Getting ready for Anambra's polls

This is the beginning of the election session in Nigeria. Later in the year, all political parties will hold their congresses to pick their candidates for the 2010 elections. Judged by the acrimony and, as yet, unsettled lawsuits of May 2007 elections, there is a lot be done before 2011. The much -trumpeted reform of the electoral system is bogged down at the National Assembly.

The Senate has promised to complete its own part of the work by March; that leaves the rest of the job to the House of Representatives to do its share - and then a joint meeting between the two arms of the National Assembly to produce the final copy for the president's assent.

But before all that is the February 6 governorship poll in Anambra State. This election is crucial for several reasons. It is the first major election since the disputed 2007 elections, with a first term incumbent governor among those contesting for the post. Many Nigerians will be watching to see what improvements, if any, have been made by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) since the collective soul-searching that trailed the last outing at the polls.

Then there is unusual array of candidates squaring up this time around. In all, there are over 25 candidates and their running mates in the race, although only a respectable seven are considered serious enough to have any real chance of victory.

Among these are two former governors, Chris Ngige and Chris Uba of the Action Congress and Labour Party respectively. There is the incumbent governor, Peter Obi of All Peoples Grand Alliance (APGA), and a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Chukwuma Soludo who is the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party. Naturally, this crowded field means that the candidates are almost stepping on one another's toes as they criss-cross Anambra. It has also raised a lot of tension in the state, as the candidates seek to outdo each other in levelling accusations and amplifying alleged misdeeds.

Incidentally, among the favourite topics of ‘discourse' are allegations about plots to manipulate the voting exercise - by using political thugs or currying the support and complicity of electoral officials. One of the gratifying aspects of the campaign process in Anambra State, so far, is that it has been largely devoid of the feared violence - except for occasional flashes here and there. But there is no guarantee that, as the voting day nears and the likelihood of defeat appears stark to some their thought will not turn to more desperate measures.

At a recent meeting with the candidates in Abuja, the Inspector General of Police, Ogbonna Onovo warned the politicians to reject the temptation to use violence as one of their campaign tools. The police chief said that security reports available to him indicate that politicians have been busy recruiting armed gangs to help them with rigging during the election or to perpetrate mayhem by either scaring voters away or frightening them into voting for specific candidates. Mr. Onovo did not state what steps are being taken by the police to frustrate these plans, but he reeled out the names of a few people he said are being watched and described locations where recruitment and training of suspected thugs has been taking place.

The police also said it is deploying some 15,000 officers from both the Anambra State command and those of neighbouring states to checkmate any plot to foment trouble during the voting. It is debatable if this number will be enough to keep peace in a state as potentially volatile as Anambra. Anything could happen, either in the run-up to the voting, during the election proper or, more likely, after the results have been declared. We cannot afford to get anything wrong with this election. The police authority should be as generous as it can in sending contingents to Anambra State as a sign of their commitment to ensure that peace reigns.

What have we got to lose by having about 30,000 policemen in the state? It would even be a good thing if they didn't have to lift a finger.