THE Gubernatorial election scheduled for Saturday, February 6, 2011 in Anambra state is understandably attracting both local and international attention. It will be the first major change of government at the state level since the last elections. A court order had occasioned re-run Gubernatorial elections in Ekiti in 2009, but Anambra is more special as a prelude to the 2011 general elections. The February 6 event is a regular election, with the incumbent Peter Obi seeking a second term in office and 24 other candidates in the fray. It will be yet another major test for the Independent National Electoral Commission, the security agencies, the Anambra political elite and civil society. I have just returned from the state, having served as co-moderator of The Anambra Grand Debate 2010 organised by Anambra Rebirth and a coalition of 27 other civil society organisations at the Emmauw House along Arthur Eze road on Tuesday. Scheduled for 10 o'clock, both the candidates and the invited guests did not take chances as they arrived early. In the large fields outside, supporters of the candidates kept vigil.

We had from the beginning, a very well behaved audience, the people's excitement was so electric, it was almost like election day. After ten years of seemingly endless political crisis, with their state becoming the by-word for litigations, violence and kidnapping, the people of Anambra had every reason to be anxious and passionate about the next major election. The programme was broadcast live on national television and local media stations. For me, the more striking realisation was the large number of prominent Anambra citizens, and Anambra professionals, home-based and from the Diaspora who had travelled home to be part of an expected rebirth and to monitor the election. That I think, is a very good sign.

By Tuesday, major election-monitoring groups were also in Anambra. It is a fact that the people of Anambra must realise: the eyes of the world are upon them in the critical election scheduled for next week. The Anambra Gubernatorial election will further provide an opportunity to test the option of staggered elections; introduced into the election calendar through the timing and ending of court processes arising from the 2003/7 general elections. It is coming at a time of great uncertainty in the land and increasing anxiety about the stability of the democratic order, with an absentee President, deracinated state institutions and deepening failure of the political party system. However, it would appear that the people of Anambra are ahead of their politicians in terms of their passion and commitment.

From the cab driver to the okada cyclist who helped to locate the venue of the Anambra Grand Debate, I could sense a feeling of anticipation and foreboding. The debate went well, until about an hour later when there was suddenly some commotion on stage. Seven candidates had been short listed for the encounter, six of them attended the event (Charles Soludo, Andy Uba, Nicholas Ukachukwu, incumbent Governor, Peter Obi, Ralph Nwosu, Chris Ngige; the seventh, Uche Ekwunife did not show up. But two candidates, I am told the ANPP and UNPP candidates, who thought they should have been invited arrived midway into the programme, without any invitation and they went up to the stage with their supporters and security aides. Gatecrashing into an event of that nature and seeking to disrupt it is most indecorous. That kind of conduct would seem to belong to the age of barbarians.

A melee soon ensued as the security aides and supporters of the six participating candidates trooped onto the stage, to protect their own. It took a while before the situation was brought under control and a little longer before the team of fully armed mobile police officers who had taken over the stage could be asked to step down. It did not matter to the intruders that the programme was being watched nationally and internationally. My colleagues (Labaran Maku and Okey Ikechukwu) and I had to keep reminding the politicians and their supporters that they were in the full view of the world! Not a particularly good moment for Anambra.

That singular incident evoked afresh the culture of intolerance and indiscipline that had characterised Anambra and Nigerian politics, and the kind of characters that had taken interest in its politics since the crisis of 2003. The man who took me back to the Enugu airport after the programme reiterated that as far as he is concerned, the candidate with the deepest pocket would win the election. He said he had received phone calls while the disturbance in the hall lasted from relatives asking him to leave the venue. "They could have started shooting," he pointed out. Another Anambra friend had earlier reassured me not to panic: "In Anambra, we shoot into the air." I was not convinced. It will be sad indeed if the present process in Anambra were to end in a gunfight.

