A Second Republic lawmaker, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, tells TOBI AWORINDE that the Independent National Electoral Commission and the major political parties must discourage underage voting in the 2019 elections
What is your take on the recent reports of underage voter registration and kids who voted during the Kano State Local Government Election held last Saturday?
Frankly speaking, I find it amazing that in the 21st Century, people are making attempts to compromise elections by sending children to register and vote for some individuals, perhaps for a prize or for a consideration. That is really unfortunate and it merely shows how irresponsible the political class is in Nigeria. The ruling party is trying to intimidate opposition parties with votes by recruiting children to register and vote. The threat to the lives of the National Youth Service Corps members to either register their children or risk their lives is most unfortunate.
Elections have now become a matter of life and death in Nigeria, and the people are prepared to use the most extreme violence and the most irresponsible ways of conducting themselves to win at the polls. It goes to prove that our election is still a work in progress. We have yet to have a kind of democracy, which, I would imagine, we deserve, but nothing is happening.
Kano is not even the only state where such anomaly has been happening all over the places and everybody in Nigeria knows, wherever you are, that these issues are happening and they have been happening over the years. The question is what is to be done?
An INEC official confirmed the reports of underage voter registration but that the agency was putting measures in place to delete such names from the register. What do you say to that?
I find the answer from INEC not assuring. If they say they are not responsible for the state (organised) elections, then they should come out and say they have nothing to do with it and that they have no comment to offer. In the last one and a half decades, I have been advocating that state elections should be conducted by one unified national body — INEC. I am not saying the electoral body is at fault, but I am saying that the local elections are better handled by one unified body and they are likely to get better justice from that body than from the so-called state electoral commissions.
Now, whatever the constitution says, as far as I’m concerned, is relevant. But practice has shown, from 1999 to date, that every time INEC conducted an election, it was more credible and better organised than if the so-called state electoral commissions were in charge.
Every time the so-called state electoral commissions organised elections, it was fraudulent and violently conducted. So, Nigerians have to make a choice whether or not to amend the constitution because what the constitution provides makes no sense whatsoever. They should proceed to amend the constitution to allow for a central body like INEC. Even though it’s not perfect, at least, it’s better than what we have with the state electoral commissions.
State governors all over Nigeria always insist on the so-called state electoral commissions because it’s easier to use them to compromise the elections.
There were similar reports of underage voters during the 2015 general elections. How do you feel that INEC hasn’t tackled this problem three years after?
Number one, if there were instances of underage voters in 2015, it wasn’t enough to invalidate the election. Number two, if the issue was seriously considered, INEC could have come up with something, not only this mischief that ‘we know how to do it by using the voting machines’ or whatever. But I believe that it should be done in a manner that is transparent and where everyone will be satisfied. If they do that, the next election in 2019 — if there is going to be an election in 2019 — the losers will blame their loss on the fact that there have been underage voters. I believe the issue can be handled if there is a political will (to do so). I haven’t seen the political will as far as the current Federal Government is concerned and sadly, I have not seen any will as far as the current Presidency is concerned.
Do you think underage voter registration scandal will affect the credibility of the 2019 elections?
The issue didn’t affect the credibility of 2015 elections; so, if nothing happened to amend the procedures and the process, it can’t (affect the credibility of the 2019 elections). Twenty-nineteen is around the corner and it is going to be a debated issue, but I don’t want an issue raised only because someone has lost an election. The people who are now being implicated are the people who won elections in 2015. Why is the complaint now? Why not in 2015? I’m not sure anybody is serious about it. Those who want Buhari to continue are determined to achieve their aim, whatever the cost.
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