Group calls for passage of the Electoral Amendment Bill

By Imisi

 

The Election Network has called for the passage of the Electoral Amendment Bill stating that this will foster the full implementation of electronic voting during elections in Nigeria.

 

The group insisted that the alarming rate of voter apathy as experienced in the 2019 election has made it imperative for speedy implementation of electoral reform adding that this will help put in check to several electoral irregularities

 

While presenting a documentary titled “Left Behind, Editor of The Election Network , Asari Ndem, expressed dissatisfaction at the amount of voters that were disenfranchised due to violence and inability to transfer their voters card stating that Nigerians should be able to vote anywhere they are, when the need arises.

 

'‘The 2019 elections was a setback for Nigeria’s electoral and democratic framework. Officially, over 80 million Nigerians collected their voter cards from INEC but only about 30 percent of those people voted during the elections, the lowest recorded voter turnout in the history of Nigeria’s democracy.

 

‘‘We wanted to understand why this had happened, to enable us make submissions to policymakers on how this level of failure can be avoided in coming elections. So, we decided to talk to the people. To show the human impact of electoral deficiencies on average Nigerians, The Election Network produced a documentary titled “Left Behind.” In this documentary, we interviewed Nigerians who were unable to or chose not to vote during the 2019 elections.

 

‘‘We found that these Nigerians were stalled by factors like administrative shortcomings, intimidation, and violence. But what stood out the most is violence.

 

‘‘In light of these findings, we are making the following proposals for Electoral reform: The passage of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill: this overarching law on elections in Nigeria, when passed, will help put in check several irregularities but more importantly, give way for the full implementation of electronic voting during elections. Electronic accreditation, voting and collation to ensure credibility in the voting system needs to be done electronically to avoid errors, to also trace malpractices in the system.

 

Furthermore, Ndem called for the prosecution of electoral offenders and the inclusion of people living with disabilities, PLWD in the voting process stressing that PLWD should be included during election planning to ensure they are able to adequately exercise their rights.

 

‘‘Also, on financial accountability an embargo should be placed on the ability of political office holders to make financial transactions close to the elections.

 

‘‘With these submissions and the screening of this documentary, we hope to enact policy change that creates sustainable improvement to the Nigerian electoral ecosystem and contributes to the strengthening of our democracy’’ he stated.

 

Attack on Police very serious crime – Ex-IGP Idris

In the face of incessant attacks on police personnel and formations, especially in the Eastern part of the country, Ex Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris has stated that attack on the police is a very serious crime, insisting that culprits must be made to face the law.

Speaking with journalists at his Abuja residence, the former IGP stressed that attacks on uniformed men can dampen the morale of officers, a situation he said can reduce their productivity.

According to Idris, attacks on the police who are saddled with the responsibility to protect the people is very dangerous to the lives and safety of the citizens, noting that the government must begin to study and uncover the reasons for such attacks, work out a lasting solution to the upsurge before it escalates beyond control.

The ex-IGP further observed that for the police to adequately tackle insecurity in the country, there is need for recruitment of more officers and men into the force.

‘‘Some of the challenges with the police force is the lack of personnel.

‘‘The strength of the police compared to the Nigerian population, obviously, we are overstretched.

‘‘Taking a look at the population of the country, the police are overstretched presently, we need to do something to increase the police for them to adequately tackle the insecurity in the government.

Idris underlined that the establishment of state police, as advocated in some quarters is not the solution to the country's complex security questions, adding that such will amount to creating more problems. 

He reiterated that attention should rather be paid to increasing the number of police officers in the country to commensurate with the growing population. 

He enlisted adequate training, improvement in welfare of officers and men of the force and provision of modern tools as immediate steps the government must urgently take to put insecurity under check. 

"In tackling insecurity in this country, we faced the same challenge during our time, of course you had to look at the issue of recruitment, training of men. 

"You have to train people to tackle the situation. Presently, a lot of them have left the service. I don’t know what is on ground but we need more policemen. In addition to this is the issue of equipment. You have to provide the needed equipment to enable them tackle this insecurity" he said. 

He also underlined the role of women police officers in tackling banditry in the country, same way the military recently deployed female officers to the dreaded Abuja-Kaduna expressway, a situation generally believed to have improved security in the axis.

