For Obo, the new electoral commissioner

Once in a while, some appointments to public office in Nigeria make one excited and thinking that maybe we will turn the corner for good. Of course, I know that public office has also turned out as the crematorium of otherwise brilliant and patriotic citizens.

One could also be forgiven for asking rhetorically, “What good can only one person make in this jungle of ours?” But as the English say, hope springs eternal.

It is in that optimistic sense I see the appointment of my friend and colleague, Obo Effanga, as an electoral commissioner with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). It was a routine press release from the office of the Acting President announcing the nominations of new electoral commissioners for senate screening and as I scanned the list, his name caught my attention. Immediately I called him and he confirmed that truly he is the one. Our discussion that day subsequently ended on an interrogation note of whether he had thought it through and taken notice of the obvious landmines on the way of an electoral commissioner.

Now, that was not the first time we would have such a conversation on public service and its pitfalls. Many times he and I had lamented how many of our generation, 45 to 55 years, have been continually shunted out of the public space. He raised again the story of his home state, Cross River, and the somehow closed political space before concluding, “Wale, we can’t continue lamenting, we must get involved.” I know we are in the days of fickle minded people with shifting loyalties and affection, but I’m proud to say Obo is my friend and brother. Though a cynical senior colleague once told me that a friend in government is lost forever, I hope that Obo will prove me wrong. He should, as he is well equipped and trained for the new role he is stepping into.

My path first crossed Obo’s in 2006 when we both assumed duties at ActionAid International, as it was then known, as part of its expanded programme in Nigeria. Our positions were newly created so we had to start from the scratch, he as a parliamentary liaison officer with me as communication officer. He is also a journalist like me but with the added ‘trouble’ of being a lawyer. Our families were in Lagos and so we were Abuja ‘bachelors’ with its attendant loneliness and temptations but we acquitted ourselves well on that score. We both struggled with the idea of a regimented working hours with the HR manager practically forcing us out for better work-life balance. On closer interaction, I discovered that Obo ticked all the boxes and we could have exchanged parents without missing anything. Sons of teacher parents, we both love reading and writing, football also featured prominently in our hobbies to the extent that we nearly lost our lives trying to watch the Super Eagles at the Abuja stadium in 2006.

But Obo beat me in two areas totally. His extreme fastidiousness bears resemblance only to my mother’s and having accepted that I cannot measure up to her standard in that area, I knew she would welcome him as a long lost son. He loves to cook as well and cooking is an art for Obo, few people I know enjoy it like he does. A testament to his fidelity to friendship was that he refused to collect money when I lived with him in Abuja, a gesture that speaks eloquently of his kind heart. I’ve gone to all these to show that I know Obo fairly well. Like I told him after the senate screening, he could not afford to disappoint us, his friends and associates, who know his capacity and skills. He has done extensive work with the ‘Situation Room’, a coalition of groups that usually monitor and report on our elections so he knows what goes on during elections in Nigeria.

Even before the revelation coming out from previous elections on the conduct of INEC staff, especially the state electoral commissioners, many of us knew they were not above board in conducting elections. I’ve warned my friend not to take a bribe, as it would be a shame, not only for him but also for those of us his associates to see him docked for collecting bribe from politicians. Too often, many in public office have not brought to bear the attributes that qualified them for appointment originally in discharging their duties; Obo cannot afford to join that list. He should also be willing to learn as there are INEC staff that are more versatile and experienced than him, he should listen to their counsel. To his credit too, I can fairly say that he is not a partisan in the Nigerian project and political parties should therefore not worry about his fairness.

A warning for him though: I’ve had my fingers burnt in the past when I staked my reputation on friends in public service. Not only did they fumble in extraordinary ways, they cut themselves off from those of us who knew them before they got to the office. Prove me right, Obo, this time around. By the way, don’t throw away your old line so that we can still reach you whenever we want.