He added that though he had expected that there were going to be problems on the ground when he took the job of INEC chairman, he had, however, been astounded at the level of problems facing the commission, such that there could be ‘a crisis of expectation’ at the end of the day.
He said the crisis of expectation could come about when everything wrong had been put right, yet due to some factors and apathy of Nigerians, things still didn’t work out.
Prof Jega was speaking at the University of Ibadan during the 2010 Advancement Lecture entitled ‘Citizens’ Responsibility in Bringing about Free and Credible Elections in Nigeria’ held at Trenchard Hall of the university.
“Nigerians aspire for democracy; unfortunately, we have been frustrated such that people have lost hope in getting democratic governance and fee and fair election.
“The extent of free and fair election in any nation is connected with how much the nation gains internal and international legitimacy,” he said.
He, however, promised that INEC would use everything within its power to prosecute electoral offenders so as to hold a credible election in the country. He referred to a recent by-election in Enugu during which a man was caught with 80 ballot papers, promising to prosecute the offender by working with relevant security agencies.
“We will do it honestly, with integrity. We will not take money and we will not allow anybody to take money. We will not violate the rule of law and we will be fair and provide a level playing field for everybody,” he said, concerning expectations of Nigerians from INEC.
Prof Jega said it was important to reexamine what constitutes free and fair election in the country and its significance. He added that many Nigerians assume that having a free and fair election rested on INEC alone.
“Many Nigerians assume that the success of free and fair election depends on INEC. Though INEC has a great role to play, it is a collective task. The better we appreciate this, the better for us,” he stated.
The INEC chairman also took a swipe at politicians and political parties as stakeholders for frustrating the democratic process by circumventing their own internal democracy and, by extension, the larger democracy.
“They sat down and wrote their own constitution, but they refused to respect the constitution,” he said, just as he cautioned himself from saying more. “I don’t want to talk too much” he said, referring to what the Senate said about him during the week.
Chairman of the occasion, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, in his remarks, said credible election was at the heart of democratic governance, saying that the 2007 election was the most damning of the elections so far held in the present democratic dispensation.
“The 2007 election did our country a great damage abroad, it was roundly condemned by all observer groups both locally and internationally,” he said, adding that “as far as the future of democracy and stability was concerned, 2011 will put Nigeria at the crossroads.”
At the occasion were students and university officials, including the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Olufemi Bamiro; the Registrar, Mrs. Omotayo Ikotun; members of the University Advancement board, Tunde Dabiri, Mrs. Funso Adegbola, among others.
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