ADENEYE-ADEJUWON: A Truly Independent INEC Begins With Divesting President’s Power Of Hiring, Firing

Mr. Adebayo Adeneye-Adejuwon is the convener of Project Rescue Nigeria. In this interview with KAMAL TAYO OROPO, he says for a truly independent and autonomous electoral body, the appointment of a secured tenure of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman is essential.

What does the appointment of an INEC boss by a partisan President portend for a perfect electoral system in Nigeria? WITHOUT a doubt, we are not where we are supposed to be as nation with respect to our electoral system.

While some may wish to celebrate the success recorded in the recently concluded 2015 elections, as our final destination in our electoral journey, I will caution that whereas celebration may not be out of order in a relative and comparative sense, a lot is still left to be done with our electoral system, especially, with respect to the autonomy and independence of the electoral empire.

And this is where the recent appointment of Mrs. Amina Waziri’s appointment as successor to the immediate past INEC chair comes in. Without dwelling in speculation on whatever relationship that may exist between President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Nasir el-Rufai, as widely reported in the media, I am of the view that President Buhari should have allowed Wali, to whom Prof Attahiru Jega handed over, to remain as INEC chief in acting capacity until a substantive chair is appointed.

And beyond that, I would rather that a comprehensive reform of the nation’s electoral system, which will ensure total independence and autonomy of the electoral umpire be carried by way of constitutionalising the appointment of the head, with a secured tenure, without subjecting the appointment and removal to the whims and caprices of a sitting partisan president.

This, to me, would be the starting point of having a truly independent and autonomous electoral body. But how realisable is this expectation without amendment to the constitution? That’s exactly my concern.

Not only must the 1999 Constitution be amended, the operational Electoral Act must also be reworked. The truth of the matter is that the ostrich-like attitude of our political class and the elite is a potent handicap to the country having a robust democratic practice.

Will President Buhari reform the polity? If pressured by every stakeholder, he and his colleagues in the governing party will have no option. But if we choose to be quiet, then it is up to them, what they do. For me, keeping quiet is not an option to be considered. Whether the President will have the political will to do the needful depends on what the citizens do with their power. And this is where the media, especially, the mainstream media, comes in: agenda setting!

The 1999 Constitution needs serious overhaul, and electoral reform is just one of the areas that require urgent attention. Party formation and financing is another area.

Beyond the constitution dilemma, what is your general perception of the Uwais recommendations? The Uwais recommendations, just like other recommendations on issues that bother on the socio-political development in Nigeria, is filled with good, practical and pragmatic prescriptions.

This is not speaking perfection. This is speaking about the political will by decision makers to implementing necessary changes prescribed by the various recommendations in all these reports.

A case in point is the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference. Is the report perfect? Far from it. Are there recommendations in the 2014 National Confab report, which, if implemented with address some of the nagging issues plaguing the Nigerian polity? Absolutely.

State police is one for example. And there are several others. Still on electoral matters, what is the change Nigerians expect in terms of the electoral system, appointments, funding, transparency and accountability? First and foremost, a much more comprehensive electoral reform, which will guarantee complete independence of the electoral umpire from any arm of the government through constitutional amendment.

Secondly, strict party formation and membership, which will define the contribution of membership and corporate sponsorship. I mean strict party formation and membership recruitment guidelines.

Election of public official, where voters elect representatives through a free, fair and transparent process, devoid of intimidation, harassment and/or inducement, is a cardinal indication of the democratic health of such polity. Politics is about choices and decisions of people on how and who governs them.

Party system is one of the veritable vehicle through which such choices are made in a representative democracy. Politics, electioneering, voting are all important aspects of the democratic process.

For any democracy to be healthy and for the process to produce acceptable and legitimate outcome, structures that guarantee universal franchise, devoid of undue influence by the political elite, should be ingrained legally, that is in the electoral system, so much so that the process leads to fairness and transparent electoral outcome.

And this must be at the party level and at the general election level. Are you optimistic that the Buhari-led administration would summon enough political will to do the needful in reforming the electoral system? I am guided by the experience of the past in my prediction of what to expect from any Nigerian politician and the entire political class.

In this context, I’m of the considered opinion that an engaged citizenry in the age of information technology and advancement can make a lot of difference in setting agenda for the political class with a view to tying the demands of the people to the electoral fortune of the political class.

It is for this reason that I refuse to have any expectation from President Buhari beyond the fact that the Nigerian citizens can be engaged to know the enormity of the power of vote and to use that in making demand on the President to reform the electoral system and reform the polity as a whole.

It is going to be a long haul, but it is a worthy cause. This, and sundry reasons, inform my recent activism in a number of social media platforms, particularly, at level of the Project Rescue Nigeria. Will President Buhari reform the polity? If pressured by every stakeholder, he and his colleagues in the governing party will have no option. But if we choose to be quiet, then it is up to them, what they do.

For me, keeping quiet is not an option to be considered. Whether the President will have the political will to do the needful depends on what the citizens do with their power.

And this is where the media, especially, the mainstream media, comes in: agenda setting! What make you so optimistic that the governed is ready to be led in the right direction? Sometimes, I struggle with the idea of whether or not democracy should come before development or the other way.

I don’t have a clear answer yet in that regard. But considering that we live in a globalised world order, where democracy has become the most acceptable form of government and propelled by capitalism, the option left for men and women of goodwill with desire to rebuild the country and put her on the pedestal of democratic welfare state is to continue to educate the citizens that change is not only desirable as an electoral slogan, but as a permanent feature of socio-political engineering. It is a long journey though, but we must start somewhere.