By Josephine Uzorh
A presidential candidate in the 2019 election, Obiageli Ezekwesili has said that it is impossible to have good governance without credible election.
She made the comment at the 11th Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture Series which held on July 13 to mark the 85th birthday of the Nobel Laureate.
Ezekwesili was the first speaker in the panel of five at the lecture themed: “Rethinking Credible Elections, Accountable Democracy and Good Governance in Nigeria”.
She gave reasons why the 2019 election could not qualify as a credible election. She said the features of credible elections include- inclusivity, transparency, accountability and competitiveness.
“One thing that is very clear is that from the perspective of the features there is an organising framework that looks at the features of credible elections as including- Inclusivity, transparency, accountability and competitiveness,” she said
She quoted the Situation Room which said the election was marked by electoral security problems, low turnout, problems of competition and challenges of accountability.
She said the situation room is a coalition of civil society that represent the collective agitation for improvements in Nigeria’s democratic culture.
She urged Nigerians to discard their apathy for politics, because their economic well-being and security lie in their active participation during elections.
“It is impossible to have good governance without democratic accountability. It is impossible to have democratic accountability without credible elections,” she said.
The other members of the panel spoke on different aspect of attaining credible elections in Nigeria.
Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Oluwole Osaze-Uzi, spoke on INEC’s role in the process of conducting credible elections in Nigeria.
He said INEC as a regulatory body in the conduct of elections has no sanctioning power. The constitution does not provide enough power for INEC to perform its role efficiently, he said.
The third speaker, Senior Program Officer, MacArthur Foundation Nigeria, Amina Salihu, spoke on the need for a gender balance in Nigerian politics. She announced the launching of a sex offender register in Nigeria in two weeks time.
The executive Director of the Paradigm Initiative, Gbenga Sesan, explained the importance of the internet, and how it can be utilized to aid good governance.
He said the growing generation should be educated to become tech savvy, so that “we don’t end up all the time with 35 per cent and below when it comes to participation in election,” he said.
The last speaker, the Editorial Board Chairman of Nigeria Info Radio group, Rotimi Sankore, said the role of the media is to educate and solve problems, not contribute to the problem.
He said the ethnic tension in the country is all due to poor public policies. And the conflicts in Nigeria is not peculiar to Nigeria, the media is supposed to cover the global picture and release factual reports.
The moderator, Stephanie Busari, asked some questions after the speakers were done with their speeches. Then Olaokun Soyinka, cut the cake in his father’s stead. As Professor Wole Soyinka prefers to stay indoors on his birthday.
