I sincerely could never have imagined that in my life time, under constitutional rule, with a deep and broad mandate, a zoologist from Bayelsa, one of our youngest states, could rise to become Commander-in-Chief.
There is no better indicator that, while much remains to be achieved, our beloved Nigeria is slowly but surely maturing politically. Almost unwittingly, we are strengthening our democratic practice.
And we must acknowledge and be thankful of the fact that Jonathan has taken it upon himself to diligently promote one Nigeria not only in words but in action.
Without the acceleration of electoral reforms achieved as a result of President Jonathan’s political will, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, would not have been able to guarantee relatively free and fair elections in 2011.
While the Jonathan administration lays claim, and rightly so, for assuring that INEC could carry out its work unimpeded by what had become almost routine ‘bottlenecks’ and practices in the administration of Nigerian elections hitherto, we must not forget the role popular opinion played as well.
Much remains to be done, but we are now more confident that INEC can become an effective and independent institution.
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