THE chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Atahiru Jega, has a messianic role to play in re-inventing Nigeria's electoral system. Sincerely, he requires the wisdom of Solomon to pull Nigeria through the next phase of democracy, the path of which is already laced with ambiguities and deadly landmines. Nigerians are  the most impossible people on earth. Everybody is smart, wise and desperately self-righteous. Nigerians are winners day and night. It seems  they are never prepared to lose out in any game or contest. You can understand the win-win sense of an average Nigerian better by studying the manner he protests against a judgement of failure pronounced on him in any situation.

Take the case of a man who lost glaringly at the poll to a popular candidate for instance. Usually, he would be the first to rush to the election petitions tribunal to challenge the result, citing rigging of different forms as a basis. Nigerians do not exercise the spirit of sportsmanship when it comes to electoral matters. It is the reason election tribunals are still attending to complaints arising from the 2007 general election, even as we have less than five months to the commencement of the 2011 elections.

If a political party kicks out its chairman for stealing  the party's money and more for lacking the savvy to organise the party well, and then put him in the dock to register the offence against him; rather than admit guilt, the chairman would take to rebellion and insist vehemently that he remains the chairman, thus putting his party into factions. In Nigeria, there are cases of state governors and top government officials who were nabbed for stealing billions of naira following thorough investigations by anti-corruption agencies. They had equally rushed to the court to obtain injunctions to prevent them from being arrested. That is the kind of never-say-die spirit that Nigerians always exhibit.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo had put the issue of the ‘’impossibility’’ of Nigerians  on electoral matters in context not too long ago. He reasoned that Nigerians would always challenge the result of any election even if it was conducted by Jesus Christ. The former president drew incendiary reactions from across the board with that remark, yet the import remained sacrosanct and unassailable. Nigerians would never acknowledge the outcome of any election, no matter how free, fair, transparent and credible.This is to say that Jega has taken a thankless Job. By that, he must prove to be a saint by excelling in the task earlier taken up by the likes of Chief Ovie Whiskey, Michael Ani, Professor Eme Awa, Professor Humphrey Nwosu, Okon Uya, Dagogo Jack, Ephraim Akpata, Dr. Abel Guobadia and, lately, Professor Maurice Iwu, who had passed through the INEC as head, offered the much they could and ended up with a battered image and utterly soiled names.

There are reasons why Jega would perform the task of conducting the 2011 general election with trepidation. That he is reputed to be bold, stubborn and daring does not matter. First, he is sitting atop a heavy N87.7 billion just released to INEC by President Goodluck Jonathan, which is already attracting every ogling eye in Nigeria and abroad. There are some forces who believe that Jega must not spend that huge sum alone, and hence, have devised countless means of ending up as beneficiaries.

On the other hand, the National Assembly, which approved the sum for INEC, did with parting words. That is, Jega should go ahead with the conduct of the 2011 elections, now that he has the money, and then ensure that no drop of complaint comes from the manner he would be handling all electoral matters! The National Assembly meant that it would roast Jega alive if, at the end of the day, anyone raises a voice against INEC’s conduct during or after the next elections. You need to understand the reasons for the huge suspicion by the National Assembly against the Jega’s INEC.

A couple of days ago, Jega was at the mercy of the Senate and the House of Representatives, as he went cap in hand to the two chambers begging for the money. Jega must have visited the Three Arms Zone on that mission more than 15 times within two weeks. The legislators had queried him with brash tones, wanting to know why he dared to conclude that INEC required such a huge sum just for voters’ registration. They had demanded explanation on every item listed by Jega in INEC’s budget for conduct of the coming elections. They asked and asked questions. And Jega answered all, with professorial gusto and precision.