Blog

Guest Blogger: Titilayo Obisesan
 

Occupation:      Business Development Officer (NGO)
 

Web site:           www.titilayoobishineshine.blogspot.com

 

Writing Style:  Pointed and Revealing

 

Just last week, a friend came from Kenya to Nigeria to make business contacts and seek opportunities for her organisation on use of ICTs in the country. A colleague was sent out with her to help check into a hotel.
 
They left the office at 9pm. Seconds, minutes and hours passed without any sight of them. We tried to call around 11a.m to be sure that our foreign friend had not been seized by any militant group that could have expanded their operations to Abuja. But then, she is not a shell expatriate earning millions of naira per month and for crying out loud she was BLACK!!!!  
 
When we finally called my colleague that was supposed to help get the hotel at noon, we were told they had visited 12 hotels and all were fully booked. They finally got back to the office around 2pm and said they had been to 15 hotels looking for only One room not two, not five but One room for One in the whole of Abuja town and they found none for over four hours.
 
I had to ask them, who had bought the whole of Abuja town, who was it sold to….., I actually asked this question expecting them to mention an ECOWAS regional conference or ome other international meeting thinking there was a regional conference holding until the Kenyan lady said they got to one of the popular five-star hotels and they were told a politician had booked all the rooms in the hotel except four rooms and as a compensation for his spendthrift they decided to give him the remaining four rooms.
 
Presently, if you drive around Lagos and Abuja, you would never be able to miss the splash of posters with enlarged pictures of politicians, nicely cut-out phrases such as Jerry Gana Declares, Man of the moment, with the posters designed with icons and acronyms such as PDP, ACCORD, AC, ACD, ADC, NMDP, AD etcetera, etcetera signifying names of political parties. We are constantly being made aware that there are people bidding for the ‘soul’ of this country.
 
With the election timetable set as seen below, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has appeared before the both houses of the national assembly to answer questions relating to the commission’s plan on the elections, especially on its scary plan to use electronic registration and voting system.
 
1. Issuance of Notice of Polls– Nov. 8, 2006
 
2. Collection of Forms commences: Dec.1, 2006
 
3. Last day for collection of forms
Governorship/State Assembly Elections – Dec. 14, 2006
Presidential/National Assembly Elections – Dec. 21, 2006
 
4.  Last day for submission of personal particulars and list of candidates by Political Parties
Governorship/State Assembly Elections – Dec.15, 2006
Presidential/National Assembly Elections – Dec.22, 2006
 
5. Last day for publication of personal particulars of candidates-
Governorship/State Assembly Elections – Dec. 22, 2006
Presidential/National Assembly Elections – Dec. 29, 2006
 
6. Collection of Nomination Forms by Parties commences – Jan.15, 2007
 
7. Last date for Return of Nomination Forms by Political Parties – Jan. 29, 2007
 
8.  Last date for withdrawal by candidates-
Governorship/State Assembly Elections – Feb.3, 2007
Presidential/National Assembly Elections – Feb.10, 2007
 
9. Last date for change of candidates by Political Parties
Governorship/State Assembly Elections – Feb. 13, 2007
Presidential/National Assembly Election – Feb. 20, 2007
 
10. Last date for substitution after withdrawal-
Governorship/State Assembly Elections – Feb. 13, 2007
Presidential/National Assembly Elections – Feb. 20, 2007
 
11. Publication of list of nominated candidates/ persons nominating them-
Governorship/State Assembly Elections – March 8,2007
Presidential/National Assembly Elections – March15,2007
 
12. Publication of Notice of Polls-
Governorship/State Assembly Elections – March 24, 2007
Presidential/National Assembly Elections – March 31, 2007
 
13. Last day for campaigns for
Governorship/StateHousesof  Assembly Elections – April 13, 2007
Last day for campaigning for
Presidential/National Assemble Elections – April 20, 2007
 
14.   Governorship/State houses of Assembly Elections – April 14, 2007
Presidential/National Assembly Elections- April 21, 2007
 
However, I have not heard any questions posed to the Iwu-led commission on why we haven’t seen Voters registrations desks in our neighborhood. For me, I have not seen any registration desk in sight on my street, two streets away, three streets away and actually five major roads away from my house.
 
Taking a cue from this invisible voters registration exercise, I wonder if we are been given a picture of the number of voting booths we would be seeing in April. And now, whenever I come across those posters with the heads of those beckoning to us to vote for them, I ask myself who among these people have bought Nigeria ’07 just like the hotels were bought. How much did it go for? Was it an impetuous purchase or carefully planned? Who received the paycheck on behalf of the country? You? The guys in national assembly? The man in aso rock or miscreants on the street?
 
To the guy or group or party who may have purchased Nigeria ’07, just to satisfy my curious nature “how much did it cost?” Just tell me and you can be sure I wouldn’t say it to anyone else outside of the internet.