INEC has indicated that it is fully prepared for the election, not many stakeholders are convinced that it has effectively covered the field in 21 local councils, 326 wards, and 4623 polling units that will be involved in the event. In December 2009, the electoral body had set up a nine-man Anambra state 2010 Governorship Election Monitoring and Observation Board comprising members of civil society, human rights, integrity and electoral reform networks. The Board is expected to monitor the preparations for the February 6 election, to make appropriate recommendations to INEC where necessary before the polls and to prepare a public report at the end of it. That Board has reported a widespread case of voters' card racketeering. There are groups in the state now demanding a fresh review and display of the voters' register for the election. This may be difficult as Section 21 of the Electoral Act allows the register to be displayed "not later than 60 days before the election" and INEC had done so on December 7, 2009. Doubts about the authenticity of the voters' register may present special challenges. The likely fall-outs should be anticipated and carefully managed.

Much vigilance will be required on the part of the Anambra electorate. The onus is on the people to defend their votes and insist on due respect for their right to choose. They must resist this time, the influence of Godfathers and oath-takers. The sheer number of Anambra people: professionals at home and in Diaspora who are participating in this process, determined to mobilise the people before and on February 6, inspires hope. The people of Anambra must come out en masse on election day and make it impossible for those who snatch ballot boxes, manipulate the figures, and offer monetary inducements to further soil the image of their state. INEC for its part must not come up with excuses about logistics. The security agencies must equally realise that the whole world is watching. This election is not only about Anambra, it is about Nigeria . To add failure in Anambra to the recent string of national blunders will be most unfortunate.

At the Anambra Grand Debate 2010, we had focussed on how to deepen participatory democracy by encouraging the candidates to engage the electorate with ideas. But whatever may be the outcome on February 6, Anambra is truly in need of rebirth, beginning with a movement away from the politics of acrimony and the sad label of being a state that represents the best and the worst in Igboland. Anambra is the home of some of the most celebrated entrepreneurs, intellectuals and professionals in Nigeria , but it lacks a strong industrial base to accommodate the people's energies. With Onitsha bursting at the seams under the control of traders, Anambra runs a trader's economy that has since reduced its educational and industrial heritage. To think that this is the home of the Okigbo brothers (Pius, Charles, Christopher), of Kenneth Dike, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Odimegwu Ojukwu (father and son), Nwafor Orizu, Emeka Anyaoku, Chike Obi, Philip Emeagwali, Cardinal Arinze. Anambra is also a centre of excellence for the arts: it is the home of Chinua Achebe, Chukwuemeka Ike, Chimamanda Adichie, Nelly Uchendu, Joy Nwosu-Bamijoko, Oliver de Coque, Osita Osadebe, the famous Mkpokiti dancers, multiple award winners at the annual National Festival of the Arts. Nollywood, now celebrated as Nigeria 's major selling point, was pioneered in its contemporary form partly by artistes, producers and marketers from Anambra.

But ten years of bungling and political uncertainty have robbed Anambra of the advantages accruable from these. Neighbouring Enugu state is proving to be more attractive even to Nollywood actors and actresses. Anambra has oil and gas deposits: developing that resource could provide amazing opportunities for job creation and economic development. But who will develop this, with every political leader busy glancing over his shoulders? Anambra has large hectares of arable land: developing a strong agro-based economy in that state could put many to work. There is so much to be done: soil erosion in places like Agulu, Nanka, Ekwulobia constitutes an eyesore. The road between Enugu-Awka-Onitsha is worse: it is a death trap. There are Anambra sons and daughters who are doing well outside the state inside Nigeria and in Diaspora, and who are willing to be part of the process of rebirth in their state, but they have been forced to become economic refugees, and many are afraid to visit home. The election on February 6 should provide an opportunity for a new beginning. As Anambra goes to the polls, the people must come first, now is another opportunity for good people to take charge and restore higher values.

It is a shame that the election will hold without any step taken so far to address the issues of Electoral and Constitutional Reform. The election would be conducted with the same defective legal and operational framework that produced the crisis after the 1999 elections. There is no hope either that there will be any progress in this direction before the 2011 general elections. .