Two heroes, one nation

I would like to begin by congratulating the president-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), for a historic victory at the March 28 presidential poll.

Destiny has beckoned on him to lead Nigeria at this critical moment in history. It is time for Buhari to offload the policies and programmes he had wanted to showcase to Nigerians that made him sustain the struggle until now. Nigerians are optimistic that something good is in the offing.

Having said that, it is interesting to note that the fears that enveloped Nigeria in the build-up to the presidential election have virtually dissipated. This is contrary to the vicious permutations that blood would flow across the country. Several prophets of doom from within and without had predicted blood, but were disappointed.

Their crystal ball did not see well. It failed. Many foreign election observers and reporters from different news media in Europe and America, who came, expecting to catch scary shots of mass killings on the streets of Kano, Abuja and Lagos, left with nothing.

The election many thought would spell doom for Nigeria has turned out to be the one that unites the country. It is a historic turn of events that warrants celebration.

By this election, Nigeria’s image has been boosted in the international community. The election is a testimony that good things can happen in Nigeria. Bad news is not meant for Nigeria only. Apart from Nigeria as a nation that savours this historic feat, there are two key individuals I would like to single out for special commendation for the success and peace that prevailed during the election.

First and foremost is the indefatigable, composed, amiable, creative, patriotic and fearless Attahiru Jega, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman. Professor Jega is the arrowhead in the election success.

He made Nigeria proud by the way he carried the election process and landed peacefully in a tensed atmosphere. Jega is a good Nigerian.

If all of us have the Jega spirit, Nigeria would be a better place to live. Attahiru Jega’s innovative results collation strategy that involved vice chancellors of federal universities as returning officers, who announced the results of the states they supervised, paid off. Prof. Jega introduced this strategy during the 2011 general election.

Before now, it was the INEC chairman that announced all the results state by state. That was a burden that exposed the INEC chairman to all manner of allegations.

But Jega maneuvered his way and escaped from the fiery darts fired by some aggrieved persons and groups by allowing the vice chancellors to do the job. He only acted as the presiding officer who announced the winner based on the results announced by the returning officers. The 2015 presidential election will go down in history as the most keenly contested.

With the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), slugging it out with Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, the pressure that mounted on Jega was enormous.

This was compounded by the introduction of the Permanent Voter Card (PVC) and card reader, which many people did not want. While those who strongly opposed the instruments might be right in their own way, my own argument was if ever the PVC and card reader would be used in Nigeria, then the time to try it is now.

Granted that the instruments were new and people were not conversant with them, if ever it has to be used, it has to start in one election and that election is this one. Why do we have to delay the use of a technology that is in our own interest? For how long would this democracy be nascent without maturity? I must, however, acknowledge that INEC failed to start early enough to register voters and issue PVCs.

That was the only glitch. Among other things, the election was shifted forward mainly on the basis of the fact that many voters did not get their PVCs. The presidential election, which was initially billed for February 14 was shifted to March 28, while that of the governorship and state houses of assembly was rescheduled for April 11, 2015.

The six-week delay afforded Jega the opportunity to streamline the PVC distribution process and test-run the card reader. The lesson is that INEC should not go on holiday after each election only to resume a few months to another general election. The commission has four years to prepare for election.

It must, therefore, start on time. Jega was able to sail through because of his principled character and sincerity. A characterless INEC chairman would have bungled the election and plunged the nation into chaos.

Jega saved us from that crisis. The second person I would like to commend specially is President Goodluck Jonathan, the incumbent president, who was faced with the challenge of contesting and winning the election and at the same time ensuring that peace reigned in the country.

As the country’s leader, Jonathan set the pace early enough when he stated that his ambition does not worth the blood of any Nigerian. This has become a quotable quote in honour of Jonathan. By that statement, which culminated in his calling to congratulate his challenger, Buhari, and conceding victory, he, in a moment, nullified the vicious political culture of do-or-die that defines electioneering campaigns in Nigeria.

While strategising and embarking on crowd-pulling electioneering campaigns across the federation, Jonathan’s body language betrayed the expectation of troublemakers. He moved with a candour and openness that showed that he wants peace and not blood.

When he said if he lost, he would return to Otuoke, his hometown, many of his diehard acolytes would have felt disappointed. They did not expect the president to utter such words, which to them meant accepting defeat.

President Jonathan’s uncommon patriotism was demonstrated when he called and congratulated his main challenger, Gen. Buhari, shortly before the final election result was announced by the INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega.

Jonathan did that in a charged atmosphere, at the height of the results collation announcement at the International Conference Centre in Abuja.

A drama had played out that could have ignited a nationwide crisis. Elder Godsday Orubebe, former Niger Delta minister, had breached protocol and confronted the seated INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega, with a certain petition about the election in Rivers State.

The response from Jega that he should submit the petition at the INEC secretariat infuriated Orubebe, who threw sanity to the winds and began to shout at the top of his voice, accusing Jega of bias to the glare of the whole world. That marked the anti-climax in the election.

Orubebe has since apologised to Nigerians for his action. Apparently, Orubebe’s conduct fired President Jonathan to nip crisis in the bud by immediately calling Gen. Buhari and congratulating him even before the winner was declared. The results showed Buhari was leading with over two million votes. Jonathan’s patriotism doused the tension across Nigeria. By that act, President Jonathan did what no president has ever done in the history of Nigeria.

He has written his name in gold. Finally, the entire Nigerian people that shunned violence and embraced peace have my commendation. Nigeria won by virtue of the patriotism of two heroes – Jega and Jonathan.