The choice of Independent National Electoral Commission chairman has always been a sentimental issue for Nigerians. It places the appointee at the center of national life, affords the people ample opportunity to x-ray his performance,which invariably affects everyone, directly or otherwise. On Wednesday, one of the country’s leading historians Professor Mahmood Yakubu was elevated to that status. To not know the erudite scholar is to express ignorance of goings-on in the educational sector in Nigeria.
Until recently, Professor Mahmood Yakubu was Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund. He left the office to join the secretariat of the 2014 National Conference. He was a key member of the Oby Ezekwesili Educational Transformation Team. Already some people have voiced their skepticism towards the selection of Professor Mahmood Yakubu as the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, saying another northerner has been propped up to fill an important vacancy in the national scheme of things. But those who know the erudite professor say he is a round peg in a round hole, who can fit properly in the huge shoes Professor Attahiru Jega is leaving behind. Dr Chima Mathews Amadi, Director of the Independent Service Delivery Monitoring Group (SDMG), simply called him the right man for the job. Professor Yakubu had led TETFUND to receive several awards in many areas under ISDMG’s watch.
The question is, what is the current status of the organization Prof Yakubu is taking over? Jega himself, had complained, on leaving the office that,so much is undone at INEC, despite its tremendous successes and execution ofthe most acceptable election in the history of this country. Jega’s card reader solution had stemmed rigging in the electoral process. Votes were collated promptly and winners were declared without dispute, in most places. But these successes, even though germane to the conduct of the national elections, do not necessarily define the electoral body as a coherent and single-minded unit. According to staff of INEC, there were more distractions from within than there were interferences from without.
The electoral body has, during the entire tenure of Professor Attahiru Jega, been a house divided against itself. At the root of this rancour is the recalcitrance of the national commissioners who were lords unto themselves. They ganged up against Professor Jega and ensured that everything he did was subjected to a voice vote in which they outnumbered his adherents and therefore swayed the decisions to suit their desires. Sometimes, they arm-twisted him to accept their position. Being a consummate democrat, Jega allowed the majority to have their way even when there were better viewpoints. This did not mean that Jega was weak. In many cases it didn’t matter if these victories negated the gamut of national interest, Jega conceded to ensure that his job was done. The commissioners were PDP people and they did most things the PDP way.
In spite of these and many other lapses, the fighting spirit of Professor Jega kept INEC on the path to glory. Sources in INEC said the national commissioners took advantage of Professor Jega’s magnanimity and made their broth without compunction. Most contracts were awarded devoid of due process or proper bidding.
The national commissioners were the contractors and even when contracts went outside they were either agents of the commissioners or buds-men from the presidency. Jega succumbed even though he was primus inter pares. It is the view of many INEC watchers that Jega and the commissioners had bi-polar objectives.
His most troubling phenomenon was that he met several of the commissioners in the establishment so he yielded to their philosophies even where he had different perspectives. But for his courage and convictions he would have paid dearly for other people’s actions. He was abused and disrespected in 2011 but he triumphed in 2015 and bowed out when the ovation was loudest.
Professor Mahmood Yakubu is lucky to come at a time when five of the commissioners are new. He would pay the piper and dictate the tune. As a former Executive Secretary of TETFUND where he was able to turn the fortunes of the Fund from a waste agent to an academic elevator, Professor Yakubu should be able to take INEC to the next level.
At TETFUND he raised staff morale and boosted academic pursuits to override the building of fences and car lots by Vice Chancellors. He ensured that those who got funding utilized same judiciously. He partnered with progressives and snubbed retrogressives. He placed academics at the front burner and the result is there for all to see. He left TETFUND with his had high.
I am aware that at TETFUND staff morale hit the roofs under Professor Yakubu Mahmood. He will be bringing such selfless input to INEC where Jega had complained that all his efforts at ensuring that staff were adequately remunerated were rebuffed at management level. It remained his biggest regret. And he said so in no uncertain terms in his valedictory speech before leaving the commission. He had reasoned that the commission experienced some setbacks in the execution of its primary assignments to the nation due to inadequate compensation for work done. It threw the doors wide open for staff to engage in underhand dealings.
There are other areas of critical concern at INEC. Many say Professor Jega stands tall in courage and clear-mindedness. He could think through policies and defend them with the last drop of his blood. And they wonder how the new INEC Chair would fare in those departments. But it is safe to say thatthere is no cause for alarm. The new man on the seat is not just a professor of History and anti-terrorism study but he is also a modern technocrat who is steeped in hi-tech and ICT. Professor Yakubu is an accomplished scholar of the best brand, a communicator in impeccable English who presents a clear thought process whenever he is engaged. This is a man who has produced nothing but the best results throughout his academic pursuits.
He is also a social revolutionary whose tenure at TETFUND witnessed several positive transformations including its redefinition to its current status. Professor Yakubu has related well with the civil society groups that have shown tremendous interest in education as they do in the nation’s electoral process. It is highly improbable that INEC would stagnate at the station where Jega left it.