Since the announcement of the postponement of the general elections by six weeks by the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, the person of the Chairman has been excoriated and harshly lambasted by many. Expectedly, Jega as a person has been the focus of attack and sometimes outright abuses by many public commentators and politicians. One had hardly read or heard anything positive, in defence of Jega.
Even before the announcement of the postponement, Professor Jega has faced severe criticism from politicians and their sympathizers and cronies acting in several guises. He has and still is standing between the rock and a hard place. Jega is doing one of the biggest thankless jobs Nigeria can offer.
Before now, Jega has been accused of bias in his lopsided distribution of the Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs), and lack of distribution in some areas. In short, with over 68million registered voters, only 42million voters have collected their PVCs, meaning that over 40% of registered voters are yet to collect their PVCs. Also, the INEC was accused of distributing more PVCs in the North than in the South as statistics shows that over 75% of voters across the Northern states have collected their cards including the Boko Haram ravaged North-Eastern states of the federation. Such disproportionate distribution of the PVCs have attracted hard knocks for Jega.
Of course, in a nation of cynics, several conspiracy theories are being spurned to explain the reason behind such. And none is in favour of Jega. Femi Fani Kayode, Media Director of President Goodluck Jonathan campaign organization came out smoking against Professor Jega. He accused the INEC Chairman of meeting with the APC officials in Dubai, in a bid to collude and rig the election in favour of Major-General Muhammadu Buhari. He went further to state that part of such a grand design is evident in the lopsided distribution of PVCs even in the North-East, where he claimed many people have fled from.
Also, an elder statesman, Chief E.K. Clark, leading the Southern People’s Assembly has called on Professor Jega to resign because in his understanding, Jega has failed and shown bias in the discharge of his duties. These are, indeed, very trying times for the cerebral Professor of Political Science.
As Eric Osagie noted in his flipside column in The Sun newspaper, the night of February 7, 2015 was the longest night in the life of Jega, considering the weight of announcement he was preparing to make. Indeed, it was. If I may add, it is also the most difficult and thankless jobs that Professor has been saddled with in his professional life. When one considers the immensely taxing jobs Jega has done in the past, the ugliness of his present duty becomes more glaring. For the records, Professor Jega once served as Deputy National President of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), while the late Professor Festus Iyayi was President. This was at a time the toothy General Ibrahim Babangida accused the like of Jega of teaching what they were not paid to teach.
He later became President of ASUU during the reign of one of Nigeria’s most heinous tyrants, General Sani Abacha, an era when radical intellectuals were dearly marked as endangered species. Jega later became Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics) and later Vice Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano. Apart from these, he also operated a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), which is committed to democracy and development, knowing how difficult it is to steer the Talakawas in Kano on the path of political rationality devoid of religious coloration, Jega did a commendable work of it. So, why such a man with proven track record of integrity, forthrightness, laced with a high dose of patriotism is suddenly an ethnic jingoist overnight? Can one clearly say with certainty that Jega has failed and is incompetent?
The Professor Jega that I know and related with for over 20years now can be called any other name but certainly not a tribalist, incompetent or a failure. Jega is a principled man who is ideologically driven, patriotically motivated and spiritually defined. He never waivers in his commitment to a just and fair cause. A refined intellectual of infinite capacity to do good in the national interest, he does not bend the rules for friends or foes once the objective of a cause is clearly defined.
It maybe pertinent to cite some personal examples. While he was National President of ASUU, as a reporter with TELL, I sneaked into Samaru campus of ABU during the cold windy harmattan to attend ASUU strategic plenary on ways to tackle the military. Ordinarily, non ASUU members are not allowed to attend such plenary session. But I managed to sneak into the hall incognito.
Unfortunately, while trying to locate the secret place ASUU was meeting, I had asked a fellow for direction, Sadly, the fellow was an ASUU executive. He saw me in the plenary session and dashed straight to the high table and whispered into Jega’s ears. Of course, Jega didn’t know I was around. The next move was that Jega halted the meeting and announced “there is a ‘foreign body’ in our midst. Please, get up and identify yourself and state your mission before we fish you out.”
I knew the game was up. So, I got up and apologized for the security breach and that our commitment to TELL the truth propelled me to get the inside gist. Once I mentioned my name, and as a journalist, the hall went in rhapsody, shouting commendation for our gallantry as journalists and a media organization. All the while, Jega betrayed no emotions.
When I was done, Jega thanked me for my enthusiasm and even though most members, wanted me to stay, Jega insisted that it is against ASUU standing rules for non members to participate in such strategic plenary no matter how noble the intensions might be. I was walked out of the hall. That is inimitable Jega, no bending the rules for friends or foes!
I also knew when he was offered to be spiralled into a professorship position in order to support a cause he doesn’t believe in while at BUK, he promptly rejected the offer preferring to work hard and earn his professorship, which he did. He also resigned a privileged position as DVC (Academic) over issues of principles.
In 1996 when I was in the U.K ,I learned Professor Jega was doing a post doctorate at Oxford University. As a friend I got across and soon arranged for me to spend time with him and did an interview with him which was published in TELL. The headline was screamingly critical of the military. When Jega saw me in Nigeria afterwards, he said “But that is not exactly what I said even though that was what I meant.” What a loyal committed friend, dedicated to principles!
Although, I have not seen or met Professor Jega since he was appointed Chairman of INEC, yet, a mutual friend told me of a recent encounter with Jega. A friend of Jega was contesting an election and went to solicit for Jega’s help. The INEC Chairman reportedly told his friend, “I cannot rig election on your behalf or for anybody. But I will make sure you are not rigged out.” Again, that is Jega for you, he has not changed. No bending the rules for friends or foes!
Therefore, it is totally unfair and uncalled for to describe Jega in the various derogatory adjectives I have been reading about him. There is no doubt that the INEC under Jega has some challenges but it is inhuman and fatally flawed to pin every of such lapses on Jega. After all, INEC is an institution, and that is the problem we have had in Nigeria, instead of building institutions, we have elevated human beings to the level of institutions and idolization. How sad and saddening!
All we need is to support Jega in conducting an election that is not only free, fair and transparent but seen to be so. Certainly, Professor Jega has the competence, commitment and integrity to deliver if only we all play our roles and play by the rules!
