Uzokwe's Searchlight

If there is any reason, why Iwu should be relieved of his responsibility as the INEC chairman, it is the poor conduct of the 2010 Anambra election. It baffles this commentator that pro-Iwu people are using that same election, where INEC and Iwu displayed utmost ineptitude, to justify their request for his reappointment. Furthermore, we should not be using only the 2010 Anambra election to judge Iwu's competence. Have we all forgotten that Iwu and INEC conducted the shameful 2007 election....

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Tuesday, April 20, 2010



Alfred Obiora Uzokwe

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IWU SHOULD GO IF IBB MUST BE CHECKMATED

chuckle when I read the opinion articles, in some of Nigeria's dailies, insinuating that Maurice Iwu, one of the most biased election umpires Nigeria has ever seen, deserves to be reappointed to another 5-year term. People who make this argument opine that Iwu conducted a free and fair election in Anambra State this past February. Some misguided individuals have even stepped up the ante by staging demonstrations, demanding that Maurice Iwu should be reappointed. They posit that those asking for a new and more reliable election umpire are doing so out of tribal sentiments or ignorance of Iwu's "achievements". This commentator has no problem with people exercising their right to free speech in a democracy. However, responsible free speech should seek to tell the truth not bend or obfuscate it. Asserting that Iwu ran a credible election in Anambra State, in 2010, is a gross case of obfuscation of the truth.


Ibrahim B. Babangida, The "Evil genius"


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Maurice Iwu did not conduct a free and fair election in Anambra State. INEC, the organization he heads, actually marred an election that had the potential of being free and fair. This was an election where law enforcement agents, even though they were unleashed like a swarm of locusts unto Anambra state, for once, did their duty and preempted violence in a state that had become synonymous with election violence. This was an election where Anambra state citizens trooped out in throngs, in the spirit of patriotism and civic responsibility, to make their voices heard through their votes. They started filing out from their homes, as early as 7:00am on that day, both young and old. They stood under the scorching morning sun, patiently waiting to cast their ballots. In the end, more than half of registered voters could not participate. They were sent home because their names could not be found in the registers that inept INEC staff paraded. What Iwu and his INEC succeeded in doing was to make that election inconclusive at best because willing voters were disenfranchised in droves. Their ineptitude is the reason why that election result is now being challenged. As much as this commentator joined in asking any and all candidates, in the Anambra election, not to contest it in the interest of peace and development, the fact remains that an election where more than half of the people, who were registered to vote, could not vote, through no fault of theirs, is not a credible election. Governor Obi may still have won, but it would have been a sweeter victory and seeping mandate, for him, if all registered voters were allowed to participate.

If there is any reason, why Iwu should be relieved of his responsibility as the INEC chairman, it is the poor conduct of the 2010 Anambra election. It baffles this commentator that pro-Iwu people are using that same election, where INEC and Iwu displayed utmost ineptitude, to justify their request for his reappointment. Furthermore, we should not be using only the 2010 Anambra election to judge Iwu's competence. Have we all forgotten that Iwu and INEC conducted the shameful 2007 election, that was rigged to kingdom come, with the tacit knowledge of election officials? It will be a case of using half a report card to judge someone if the only yardstick to judge Iwu's performance is the Anambra elections. Iwu conducted the national election before the Anambra elections and Nigerians should remember how that one went. It was a very peculiar election where INEC, in some areas, declared as winners, members of the ruling PDP, using election results where the so called voters far outnumbered the total number of people actually living in the precincts. At the tacit behest of his master and appointee, Iwu was singularly responsible for disenfranchising some candidates, especially those that had a run-in with Obasanjo. He pulled out all the stops to ensure the victory of Andy Uba, a former presidential special assistant, by making the fate of other candidates unclear to the electorate, even to the end. In all, it is still believed and even Yar'Adua admitted, that the process that threw him up as the president was seriously flawed. In essence, Maurice Iwu's track record is not good. Trying to whitewash his record now for the sake of reappointment, would not and should not fly.