Old persons require love and care

Ageing is a process that every human being must pass through, nothing can be done to stop a person from growing old. Old age comes with its challenges which can trigger death. The society must begin to prioritise care of old people through proper government legislations and family care, our correspondent,  IMISI writes

 

 

 

 

For some people growing old is a nightmare which creates a secret nurtured feeling of the wish that one wouldn’t have to go through this process. For others it comes with an avalanche of sickness that eventually leads to their demise.

 

 

 

Ageing is a natural phenomenon that every human must pass through and more and more people are entering their golden years every year as birthdays are celebrated.

 

 

 

Aging can be a beautiful experience if properly handled ensuring that the older person is living his best life through love and care, also having the physical and mental health to enjoy it. Like a bottle of wine, you can get better with age with the right care and intervention.

 

 

 

Ironically our society is very obsessed with pointing out negative aspects of ageing and older persons making this category person appear like liability, less economically viable which in the long run leads to discrimination against the older people.

 

 

 

It might interest you to know that there is a field of study dedicated to providing care for the older people called Geriatrics, while geriatricians are physicians who have special training to better understand the unique needs of older adults, which is why they typically prescribe care for adults 65 and older.

 

 

 

One the other hand, a gerontologist studies the problems of aging from a broader perspective. Not only medical issues, but all the various problems faced by seniors and the elderly.

 

 

 

For example, a gerontologist might study the relationship between loneliness and the way seniors use technology, or how genetic risks can change with age, through studies and investigations gerontologist are able to establish a more comprehensive picture of the sort of problems faced by older persons, education us on the need to create policies and programs related to older adults.

 

 

 

Against this backdrop our correspondent spoke with a Gerontology expert, Dr Emem Omokaro of Dave Omokaro Foundation who stated that there are economic values that come with ageing.

 

 

 

Suffice to know that there is a noticeable shortage of care specialists focused on older people, Dr Omokaro is also the president of the Gerontology Association of Nigeria and the co chair and convener of the stakeholder Group on aging Africa. SGA Africa 

 

 

 

According to her Dave Omokaro foundation has been focused on ageing for the past ten years, with focus on capacity building that is training policy makers, decision makers, training medical and biomedical professionals, journalist on policy formation planning and orientation on the ageing process, implication of the aging populations, implications of family community, implications to pensions and health care systems and all others that you can get when the population is ageing.

 

 

 

‘‘In Nigeria where you have simultaneous challenges of huge populations at the same time growing absolute numbers of other persons, we focus on enlightening them in order to ensure policy actions.

 

 

 

‘‘With our exposure we want Nigeria to be part of the community that when we really come into taking part in caring for our older persons then we are doing a good job and properly guided.

 

 

 

‘‘When we talk about older persons we talk about ageism which is a form of stereotype against the older persons. 

 

 

 

‘‘Ageism is when you lump everybody together like they are indigenous and you generalise in a descriptive form this is who they are that is stereotyping them. Older persons are often lumped together like they are all sick, they are all a burden like they have nothing to contribute.

 

 

 

‘‘Stereotypes lead to discrimination making people and government term the older people as a burden and wouldn’t like to invest in them which is wrong.

 

 

 

Advocacy is the easiest tool to stop ageism, ignorance leads to prejudices, South Africa has Grant for older persons, we need to upgrade and include the older persons by providing them with social protection. 

 

 

 

 

 ‘‘Older person will continue to contribute to family, to community, to the nation that is why when we keep them healthy and keep them functional they take away the burden off and the working populations of children when we provide health insurance even they can buy into this health insurance it means you keep them healthy and their children who are in the working population can save money’’ she explained.

 

 

 

Speaking on the benefits of the older people Dr Omokaro called on the government to invest in the older generation.

 

 

 

Apart from them contributing and growing the economy as caregivers, older women are the ones caring for younger children especially during ‘omugwo’ which is done free of charge, they should be charging so income could come in for them and 60 percent of farmers are older persons and they are still farming.

 

 

 

‘‘Why it appears like the older ones are not contributing is cause nobody is investing in their means of livelihood, if there was investment of course the community will surely grow and they will earn money like every other person and like they are cooperatives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

She however stated that the advocacy for the rights of older persons is a mission for everyone who intends to grow old someday adding that countries that have looked at ageing as an industry have reaped its benefits.  

 

 

 

Suffice to know that there is a noticeable shortage of care specialists focused on older people

Public health