Scientific Method Of Electoral Manipulation The Nigerian Experience

Scientific Method Of Electoral Manipulation The Nigerian Experience

A.Mohammed Bashir Shuwa

Leeds UK

Most nations in the world have been using technology to advance the development of their respective societies by making its use appropriate and relative to the needs and requirements of their nations. However the opposite can be argued in the case of Nigeria where every new technology is used to widen the gap between the elite and the people who are less likely to access them. One of such is the introduction of the so-called digital capture voter registration which is used by the Electoral Commission which though not independent in the true sense of the word carries the name.

Nigerians are being shortchanged by the introduction of a technology which obviously has not been tested in electoral process even in the advanced civilized democracies which it is trying to copy.

A clever man with a professorial credential is the hatchet man used for this political deceit and as it has been the norm in Nigeria all that they are doing according to them is to right the 'wrongs' of the past. The new method of voter registration is viewed as worst than that of the past because it is a brazen act of disenfranchising qualified voters who even though may not have the chance to vote but their votes will at the end of the day be counted for the ruling party's chosen candidates after the fourthcoming phantom elections.

The new scientific method of election manipulation and stealing of votes is at its early stage and needs to be roundly challenged or else Nigerians will have to bear the consequence of imposed 'winners' who will occupy political office without their consent. As things are now the ruling party believes that what it takes to win election is by becoming a candidate under its platform which is a stunt of arrogance merely because it has the control of government machinery which they can manipulate to suit their purpose.

Most Nigerians believe that the on going voter registration is a mere smokescreen to give some form of credibility to the newly designed electoral fraud orchestrated by the government in tandem with the ruling party. That is why even though the so-called professor is aware that many Nigerians will not be able to get registered due to the cumbersome nature of the exercise and the lack of enough registration equipment yet he still insists that all is going on well.

Therefore the most pertinent and urgent question that need to be answered by the proponents of electronic data capture registration of voters is how accessible is the technology they are using for the registration?, is it the most appropriate means of collating and storing electoral register in Nigeria?, who will handle the equipment and how are they going to be maintained and safeguarded?

To begin with the issue of accessibility for any technology that is to be used for a very important exercise such as voter registration it needs to be readily available in all the local government areas of Nigeria. The people in their own locality should have the privilege of obtaining such facility and also receive proper training with regard to how to use them. The materials should not only be made available but would have been permanently stationed in the local areas for continuous use.

Also is the technology appropriate? That is to say in other words is it adaptable to our environment considering factors such us availability of stable power supply and is it suitable for our weather condition?.

The technology being used is not sufficiently available and so does not cover the whole constituents of Nigeria. It is not a valid method of identifying voters since it only serves accreditation purpose which can be done on any computer data base and stored by same through the use of excel. It failed to function when being experimented at various places including the national assembly and no amount of back up batteries will ensure continuous use due to the fact that used batteries requires recharging and there is no adequate power supply in most parts of Nigeria. Even though there are sufficient IT literate Nigerians in all local government areas their citizens and areas are not made to acquire and receive the relevant training in the use of the equipment. Then why is it that those who are trained to handle the equipment are not drawn from all the localities of Nigeria since it is clearly evident that we have knowledgeable Nigerians from all local governments in the country who can easily be trained on handling digital equipment? This question is relevant because we suppose to have a proportional representation in the employment of those saddled with the handling of such equipment so that all the different parts of the Nigerian state are well represented and seen to be participating actively in all electoral activities beginning from the voter registration to the conduct of elections as polling clerks, supervisors etc in the spirit of federal character. Also most representatives of the various political parties are not even aware of how the system works and so it is possible to exploit their ignorance and deprive them of victory even if they win election since the electoral agency alone has the monopoly of knowledge regarding the equipment. So how transparent is the system? Does refereeing an election not require transparency or is it just enough to bully those without governmental control control in the name of political correctness?

The point must be made that Nigeria is known for its notoriety for internet scam and most perpetrators of such scams are traced to a particular part of the country where this professor comes from and so it is hoped that the level of scam will not be extended to elections. Also it must be observed that no one has the monopoly of wisdom and any attempt to shortchange Nigerian voters through technological device will be properly decoded and thrown away when the time comes and those associated with it discredited and punished for cheating. Nigerians cannot be taken for a fool by adapting a technology that will not serve any practical purpose but rather programmed to suit the ulterior motive of its users.