When Goodluck Jonathan visited the United States, he was asked about the reappointment of Iwu at every turn. He initially indicated that INEC was going to be reinvigorated through personnel change. That made well-meaning Nigerians happy. However, subsequent statements by Dr Jonathan, that Iwu did well in the last three elections conducted under him, may be an indication that he might let Iwu stay on the grounds of the "free and fair" elections in Anambra and Edo states. If Iwu is reappointed, it would be a big mistake for Nigerians and Democracy. Why? Because, Iwu's modus operandi is to do whatever it takes to please the ruling party, unless of course that is what Dr Jonathan wants. He pleased Obasanjo by ensuring a massive PDP "victory", in 2007. It is noteworthy that many of the flawed election results, which Iwu gleefully ratified then, have since been overturned by several election tribunals. If Iwu can pull all the stops to please PDP and Obasanjo then, he can as well do it again in 2011. Nigerians must not allow that to happen because the stakes are higher now with General Babangida rearing his maradonic head again.

General Badamosi Babangida has just stated, albeit informally, that he is set to contest the 2011 elections under the PDP. Nigerians have also read that IBB consulted with Obasanjo and got his nod to forge ahead. Furthermore, IBB's die-hard loyalists are all over the place, pushing and selling his candidacy in every conceivable way. They are poised to do all it takes to make IBB the PDP candidate. Some think that getting the PDP ticket is a tall order for IBB but if Obasanjo has given him the nod, then no one should underestimate Obasanjo's influence in the PDP as well as the power of IBB's millions. The danger here is that if IBB succeeds in becoming the PDP presidential candidate, with Iwu, an Obasanjo appointee, still the INEC chairman, the gap toothed General will once again tower over Nigeria as the helmsman. Iwu's penchant for doing the bidding of the ruling party cannot be over emphasized.

The thought of Babangida becoming Nigeria's president, again, should be enough reason to kick against the reappointment of Iwu. Babangida's record as the president is a very dismal one. From destroying the value of the currency, to questionable use of the oil windfall, to civil rights violations and Halliburton indictment case, his record stinks to high heavens. He should not be given another chance to complete the ruination of the nation. I have read some of the reasons adduced by IBB's sycophants for wanting him again. One of them had the temerity to say that Nigeria needs a strong leader like IBB to change our current course for the better. Let us for one minute agree that IBB is a strong leader. He ruled Nigeria for 8 years and did nothing positive. Babangida ruled Nigeria when his words were the commands of many. He had the chance to change things just by asking and yet inflation managed to skyrocket under his watch, corruption became a national pastime and poverty deepened. If he was unable to make a positive change as a dictator, how will he make positive change in a democratic dispensation where you need to work with the legislative arm of government to get anything done? Will he, like his buddy Obasanjo, jettison democracy and start practicing benevolent dictatorship? We do not need that again.

By the way, why is Nigeria allowing the soldiers who, at one time or the other, plundered Nigeria and put her on the path of destruction, to feel like the presidency is theirs for the asking? They see Nigeria's presidency as something of musical chairs that they will be taking turns to sit on, whether Nigerians want them or not. I have a contemporary that is adamant that Nigeria will never allow IBB to be at the helm of affairs again. While it is true that 80% of Nigerians would not welcome Babangida, it does not mean that he cannot be foisted on Nigeria. One has to consider the fact that inspite of the objections of Nigerians, Obasanjo single-handedly pushed an ailing man, on the nation, as president. Nigerians could not stop Obasanjo's machinations with the power of the ballot simply because the ruling party had all the money, as well as a willing accomplice in the same man some are asking to be reappointed as INEC chairman. Nigeria is a land where anything goes. The will of the people does not matter. During past elections, real ballot papers were easily discarded and fake ones used to declare winners and some of the fraudulently installed politicians are still in power. It is time for Nigerians to demand that Iwu must go and be replaced with someone willing to look PDP stalwarts in the eye and do the right thing by ensuring that all registered voters are allowed to vote and that the votes count.

With the goodwill that Dr Goodluck has garnered during his visit to the United States, he is now sitting on a more credible pedestal to make sweeping changes. He should be aware that what he does or does not do, at this epochal moment, will determine his place in history when the story of this period is chronicled. In all of his actions, he should put Nigeria's interest above party interest. He should not allow party allegiance to compel him to reappoint Professor Maurice Iwu as the INEC chairman for another 5-year term.

HERE I STAND