According to a recent insightful post at Nigerian Curiosity, there is a looming civilian coup in Nigeria, and we are not paying enough attention. According to several clear pointers, it is not likely that the next election holds on schedule if it holds at all. A new chairman for the electoral commission has not been appointed, and the acting one has confessed that there are no enough funds, infrastructure or time to conduct the a free and fair election next year. The next president is expected to be signed in on May 29, 2011 and the electoral body needs at least six months to prepare for the election if it must be credible. INEC must also leave at least four months (I don’t know if this bit is in the constitution) between the time the new politicians are elected and the time they’re sworn in – so as to give room for all needed litigations.

The questions are:

When will the new chairman of the electoral body be announced by the president?

When will the new Electoral Laws be passed by the Senate in time to guide the new INEC head to conduct a free and fair election?

What does the constitution say about a situation where polls are inconclusive by the end of the four years tenure of incumbent politicians?

Is anyone really listening that none of these seem feasible in the next couple of months due to the nonchalance of politicians that stand to gain so much from the chaos that will mandate them to retain their seats in the absence of an election?

My Suggestions

Let us all send strong letters, opinions, articles and phone calls in the way of our elected officials to do the right thing right now. Let’s have your own suggestions. The time to act is now.