There have been a couple of opinion write-ups and articles concerning the appointment of the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu.
First, a lot of the information canvassed by the writers is either borne out of sheer ignorance or at best limited knowledge about the man under reference. While some opinions have it that President Muhammadu Buhari shouldn’t have appointed somebody from his geopolitical conclave, others couldn’t just rationalize why the choice of Yakubu, even when they have not taken time to under-study the credentials of this great Nigerian and veritable academic, to underscore the merit of his appointment.
As an avid monitor of contemporary discourse in the public space, I have my quarrel with the positions canvassed by these writers most of whom anchored their arguments on ethnicity as opposed to merit. If a qualitative mind like that of Yakubu does not fit into the bill of our present day leadership by merit, one wonders what then could qualify one for any serious minded position in the country. The job of an INEC chairman is so serious a task, that the issue of ethnicity should not dominate the discourse in getting a qualified hand to handle the responsibility. The concern should be about merit, competence, capacity and ability to discharge the responsibilities without any partisan biases.
Yakubu comes across as very distinguished “A” scholar whose contribution to the intellectual infrastructure of the country is not only remarkable but profound. A Professor at 33, he is a man who has a network of influence across the country in the area of impacting knowledge. He held the students and staff of the Obafemi Awolowo University spell bound in 2009 when he delivered the University’s convocation lecture and also a colloquium at the 30th anniversary of Olabisi Onabanjo University, at Ago-Iwoye in 2013. He did not only display his intellectual capacity by his superlative delivery, he did the University proud by his rare show of researched-based intellectual indulgence. As an academic who is not cocooned into his geopolitical conclave of North-East, he has a broad-based cosmopolitan world view about the Nigerian nation. This broad-based national outlook can be gleaned from the number of honours to his credit from different parts of the country; fellow Historical Society of Nigeria, Fellow, Nigeria Institute of Public Relations, Fellow, Lagos State Polytechnic, Fellow, Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, Doctor of Letters, [Honoris Causa] Ebonyi State University, Doctor of Letters [Honoris Causa], Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma in Edo State amongst several others.
The job of the National Chairman is essentially that of supervision, because every department is headed by technical staff that conducts its statutory responsibilities within the limits and bounds of the electoral law. Every geopolitical zone is also represented by Commissioners, while the States have Resident Electoral Commissioners. It therefore gives a fair balancing in terms of Federal character and prevents anyone the opportunity to singularly determine what happens in INEC. It is a collective responsibility monitored by well respected appointees handling various portfolios in the electoral body. Aside from the fact that the new Chairman comes from Bauchi State, in the North-East part of the Country, while President Buhari comes from North-West, merit and competence should be the motivating credentials in getting anyone to preside over this all-important body. Since no one has queried Mahmood’s credentials, it goes to suggest that he is eminently qualified meritoriously to preside over INEC in the next five years.
As a country trying to get on the super highway of sound and credible electoral conduct, we should begin to recruit solid and intellectually-endowed Nigerians to key into the high demand of utility-driven leadership that could deliver the much needed elected leadership at the various tiers of government. Putting sentiments at the front burner in a manner that tends to deride merit and quintessence is to me a deliberate disincentive to deny the country the opportunity of her best brains to preside over sensitive and critical sectors of the economy. For a Professor Mahmood Yakubu who was three times recipient of Overseas Research Students Award by Committee of Vice Chancellors of UK Universities; is an eloquent testimony to his mental capacity and intellectual endowment. Added to this was the fact that he bagged his Doctorate degree from University of Oxford, United Kingdom at the maturing age of 29. He also won the Commonwealth Trust scholarship as a Masters student in the University of Cambridge. Having played several roles in the educational sector across the country, serving as the Executive Secretary, Education Trust Fund [ETF] now Tertiary Education Trust Fund [TETFUND], as well as a member of the Federal Government renegotiation team on agreement with ASUU, it is obvious that he is quite familiar with the country.
He has also served in several other platforms in helping to nurture and grow the country intellectually. Given the fact that the Independent National Electoral Commission is gradually earning the respect and confidence of the electorates especially judging by the commendable conduct of the immediate past Chariman of the Commission, Professor Atahiru Jega, we need another thorough-bred professional with a knack for excellence to fill that void created by Jega’s exit. In keeping with that tradition of commendable performance, Mahmood yakubu will no doubt comes into the job with a burning desire to surpass the achievements recorded by his predecessor in office. He will more than ever before showcase his competence and capacity to initiate new ideas and models to make our elections more credible, attractive and demonetized in order to get more people interested in democracy.
The beauty of democracy will flourish better if it is all inclusive, provides a level playing field for all participants, creates equal opportunities for all contenders and punishes every offender with the legal parameters set out in the Electoral Law. It is an all-comers game with specific rules of engagement and modus operandi. The less the number of cases decided at the tribunals, the healthier the operations and outcomes of electoral conduct and the less cumbersome the entire process leading to election outcome. This is an area that the new INEC ombudsman must look into as we collectively buy into a greater desire by majority of Nigerians to get things right in order to move the country forward. He must as a matter of urgency carry out a complete personnel overhaul and reforms to change the attitudinal mindset of most INEC personnel about election and the whole essence of electoral conduct. He must put square pegs in square holes with a strong determination to damn the consequences of whatever criticism that may greet such exercise. There are quite a number of personnel that are perpetually holding unto one office simply because of what they called “juicy nature” of the office. If Professor Mahmood Yakubu must succeed, it must not be business as usual.
Even though he is coming anew, though familiar with the country and its electoral elements, his ability to present a truly unbiased electoral umpire in the Kogi and Bayelsa elections will go a long way to show Nigerians symptoms of what to expect in future. He must avoid the temptations of politicians and the lure of “cash and carry” political engagement. He must not allow the trappings of the office to rubbish his hard-earned reputation. It is hoped that Nigeria and Nigerians will witness another commendable improvement in the conduct of elections in the country. That way, outcomes of elections would be celebrated on the electoral field rather than in the courtrooms.
* Abubakar wrote in from Asaba, Delta State and can be reached at suleabubakar@yahoo.com [myad]
