INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) needs reforms to save Nigeria’s economy and its democracy, and everything that nation plans to achieve. What do we pay INEC to do? To just sit down and do minimal work? See how tribunals are ruling left and right across the nation, making judges now the ABSOLUTE VOTERS.
I have no problem with people who work in INEC but if you have this level of failure rate in your processes, you must change how you do things. Good People, for Nigeria to advance, we need to spend significant efforts to reform how INEC does business, from the local to the federal levels because in most elections, the judges are the real voters now. Yet, we can blame the judges, but if you look deeper, INEC is feeding them nonsense, because in many House races, INEC does not even have means to defend its called results? In short, it makes no effort!
As that happens, the national assembly must begin work on fiscal federalism. I have been watching the new tax reform committee. My hope is that they will understand the power of co-opetition and find a mechanism to make states in Nigeria to compete even as they cooperate. That system will make everyone look back to our local and state governments, and in the process diminish the influence from Abuja.
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For me, that is the tax reform that will work, because with fiscal federalism, the states and the local government systems will evolve based on their inherent capabilities, and simply pay taxes to the federal government. We must inject competition into the DNAs of our states.
Lagos State keeps its financial services. Rivers State does oil. Abia State pushes its maker’s spirit in Aba. Kano State continues to advance its trade. Jos’ Plateau returns to tourism. etc. Yes, we can see states innovate based on the inherent advantages they have over the one coming from Abuja.
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Comment 1: Thank you for putting this forward, Prof!
Until the burden of proof shifts to INEC, we won’t do well that much. Of course, I expect litigation to triple (all Nigerian politicians are sore losers). Still, the burden of proof will ensure that INEC MUST defend its process rather than give that baggage to one of the competitors.
Will this fix our electoral problems? Not so much. Until we take the purse away from politicians, empower career civil servants with some decision-making power, and reduce politicians’ ability to policymaking, we will still have do/die elections.
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Who will reform the INEC and why do you think the blame shouldn’t be on the judges?
What kind of jurisprudence works with expecting who makes a negative claim to bring proof, as against positive claim? Is it the job of who pleads not guilty to provide proof of his innocent or the prosecutor that alleged guilt? But in our electoral jurisprudence, it is the petitioner that claims that all was not correct that is expected to bring proof, while INEC that claims all was correct is not required to do anything. Can you see the fraud now?
For those who can read and write, everything is not complicated, and only few things are truly complicated. All the run around we do on simple matters is because we are too dishonest, and we also have a way of elevating simpletons to nobility.
Criminals don’t build a prosperous nation, and there are too many criminals here parading as virtues people, both in power and outside it. The only thing criminals do well is to make things worse, and that is why things are not getting better.
You cannot ask people who need to be reformed to reform something, that is both an aberration and a joke.
We are just counting down, the system will either self-correct or implode, there’s no third option.