The avalanche of controversies trailing the just lately concluded 2023 Basic Elections in Nigeria seems to have amplified requires the proscription of college professors as returning officers in Nigerian elections. That is sequel to rising allegations of complicity in election rigging on the a part of these professors. Evidences typically cited by the champions of this place embody the phenomenon of college professors overtly “returning” outcomes which are markedly completely different from those initially recorded and displayed on the polling models, the melodrama of college professors discovering it troublesome to learn out for a similar outcomes that they had ready, requiring in some instances, the necessity for flood lights to be scrambled for the professors to allow them learn the outcomes. On this occasion, the lack to learn out outcomes is just not actually attributed to a studying deficiency on the a part of the involved professor slightly, the idea is that too many manipulations of electoral figures seem to have created the complicated scenario through which the professor as returning officer is now attempting to handle the fragile activity of studying out the outcomes whereas taking immense care to not give himself away particularly if it was turning into apparent that the variety of votes solid would exceed the variety of accredited voters. In different phrases, the momentary incapability to learn out outcomes most likely arises extra from the distraction of reviewing manipulated calculations as a final minute effort to cowl up attainable contradictions whereas concurrently saying the outcomes.
The purpose in challenge is that the decision for the ditching of college professors as returning officers in Nigerian elections might be misplaced and misdirected. With out prejudice to taking part in the satan’s advocate, using college professors as returning officers throughout elections can’t be the singular downside of elections in Nigeria. If something, the politicians are the foremost downside of elections in Nigeria. Consequently, in attempting to find the issue of fraudulent elections in Nigeria, one must ask the next questions: Who corrupts the college professors and different electoral officers? Who corrupts the Judiciary or judicial officers that preside over electoral and non-electoral offences? Who corrupts the heads of a number of non secular establishments who now ship pretend prophecies in regards to the emergence of politicians in a number of elective places of work throughout elections? Who induces the voters to acquiesce to vote shopping for? Who mobilizes the youths for violence and different electoral offences throughout elections? Who has destroyed the status of the normal establishments, turning monarchs to beggars grappling to please politicians to be able to partake of the crumbs that fall of their desk? Who has undermined defence and safety by establishing former political/electoral thugs as parallel armies whereas emboldening different non-state actors to contend the sovereignty of the Nigerian state? Who has weaponized poverty to such an extent that the common voters would favor a thousand naira, a cup of salt, a yard of “adire,” a bag of rice or a carton of noodles over a way forward for prosperity? To transcend election-related issues, who has plunged Nigeria into the conundrum of endless money owed? Whose has influenced or knowledgeable the financial insurance policies which have pushed inflation to over 27% in line with the Nationwide Bureau of Statistics report for October 2023? Who has turned our policemen to errand girls and boys who now function glorified waiters and waitresses to the wives of “Very Vital Individuals”? Who has underfunded hospitals, elevated the charges of Unity faculties and different federal educational establishments? Who has created the financial situations that elicit rising costs of petrol to the added struggling of the common Nigerian? It’s the politician.
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There is no such thing as a doubt that the college professor who’s being dragged to the guillotine for alleged complicity in electoral fraud could also be deserving of such opprobrium as a result of dereliction of imposing his proper of refusal to inducement however the very ambiance underneath which he operates diminishes that proper. In some instances, college professors who present aversion to inducement are identified to have been threatened by the identical individuals who induce them and in different instances, professors with respected integrity are tacitly prevented from collaborating within the course of. Those that handle to keep off abetting politicians and go on to conclude the electoral course of with their heads nonetheless on their shoulders might discover it tough within the close to or distant future given the uncanny capability of those politicians to lie in await lengthy durations in search of alternatives to witch-hunt them. In different phrases, the politicians create an environment underneath which it could be virtually troublesome for the culpable professors to refuse their calls for even when the society expects them to take action. Sadly, a whole lot of the members of society who count on these professors to lose their lives whereas resisting politicians are additionally afraid of shedding their very own lives in any agitation, protestation or revolutionary politics aiming to overthrow the prevailing oppressive order.
Subsequently, greater than the malfeasance of the politicians, the hypocrisy of the Nigerian citizenry in these issues additionally accounts for the continued deterioration of issues both on the stage of elections or within the basic administration of society. The actual fact stays that the propensity for fraud in any respect ranges electoral administration in Nigeria has contributed to the perpetual elusiveness of credible elections. From the appointment of the Chairman of the Impartial Nationwide Electoral Fee to the appointment of partisan card-carrying resident electoral commissioners, the system has immense alternatives for corruption. Subsequently, slightly than blame college professors who’re only a microcosm of your complete course of, a holistic method to rid the electoral strategy of corruption should start with making certain that electoral offenders are severely handled, no matter their place within the society. That means, each the errant college professor and the abetting politician would avoid electoral offences.