Dr. Attahiru Jega has devoted the better part of his life struggling to promote transparency, good governance and democracy in his home country of Nigeria.  An astute intellectual with a strong sense of ethics, Jega earned his PhD in political science from Northwestern University and subsequently entered Nigerian academia as research professor and lecturer. 

In addition to his professorial duties, Jega has spent much of his time working with Nigerian civil society organizations to change fundamental aspects of the country’s ineffective political system.  Believing that his country would one day be freed from the shackles of military rule and that democracy will not only succeed but will become a way of life, Jega actively opposed Nigeria’s military government while serving as vice-chancellor to Bayero University. 

Despite all of his efforts to alter the balance of power in favor of the Nigerian people, Jega’s greatest challenge and opportunity arose when he was appointed as chairman of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in June 2010.  Established to objectively oversee elections in Nigeria, INEC lost much of its credibility after the failed 2007 elections which saw rampant voter rigging, intimidation and violence.  As Jega took over leadership of INEC in June 2010 there was not much optimism looking forward to Nigeria’s 2011 elections.  

Faced with the enormous tasks of rooting out corruption within the commissions’ ranks, altering the public’s perception of INEC, and adequately preparing the country for credible elections – all before the scheduled January 2011 election date – Jega focused his time to fundamentally change the way Nigeria conducted elections. 

First, Jega organized a massive electronic voter registration exercise to overhaul the existing flawed national electoral register.  Realizing there would not be adequate time to release the new electronic voter registration software, clean-up the new register and thoroughly prepare for elections, Jega called for the postponement of the elections from January until April, 2011.  This window allowed him to apply necessary reforms such as recruiting and training members of the National Youth Service Corps to serve as polling staff, as well as implementing a modified open ballot system on polling day.  The delay also provided INEC ample time to complete a comprehensive Code of Conduct and properly train polling officials. 

The 2011 elections, although far from perfect, were recognized by international organizations,including IRI, as a significant improvement from 2007, and were the most successful in Nigeria’s brief history.  Led by Jega’s INEC, Nigeria took a monumental step forward in its quest to become a more transparent democracy.

In a span of eight short months, Jega transformed INEC from an unorganized, corrupt bureaucracy into a respectable, independent entity.  While there is still much to do to increase the transparency in Nigerian politics, it is clear that the leadership of Jega has brought a renewed sense of optimism to INEC and the political process in Nigeria. 

###