Letter to Prof. Attahiru Jega
I am a Nigerian citizen, eligible to vote. But for some reason, I have been denied my right to register, which is a condition precedent to voting. Today is the fifth day in a row that I have shelved everything I am doing to join a very long (sometimes, multiple queues) of anxious, eager Nigerians […]
I am a Nigerian citizen, eligible to vote. But for some reason, I have been denied my right to register, which is a condition precedent to voting. Today is the fifth day in a row that I have shelved everything I am doing to join a very long (sometimes, multiple queues) of anxious, eager Nigerians that only want to exercise their fundamental right to vote.
Need I say that the inconvenience of standing under a tree at the roadside from 8am to 5pm is demoralising? Besides, standing there does not guarantee a person’s registration. I have a few pointers to you Prof, in case you are saddled with a similar project in the future.
1. Practicality is king
All the hype about the DDC machines made us believe you were going to procure the best of the best computers. I, for one, thought you would have liaised with Apple or Toshiba to customise computers for this project. But no, we had to buy lesser-known machines. Whoever heard of those brand-names? Because of the quality of the computers, the process of registration can be awfully slow. Plus the finger-scanning machines should have been customised to take at least five fingers at a time.
2. Overestimation of help
We know the dwindling level of education in Nigeria. Now, the Youth Corps members who have been assigned to do this registration probably have not been opportune to use computers before now. My colleague told me about the corps member who was using one finger to type. Imagine how slow that would be!
To add salt to injury, there is no incentive for these poor souls. They have to rely on the goodwill of Nigerians desperate to register, for food, transportation and a little handout. Now, this is a dangerous precedent as it becomes a game of rub my back so I can rub yours.
3. Slow down and do the math
Dear Sir, this ‘rush-rush’ business is not working. How can you register 150 million Nigerians within two weeks with machines that have the capacity of registering an average of 80 people a day?
I don’t know how many machines there are, so it’s up to you to do the math, sir. Have you been told that people queue up from 2am in order to wait for the mighty corpers to arrive at 8am to register them? So pathetic.
4. Have a tech-based contingency plan
On enquiry, I was told that the data collected by the computers is saved on the hard disc which is physically transported to the INEC headquarters and then copied to the main data base. In this day and age?
Weren’t there IT people on your team? Didn’t anyone tell you that all the computers can be configured to automatically upload data to the main data base? What if the hard disc is stolen?
5. Make it easy for all involved
I felt so sad when I watched onlookers cheering and clapping for someone who had just registered, like it was a privilege. In an ideal situation – which your budget should have accommodated – citizens should just walk in and get registered. Some people can’t be bothered to spend a whole day on the queue and therefore won’t register at all.
Finally, the wise Hausa man says that the signs of what will be a good Friday will be perceived from the preceding Wednesday. If this registration exercise is what will qualify 150 million people to vote, then…
Mrs. Mohammed wrote in from Maitama, Abuja