The old versus the new
On Thursday, accreditation was done and dusted. A word must be put here regarding the process of accreditation, and the point must be made that it varies from state to state, depending on the spokesperson for INEC in that state. In Ekiti, the INEC spokesperson is pretty organised, in Osun, Adenike Tasede, had that stereotypical attitude of wanting everyone to know that she was in charge. That led to a massive scrum outside of her office on that day, a scrum that did no one any good. Another thing – like it or not, online is here to stay, and the very nature of that beast means that we cannot afford to ignore it. Myself, and Ben Ezeamalu, the reporter from Premium Times, ran into trouble with Mrs. Tasede, because she accused us of breaking the results before INEC in Ekiti. She went as far as putting an asterisk beside my name so she’d monitor me. I took that in good stride because I knew that the good folks at Sahara Reporters, who did not even bother with an INEC accreditation (this is because their model relies on citizen journalists), would break the results anyway. They did not disappoint. At the end of election day, and a good 10 hours before the results were officially released, a huge public television close to Freedom Park was announcing the results, courtesy of Sahara Reporters. Other, traditional newspapers, also did the same on their online accounts, the Punch being the biggest culprits.
I am yet to compare the results released by INEC with those released by online media, but the “need” to make a big show of collecting and announcing the results ultimately led to the other part of INEC’s conduct which irritated me – keeping me on vigil. There was, to my mind, absolutely no point in keeping everyone in the INEC Office until the wee hours. Being that results are announced at the polling units, I do not think it is such a difficult thing to get a presiding officer to send a text message from a PU to the main INEC Office. Software makes it easy to get all of that done from verified phone numbers, and to create a system where as soon as the results are received, they are collated. This way, we can even see the trends live. An approach such as this will save a lot of time.
However, while I have those two quibbles, which in reality were about my comfort, I must commend INEC for a solid job in these elections. On the day, and in each one of the thirty-two polling units I visited, materials arrived on time; accreditation started on time, and with the exception of a polling unit at Gbongan, and one at Modakeke, results were announced before 6 pm, which is a major improvement. All the NYSC members who took part were very well informed and had been trained well. As were the security men.
this is an article bimming with sentiments against the APC. Many party leaders were arrested and taken to unknown location on the morning of election. All faults laid at the feet of the APC. From this article ‘the good (inec and fg), the bad ( god knows who) and the ugly (apc and its supporters ). this is sentiments salted with few hurriedly verified facts.
Good job!But i’ll excuse you for your omission. excuse you because of your obvious inability to touch every part of the state.Even if most APC supporters cried wolf,DSS themselves have confirmed the arrest of Lai Momammed and two of his companion.Yes,the presence of DSS is not bad in itself but their modus Oprandi.Meanwhile,do u think mobile police can’t do what soldiers are called out to do?i think Nigeria Police should be encourage to build her capacity for electoral service.This is far better than inviting the military to participate in electoral process.
Good job!But i’ll excuse you for your omission.excuse you because of your obvious inability to touch every part of the state.Even if most APC supporters cried wolf,DSS themselves have confirmed the arrest of Lai Mommamed and two of his companion.Yes,the presence of DSS is not bad in itself but their modus Oprandi
YNaija © 2014
Good job!But i’ll excuse you for your omission.excuse you because of your obvious inability to touch every part of the state.Even if most APC supporters cried wolf,DSS themselves have confirmed the arrest of Lai Mommamed and two of his companion.
Youmoderation.
SAMMYAugust 14, 2014 12:22 amReply
Good job!But i’ll excuse you for your omission.excuse you because of your obvious inability to touch every part of the state.Even if most APC supporters cried wolf,DSS themselves have confirmed the arrest of
U’re just one Party reporter
I think you dwelled too long on APC hysteria and you could have gone ahead to fact check from Lai Mohammed, commissioners and Isiaka Adeleke on their experiences on the eve of the elections. Your opinion of using masked men in an election did not come in also. I know APC might have overblown it but it’s fact that their members were harassed and arrested. That’s not ideal in am election. Whatever you hear today is of how PDP has procured elections in the past.
What an interesting read. This read more like an interesting travel memoir than a political report. Like you have rightly noted, credible elctions will deepen democracy and Adamawa’s election will serve as another index given the part of the country it’s located. The unsustainable security presence is another source of concern as the general election approaches. Chxta is an excellent writer when he finds the time to do so, but as a full-time journalist now, I think we’ll enjoy the best of him. nice work.
Calm and concise….devoid of sentiment and sensationalism….I hope other journalists take a cue.
This was not a long read at all or maybe it’s cos @Chxta is such a good writer, he draws you in with very line. I appreciate unbiased reports such as this. On crying wolf, I have been saying this about APC and its supporters mainly on social media and egged on by the party leadership especially spokesperson Alh. Lai Mohammed. They need to quit with the unnecessary hysteria and crying wolf all the time! They need to realise that the electorate are finding their voice and becoming more independent. Election deciders are gradually becoming less about the party and more about the candidate. Field credible candidates with grassroots support and you are more or less likely to coast to victory. This noise-making by APC and its supporters, I have noticed, is gradually beginning to get on the nerves of the non-partisan folks and the undecided electorate. The party is gradually beginning to lose the groundswell of support it enjoyed when it was in the pre-merger stages. Kudos to President Jonathan and INEC for a free and fair election. Now we know that APC lost in Ekiti not because of “intimidation” by security officers but because of the candidate. How does intimidation by security personnel work when you are casting your vote? Do they put a gun to your head when you are thumb-printing? Nice one @Chxta, I enjoyed this piece thoroughly. First time in yonks I am commenting on a Ynaija or any political post online.
is dat rite.