irresponsible; the country, the peoples’ franchise and the future can go down the drains, it’s not the first time it is happening!

Sadly, with the tone that has been set, I can almost imagine all the headlines that will be conjured up to make Prof. Jega the scapegoat, it is he who must be sacrificed as recompense for other peoples’ poor sense of occasion. Oh, Jega! Woe betide thee, responsible for stirring a ship full of slumbering crew members, with what few that claim to be awake only so to remind you that you are a failure. Well, except someone can tell me how Jega is responsible for coming late for work, inadequately prepped machines and imperviousness to what little emolument that should trickle down, I pray you all, spare the gentleman your self-righteous erudition.

In a nutshell, the first day, today, is lost; and, barring a jolt of positive energy, all or most of the second will suffer the same fate. However, might I admonish all to GO, GET REGISTERED!

PEACE