Last week, the nation was shocked to hear that some of the machines being imported by INEC for the Registration of Voters were stolen at the Murtala Mohammed Airport. Although the Police say arrests have been made of suspects of the theft, and some of the stolen machines have been recovered, the information about the theft has been very disturbing indeed.
The theft of these machines has raised serious concerns regarding their real motives. It is possible that lax security may have encouraged some petty thieves to steal these machines which are basically lap-top computers with some specially-designed features. But the public is entitled to ask whether there is a more sinister and disturbing motive behind this theft, which is that some people are either already involved in sabotaging the Registration Exercise by stealing the machines; or that they want to study the machines and use them for illegal registration purposes. There are also serious concerns about the nature and speed of police investigations into this matter, given the fact that public interest on this issue is extremely, and justifiably high.
Even though some reports say that INEC has disclaimed ownership of these machines, there is a need to thoroughly verify who imported them, and for what purposes. INEC needs to assure the nation clearly and categorically that the machines are indeed not theirs if they are not. And if they belong to someone else the public needs to know who owns them. Many organizations have the need for, and do use Direct Data Capture Machines, and although they all use different software depending on what they are needed for, the fact that INEC is also involved in imparting at least 120, 000 of these machines makes it necessary for the security agencies to thoroughly investigate the whole issue surrounding the theft of these machines and give full information to the public.
The on-going political campaigns show clearly that the 2011 elections will be contested very bitterly. Already developments around the amendments to the Electoral Act, and the quarrels they are generating around the President, Governors, Legislators in the PDP, and the fear of other Parties and their contestants that the elections may not be free and fair are all reasons why every effort must be made to assure the public that the theft of these machines are not part of efforts to rig the elections even at this early stage.
The manner in which these machines were stolen should also serve to raise the levels of concern and security by INEC and security agencies. INEC needs to take serious efforts to protect its sensitive materials, including its machines. These lap top machines are vulnerable to being snatched, smashed or burnt by saboteurs and thugs. Airport security also needs to be strengthened, not just around INEC materials, but also because of increasingly disturbing information of daily arrests of arms and ammunition from our Ports.
As we approach the 2011 elections, the need to protect the integrity of the electoral process and raise the levels of the security of the citizenry should be a matter of the highest national priority. Many people will try to subvert the elaborate arrangements being made to conduct free and fair elections, if only because they believe that all Nigerian elections can be rigged, and that Nigerians have come to live with stolen mandates. This time, they should not be allowed to succeed.
No comments:
Post a Comment