Pat Utomi, professor of political economy, says civil
society organisations must keep an eye on the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) to have credible, free and fair elections in 2023.
Utomi said political parties in Nigeria thrive by employing
various tricks to outsmart one another at the polls.
Utomi was reacting to allegations by the Coalition of United
Political Parties (CUPP) that INEC included foreigners in the voter register.
“This is not about being satisfied or not satisfied. It is a
matter of us working together to ensure that that happens. If you look away,
something can happen. You blink, something can go wrong. So, it is calling on
us, citizens, INEC, and everybody, to keep their eyes on the ball,” he said.
“Our tradition of
political parties and politics has been based on who can most outplay the other
in the unsavoury. So, we cannot take it for granted that they are asking all
kinds of things.
“Vigilance is the only thing that can save us all. INEC
needs to be strong and be vigilant. The citizens need to be vigilant; they need
to scream anytime they suspect anything is going wrong, and that is how
everybody can be get within those boundaries that enable us have that feeling
of a fair election we will like to see.
“That’s why civil society is important. Everywhere in the
world, civil society groups hold the feet of institutions to fire. They ensure
they do what’s right for the common men. So, we should have civil society
organisations that are constantly on the neck of INEC in saying to them you
people have not done this yet.
“They should be able
to develop a basic checklist that citizens can all have that they will say on
this checklist ‘on this day, INEC has not done this, why?’ Then, there is a big
problem, outcry, and there is pressure to do this or that, and that is the way
society really evolves. Civil society is doing remarkably well compared to how
it has been in the past. But we still need a strong civil society to be able to
get our institutions on the right.”
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