Appointment of New INEC Chair: Between Nigerians’ Double Standards and Osun PDP’s Stance

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By Miftau Adekunmi Mufty

The media has been awash with stories about the possible appointment of a new person to head the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the current chairman bows out. Now, some self-proclaimed lovers of democracy have begun their usual outcry ahead of the announcement of the new INEC chairman to be nominated by the President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

To illustrate the level of crass hypocrisy and bias among Nigerians, one wouldn’t be surprised to see such displays of rage coming from the same set of people (such as the Osun PDP media team) who vehemently supported the illegality and abuse of power by their state governors in appointing their stooges to head various state electoral commissions.

In Nigeria, it is common to see people using one standard to assess the government at the state level and a different one to evaluate the federal government, even on the same issue. One thing I have keenly observed in Nigeria is the trend of double standards and moral decadence among the citizenry, which serves as a bane in our system, alongside the poor leadership we all commonly refer to (though this is a contributing factor). Nigerians only support a cause when they see the face of someone they love, whether right or wrong, and vice versa. This is further exacerbated by political, ethnic, and sectional chauvinism, which sentimentally determines the standard of people’s judgment.

As a matter of fact, this bleak situation is now being weaponized by self-proclaimed lovers of democracy whose history has been clearly marred by reckless leadership and unproductive politicking. No nation can truly develop when there is such systemic rot in the political culture and democratization process.

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In the meantime, while the President announces the nomination, the focus of well-meaning people in Osun is on the PDP adherents in the state, as everyone will want to see their positions and contributions to the issues surrounding the appointment of the INEC chairman. This is particularly relevant given their previous strong support for the appointment of Barr. Hashim as OSSIEC Chairman, despite the fact that he is a staunch member of their party, widely known to everyone.

Miftau Adekunmi Mufty writes from Ejigbo, Osun State.