INEC Must Learn From JAMB

The case of Miss Nmesoma Ejikeme, an Anambra-born  19-year old girl, who took her 2023 JAMB examination and claimed she got the highest score, is one case that highlighted the extent to which corruption has engulfed our country, on one hand, and  the extent to which the very young generation has turned accomplices. It was also a litmus test for the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board,  JAMB, a foremost national institution,  whose failure would have had a catastrophic effect on Nigeria’s educational and CBT systems. To say the least, it was a pointer to JAMB, to the  fact that it is under obligation to uphold its integrity as a reputable public institution.
Many centers which had been involved with the JAMB CBT examination since 2016, like Nkemefuna Foundation (Thomas Chidoka Center for Human Development),  have come to trust the integrity of the JAMB online examination platform. As Corps Marshal in 2011,  Osita Chidoka, the owner of Nkemefuna Foundation (Thomas Chidoka Center for Human Development),  the  center where  Nmesoma Ejikeme took her JAMB examination, has used JAMB to conduct the FRSC recruitment exercise that is still adjudged a high-water mark in public sector recruitment. According to him, those recruited through that process wear their uniform with pride and continue to deliver value to the organisation to this day.
In an opinion article titled “ Probing   Integrity  In Our National Institutions”, Osita  Chidoka pointed out that the social media frenzy and denigration of JAMB, together with the ethnic slant of a simple issue with clear and verifiable methods of resolution, are  symptomatic of the deep distrust of our national institutions. Yes,  the level of distrust Nigerians now have on our national institutions is an offshoot of years of horrifying dissent of issues to our national fault lines.
Howbeit, that strong, vigorous and unwaivering bid by JAMB in defense of its integrity in the case of Miss Nmesoma, has earned it an undaunted prominence in the committee of national institutions. In the words of Chidoka, “they came out forcefully and vigorously defended their integrity by sharing the USSD communication between Nmesoma’s phone and their servers with timestamps. Mr. Fabian Benjamin, the JAMB spokesperson, did a yeoman’s job in explaining how their system works and the security of their result portal. He even asked anyone who cares to crosscheck with AIRTEL, the network provider of Nmesoma’s phone”. Indeed, JAMB’s transparency in this matter, was not only compelling, it was disarming.
While it suffices to say that the JAMB Registrar, Professor Oloyede’s  statements which of course were based on facts,  defended the integrity of a foremost Nigerian institution, this writer aligns her thought with Chidoka’s,  that JAMB’s response is an example to follow. Thus, JAMB’s reaction and responsiveness should be made a minimum benchmark for all government agencies. Our universities should write case studies of this saga so other institutions can learn how to navigate social media and information management in the face of unrelenting attacks.
Given the front JAMB has put up,  I think INEC leadership owes the nation a great deal in defending its  integrity in the lingering 2023 Presidential election saga. They can save President Tinubu from a needless legitimacy question by behaving like JAMB. Like Osita expressed,  INEC  should step forward and explain what technical glitch they had on election day that marred the upload of form EC8As from polling units across the country. They should share with the public the interaction between the BVAS sim cards and their servers. They should share the audit report of their servers during the failed upload.
When Dominion, an election system company in the United States, was defamed by FOX TV, they went to court to defend the integrity of their system, and the court awarded them $700million. Maintaining the integrity of elections is fundamental to democracy.
If Osita’s suggestion is anything to go by, then INEC, as a public-funded institution, should share with Nigerians,  all forms EC8Bs collated at the 8809 wards, EC8Cs, collated at the 774 LGAs, and EC8Ds collated at the 36 States and fully upload all the EC8As on IREV after the fact using the original copies submitted by the Presiding Officers. This cannot be asking for too much from an institution led by a professor who spent $650.57 million (N303.17 billion) to conduct the 2023 election.
Like Jamb, INEC must be accountable to the people of Nigeria. They should step forward and restore the integrity and sanctity of elections in Nigeria and remove the cloud of illegitimacy surrounding the election of President Tinubu if their system worked as they are claiming. The courts can not remove the national disappointment, odium, and massive distrust of INEC’s election infrastructure, no matter the decision. \

By: Sylvia ThankGod-Amadi