…How is INEC gearing up for the next election?
By Jacqui IWU
WED, MARCH 14 2018-theG&BJournal-In January 2018, I frequently passed through INEC Head Quarters located at Area 10, Garki Abuja and each time I was there, I noticed the clustering of Nigerian who went to register for their PVC locked outside the gate. What I am talking about here happened in a facility that I should consider to be the best of what INEC must have and could offer since it is situated in the capital city of Nigeria.
After what I observed at this particular office, I have been wondering what it will look like, in other INEC offices outside Abuja. The frustration written on the faces of the Nigerians I met there gave me great concern given the fact that I was about to witness the same ordeal since I didn’t have my own PVC then.
On one of the days I drove by the office again, I stopped right at the gate to inquire why people are being locked outside the gate under the scorching Abuja sun all in the willing quest to perform their civic duty. Moreover, since I was warming up to get my own PVC, I needed to be ready for my own ‘punishment’…I pondered. When I got there, I pushed myself through the crowd and went straight to the guard attending to people who later gave me the details of documents required for my registration. I then, interviewed some of the people standing there and asked them why they were locked out here instead of being inside the office?
You need to see how angry they were in relating how sad they felt locked outside waiting to be registered. They said they came in as early as 7am and up till 10am when I got there, no one attended to them apart from giving them entrance numbers. Among them were those who already registered years back and came to collect their cards. Some also were those who came days back but could not be registered. They also told me they were given numbers and once the INEC officials reached a certain number, they closed for the day. This closing for the day was as early as before 12noon.
I went back to the guard whom I talked to earlier, to know the time when I am supposed to be there to be registered. He said I must make it as early as 7am to be able to collect my number and to be registered same day.
Okay….now am really freaking out …considering that where I live is quite far from that office and unfortunately that is also supposed to be the designated registration centre for people living in my area of residence, I was filled with contemplation if to still vote come next elections or not. How on earth am I supposed to be here from where I live as early as 7am? I asked myself.
Why is everything that should be easy to do turns out too twisted and complicated in this country I asked myself? Not only will I risk leaving my house as early as 5am to actually get to that office by 7am, when I finally get there, I will have to stand outside in the blazing sun for hours not even sure if I will get the PVC or not same day. Being who I am, I made up my mind to actually get registered which will also give me more insight on what is happening at this INEC office.
My own day of registration came, I got there 7.05am and I met about 10 people who beat me to the 7am time slot. It was after I discovered that one of these ten people actually woke up the night guard as early as 5am just to be the first to be counted and be registered that day. Is this really happening? I kept gazing at that man who looked so worn out and ruffled and all kinds of thought were going through my mind. Actually, he has missed being counted several times and that day he decided to dare the devil to be there by 5am….to perform his civic duty?
Is it that INEC could not be organized enough to arrange this registration procedures in a way that people can walk into their office within working hours and calmly get registered without any stress? How about electronic registration from where ever you are in Nigeria?
Now coming to the issue of locking people outside the gate, why on earth should people be locked outside, standing for hours instead of providing a space inside the big office to sit down? Yes, this particular office am talking about is quite spacious for INEC to provide a space that can accommodate 100 people at a sitting. This of course I found out when I finally got in to be registered that day. I took a good look at the entire premises and there is an empty space where they could have put up canopies and chairs outside for Nigerians who willingly came out to perform their civic duty to at least, sit down and wait. Is this too difficult to do? Why should Nigerians always go through so much stress to get what is rightfully theirs?
After so much waiting, and standing at the same time for 4 hours, it got to my time to be registered, power went off!!
Not only did the power company do their thing as usual, it turned out the Generating set they have was not functional and we were asked to wait till power was restored. At this stage, all of us were dumb and could not talk any longer…
There was no need even getting angry because we were all exhausted from standing. While we were waiting for power to be restored we also learnt that the battery or whatever machines they were using for the data capturing stuff could not go round for a faster registration and they were working on it.
INEC? All these happening within months to the general elections? Unbelievable!! This is not a story someone told me, I witnessed all these myself!! Live!!
After several hours of waiting/standing, I finally got inside the crammed one room where everyone went in to be registered. I looked around the room, it was filled up. This is the same room where people who registered years back were collecting their PVC, same room where those of us who came for fresh registration were being registered. Everyone pushing through-no orderliness and no organization whatsoever. I looked up and part of the ceiling was falling off…Damn!!! Who the hell should be held responsible for all these?
Is it that the federal Government has abandoned or simply neglected this vital establishment? Is it that the INEC officials misused the allocation given to them to manage the place? Who should be held responsible for the rot I witnessed?
At the end, I was given the TVC and not PVC!! That was what they gave to everyone who was registering that moment. I asked when the PVC will be ready and how I will be contacted? They said in June 2018. How would I be notified? It would be announced on radio…..they told me.
All through last year, INEC came on radio asking people who already registered years back to come and collect their PVC. They complained of having millions of PVCs of Nigerians lying in their offices and were begging Nigerians who do not have theirs to come and pick them. Now, someone tell me why they could not figure out how to solve this problem of providing the permanent card to Nigerians once registered instead of the TVC till today as we speak? Considering that the election date is not far, how possible is it for people in my group of registration get their own PVC?
Is it that there are no funds to get these cards ready or what? No money? Yet day after day, we hear about billions being stolen by those in leadership positions in this country.
Okay… I will wait till June…right?
If the INEC I encountered in January this year is what other INEC offices all round Nigeria looks like in terms of organization/administrations, then Nigerians should be ready for a shocker. Of course, they will still do the Nigeria thing…..fire brigade approach….which creates all kinds of mess and disrupting the electoral procedures and results.
Do you have your own PVC?
Jacqui IWU is a Media Communications & PR strategist|A Life &Business Coach with passion for youth and women Economic/Social Empowerment. |Twitter- |@vivantjacqui|@Jacquiworld| #talkbacktobwj
