The President of the Centre for Human and Socio-Economic Rights (CHSR), Comrade Alex Omotehinse, has charged Nigerians, especially those in positions of authority, to be sincere if they truly want to end insecurity in the country. Omotehinse also criticised the National Assembly for not allowing full electronic transmission of results in the recently passed Electoral Act Bill.Speaking in an interview with OLADIPUPO AWOJOBI, the human rights activist said that Nigeria is ripe for electronic voting. He added that the menace of bandits and terrorists should not be compared with the agitation of Niger Delta militants. Excerpts:
What does the low turn out of voters during the local government elections in Abuja portend for our future elections in Nigeria?
It is not far fetched and it is not rhetorics that Nigerians are losing appetite for elections in the country. There is the belief that our votes don’t count. You could see the agitation for electronic transmission of results and the way the National Assembly tactically dodged its full implementation.
The fact is that the people would continue to lose interest in elections as long as we continue like this. What happened in the 2023 general elections discouraged the people and that was why they asked for electronic transmission of results. All these excuses cannot encourage democracy in the country.
If the National Assembly had been sincere and they are confident that they would win in their constituencies and districts, they would allow fu electronic transmission of results. But because they are afraid of what would happen during the elections, they did not allow full electronic transmission of results and that is also dangerous for our democracy. The turn out of voters in Abuja last week is an example of what we should expect in other elections.
Let’s continue to use the Abuja council polls to test-run the 2027 general elections. We have seen a lot of complaints after the elections and it would have been better if we used electronic transmission of results. Nigeria has reached a stage that we can do electronic voting. Once you can call me on the phone from Abuja, Nasarawa or Kebbi, why can’t we do electronic voting.
If we say that people can vote from their mobile phones once they are registered, the confidence would be built in the electorate, they will be sure that their votes will count. We heard that thugs and some uniform men took away ballot boxes during the Abuja council elections.
If people vote from their phones from the comfort of their houses, where will you have people carting away ballot boxes? It will not happen. We are saying that we will get there, but have they now paved way for us to get there.
If the National Assembly wants credible, free and fair election, we will get it, but this may not be possible under the 10th National Assembly. Where you have the legislature aligning with the executive, you cannot get good results.
The National Assembly said that they allowed manual recording in the Electoral Act because there is no network in some parts of the country, don’t you think they are right?
That is not a good excuse, there is no place that is without network in Nigeria. Even at that, let us find out where they don’t have network. In Lagos State, there is network everywhere, in Ogun State, they have network even as far as Agbara and in other areas.
If there are places without network, let us know them and the number of polling units there. Nigeria doesn’t have records of all these things, if not, this excuse would not be a point.
You can say that may be in Ilaje Local Government Area in Ondo State or any other place, they don’t have network, then we go for manual. You have to be specific. It is not an excuse, let us identify those places. But our politicians always do what favours them.
During the time of former president Good luck Jonathan, they used card readers that rejected finger prints, but that did not stop the election and this made people rig elections.
Technology wise, Nigeria has gone far, let us learn to move forward rather than remaining stagnant. Our legislators should make laws that would make us to move forward.
President Bola Tinubu recently appealed to the National Assembly to include state police in the constitution, in your view, how best do you think we can fight insecurity, is it by state police or in what other ways?
This issue of security is serious, but state police has advantages and disadvantages. What we experience with TRACE in Ogun State, O’Yes in Osun State, LASTMA and KAI in Lagos State, and Amotekun in Ondo State will con- tinue with state police.
There is no way you will create police that you will not arm them and they would become instruments in the hands of Governors and local governments chairmen. If we have state police, it would lead to more problems.
Let us see what we have achieved with those ones before we talk of state police. We are against state police due to what we have experienced with LASTMA, KAI and even Lagos Neighbourhood Watch. When you give Nigerians an opportunity, they would go extra mile.
In Nigeria, it is about he who pays the piper pays the tune. The best way we can handle insecurity in Nigeria is sincerity of purpose, if our security agencies, royal fathers, political leaders and others are sincere, it would be easy to eradicate insecurity.
In what ways?
If our community leaders, royal fathers, political leaders, local governments chairmen, governors, assembly members and even security agents are sincere, insecurity would be a thing of the past.
We have seen where they arrest- ed community leaders for kidnapping, we have seen where security officers are transporting arms and ammunition for bandits.
We have seen a royal father being arrested and arraigned among kidnappers. If we are sincere and we have one mind, it would be over. It is because we are not sincere with ourselves.
President Donald Trump of the United States of America declared Nigeria a country of particular concern. There is a particular individual in Nigeria knows those who are tormenting and terrorising the country and nothing is done to him.
They are advocating that they are fighting for their rights and people are negotiating for them. When they compare them with Niger Delta agitators, I begin to wonder. Niger Deltans have reasons to agitate.
