Odumakin Trains Members of GPAAN on Election Monitoring

                                                                            

The day Saturday, October 20, 2018 will ever remain a memorable one in the annals of the Guild of Public Affairs Analysts of Nigeria (GPAAN) as the world famous human rights activist and founder of Women Arise for Change Initiative, Dr. Joe Okei Odumakin who has won multiple awards including the prestigious International Women of Courage Award in America in 2013, took members of the guild through the rudiment and processes of election monitoring.

The training held at the corporate office of GPPAN in Allen Avenu, Ikeja began with a brief but catchy welcome address by the President of the Guild Mr. Ayo Oyeze Baje, in which he eulogized Odumakin’s enviable qualities of patriotism, consistency and doggedness in an environment of very challenging oddities but has stood firmly on her feet to demonstrate to other in clear terms what civil rights ought to be and should be. After the President’s welcome address, other members took turn to introduce themselves to the house. Dr. Odumakin who was invited to the podium to begin the lecture with riotous claps of approval from members of the guild, expressed her excitement by saying that she considered it an honour to be invited by GPAAN to share her experiences in elections monitoring with highly enlightened minds and respected analysts. 

The training which was titled Election Monitoring: My Experience, Odumakin used the opportunity offered her through this training to call on Civil Society Organizations to revive their civic duties as regards election monitoring. She said since election monitoring was an herculean task and also risky because it takes sacrifice of energy, time and money to achieve, those aspiring to monitor elections should acquire adequate training in order to know the nitty- gritty and essentials of monitoring elections so as to avoid unnecessary attacks or untimely death. According to Odumakin, politicians were very smart and with the connivance of some unscrupulous security agents, would do everything within their power to subvert the electoral process to their advantage. She said politicians and their thugs could attack those who monitor elections just to ensure that they won elections either by hook or by crook. She cited an instance of electoral violence where cutlasses and other dangerous weapons were wantonly used. She said a certain journalist who foresaw danger coming towards him quickly placed the tripod of his camera on his head and that the tripod was smashed to pieces but the journalist was able to escape unhurt. 

She warned that anyone who got killed while monitoring elections might die in vain if they had no insurance policy covering them. To this end, she advised that if there was palpable threats to the lives of those monitoring any elections, such observers should rather take cover and run for their dear lives instead of allowing themselves to be killed all in the name of observing elections. 

The trainer said she wanted members of the civil society organizations who monitor elections to be aware of the danger inherent in monitoring elections hence she had begun to train them about election monitoring. According to her, she had trained some personnel in the police force and that her NGO, the Women Arise for Change Initiative trained 100 observers for both Ekiti and Osun States governorship elections held recently. She said her NGO that began monitoring elections since 1999 usually pay stipends to those who monitor election under the group. She promised to continue to train election observers in order to ensure free, fair and credible elections across the country.

The facilitator made it clear that since there was no internal democracy in the political parties and the internal crises arising from the various party primaries, it was certain that there might be challenges during the 2019 general elections. Other areas she touched during the training were the burning issues of ballot box snatching, vote buying, seizing of permanent voter cards from intending voters, intimidation and harassment of voters during elections.

She noted that one major problem militating against conduct of free, fair and credible elections in the country was the citing of polling booths in the compounds of traditional rulers or far from the homes of voters. According to the facilitator, this act prevents intending voters from voting because such voters find difficult to trek long distances before they could vote. This usually disenfranchises a lot of intending and willing voters.   

On how civil society organizations could source funds to monitor elections, the activist cum trainer said when Prof. Maurice Iwu was chairman of INEC that he was giving money to civil society organizations that monitored elections but that was not the case with the current Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mamod Yakubu. She said now source funds to monitor elections on their own. 

In spite of the numerous problems militating against the monitoring of elections, Odumakin used this training to appeal to members of Guild of Public Affairs Analysts of Nigeria and other civil society organizations to join the train in monitoring elections in order to ensure free, fair and credible elections. She closed the training with a quotation from Bertolt Brecht which says thus: “The worst illiterate is the political illiterate….”

Members of Guild of Public Affairs Analysts of Nigeria present during the training included the President Mr. Ayo Baje, Vice President Mr. Lekan Sote, Secretary Mr. Victor Anya, Treasurer Mr. Amaoru Joseph and Financial Secretary Mr. Stephen Aya. Others were Dr. Dayo Kayode, Mr. Richard Oshiomhole, Mr. Tochukwu Ezukanma, Mr. Ziggy Ibeh, Barrister Uche Ogwumike, Mr. Elvis Elimihele, Mr. Markson Meduoye, Mr. Victor Ikem, Mr. Achike Chude and Mr. Adeniyi Kuunu.