The new INEC

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, November 9 swore in the new Electoral Management Team (EMT) led by the newly appointed chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmud Yakubu. Yakubu, a professor of History and International Studies at the Nigerian Defence Academy and the immediate past executive secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, is expected to continue and, indeed, improve on the high standards in election management set by his predecessor in office, Attahiru Jega.

Electoral management bodies play significant roles in the development and progress of nations and can be the key to the widespread acceptability of democracy, democratic sustainability, and the maintenance of peace and stability after elections. As we have witnessed in Nigeria this year, wherever the electoral commission is perceived to be competent, thorough and impartial, and the elections are considered credible, free and fair, there is a greater tendency for both politicians and the general public to accept the results of the elections. This is key to the prevention of the breakdown of law and order – a particularly nagging problem with African nations struggling to entrench democracy – and a sine qua non for democratic sustainability and deepening of the civic culture.

Although this is a largely new electoral management team, Yakubu’s main focus should be on continued institution building to make INEC a very credible, impartial and competent electoral management body irrespective of the personnel running it and with processes that are not easily reversible. That was the process started by Jega and it is the main reason why Jega declined to serve a second term.

As Jega himself said, “I felt we had an opportunity, we did our best trying to build an institution; let’s get that institution to work rather than just seeing it as if it’s only one man that can only do this job. In a country like Nigeria, there are up to one million Jegas or even better; it is just getting the opportunity. I have less fears about once Jega leaves, everything would go back to the way it was. That’s why I resisted the temptation of accepting a second tenure, even though I could have got that if I had wanted.”

This is commendable. Indeed, we have repeated several times that strong institutions are the best guarantee of progress and sustainable growth and development in any society. Institutions are impersonal and not subject to the whims, caprices, flimsy and erratic nature of human behaviour. They shape the behaviours of individuals inhabiting the, rather than the individuals shaping the nature of the institutions.

That is also the difference between developed and developing societies. Developed societies attained their positions through the building of strong institutions to guide societal progress. Developing or, more appropriately, under-developed societies, on the other hand, depend mostly on personalities, personal rule and individuals to drive societal progress.

As history has shown, individual or personal rule is not continuous and enduring. What is more, human nature is erratic and does not guarantee consistency. History has shown that it is not always possible to get excellent people to run institutions. Over time, weak and sometimes morally bankrupt individuals get into positions of authority. The key difference, however, is that in societies where institutions are strong and well entrenched, these institutions withstand or survive such persons without considerable damage. On the other hand, where institutions are weak or non-existent, all previous progress is destroyed and the society or organisation has to start afresh after such weak or bankrupt individuals depart.

We commend Jega for the efforts he has made towards institutionalising INEC and the difficult choice he made to prioritise institution building over personal gains. We call on the new chairman to continue in his predecessor’s footsteps. Luckily, as a professor of History, Yakubu very well understands the importance of strong institutions in societal progress and development. We hope at the end of his tenure, INEC would have been transformed to a strong institution that can deliver on credible, free and fair elections no matter the individuals inhabiting it. That is the best legacy he can bequeath.