The RSVP diaries, Episode 5: 'Frustration'.

On Thursday, my laptop developed a fault. It wasn't loading the 'OpenVR' software. This happened at just past 12 noon, and it was Friday morning that it was taken for repairs. I don't know when i'll get it back but if the experience of my colleagues is anything to go by, I could be out of action for a couple more days at least. One polling unit in Iganmu has been inactive since monday.

I'm told that all laptops that have serious problems end up at INEC Lagos HQ, but I can't help feeling like the whole process is too slow.I would have thought that a lot of INEC/Zinox IT personnel would have been deployed throughout the country BEFORE the exercise to take care of technical issues in a timely manner. There is no such rapid response system in place. All this, among others, means that an extension to the exercise is a certainty.

This doesn't do much for me though. The longer i'm inactive, the more my frustration mounts. I can't wait to get back in the field and match the enthusiasm of the electorate. My code is 24/05/06/019. INEC/Zinox, please make it happen soonest.

The RSVP diaries, Episode 4: 'Technical Issues with the OpenVR software'

After two very frustrating days at the start, the voter registration began to gather momentum as INEC reacted to complaints. The last three days have seen me register 54, 70, then 74 people. I hope to keep increasing that number, because the enthusiasm from the public is certainly there.

In spite of the major problem, that of the scanners, being fixed there remain a number of bugs i have noticed after 5 days.

1. Sometimes the temporary voter's cards get printed out without the Voter Identification Number. I then have to hand write on the slip.

2. After the finger prints are taken, a handful of the entries have been flagged as 'potential duplicates' and are therefore pending approval by someone with a higher clearance level. If everyone has a unique finger print, how can it then be a duplicate?

3. Today, the system required a restart about 3 times because the counter would go blank and all the saved records would momentarily disappear. They are restored when the system reboots.

Feel free to share your own observations here. Day 6 is upon us.

The RSVP diaries: Episode 3: 'We have lift off!'

Yesterday, I hoped for a big improvement and that's exactly what happened. Technical support arrived my ward (Iganmu) this morning in the shape of an update to the 'OpenVR' Registration Software. It's taken a little while, but INEC is beginning to react to the complaints. Expect widespread reports of greater satisfaction with the process in the coming days. My total today was 54, up from 16 yesterday. My average is just under 8 minutes per person but for the last couple of hours it went down to 6 minutes. My personal aim is to register 70 people or more a day.

Apart from the update to the software, the placement of fingers on the scanner is key. There is a little square that MUST be covered by the finger for the print to be captured. The use of methylated spirit to clean the face of the scanner also helps, but I hope the update gets to as many machines, as quickly as possible. It is the missing piece.

One part of being a registration officer that is overlooked is the need for people skills. In times of frustration, keeping calm and helping registrants do same is important. Through everything, I remember to smile and be of good humour. It's stressful, but the appreciation from total strangers makes it worthwhile. Also worthwhile is the realization that I am part of a monumental project that could very well set the tone for a crucial next ten years.

If you are reading this and you haven't registered, please do. Please be patient with the process. Encourage others to be patient as well. This is too important. Tomorrow is another day to RSVP.

The RSVP diaries, Episode 2: 'You're only as good as your equipment'

Day 2 began in uncertain fashion, especially for those of us with the faulty finger print scanners. There were so many questions as I drove to Sari- Iganmu: 'is there a plan B?', 'how fast will INEC respond to the complaints?', 'will I actually do ANYTHING today?'

In spite of the uncertainty, frustration was never an option because this is a national assignment unlike any other in recent times. So, forge ahead I did. Technical support from wasn't forthcoming today, but we still went out into the field, and had to use our wits to register our countrymen.

As expected, the battle with the scanners was an uphill one. I have to say again that Zinox royally messed this one up. Even the laptops are not up to scratch. We did get some momentum though, only after we figured out how to make the scanners respond. Someone MIGHT find the following points useful:

1. Start with the finger printing first. I got no luck AT ALL entering the names before taking fingerprints.

2. Make sure the fingers of the registrant cover the face of the scanner completely, so it will read quicker. Holding the finger down for better contact also helps.

It wasn't all a struggle though. The residents of Adeolu Street were full of good humour, even though their tempers started to fray (understandably) as the day progressed. There's this one man, Mr. Iheanacho, who ends every other statement with 'confirmento confirm'. He's just jokes.

Only 2 people were registered on Day 1, but 16 on Day 2. I'm aiming for another big improvement tomorrow.

The RSVP diaries: episode 1.

This is the story of a youth who has complained for a long time about Nigeria, and finally gets a chance to contribute his quota.

Ever since the DG of NYSC announced during orientation camp that Youth Corpers will be used for the registration and elections this year, i have waited for this day. To be a part of the process and try to make a little change, to put in a little effort, is something not many can lay claim to. Some WANT to be involved, but can't. Some CAN get involved, but are pessimistic about things changing so they do nothing. Some CAN do more, but don't because of the same reason: they feel nothing will change. I on the other hand CAN get involved, IS getting involved, and i AM optimistic about change. So i feel blessed. Yes, optimism is a blessing, skepticism is a curse. Quote me.

However, the road to this participation was fairly stressful. Dealing with civil servants is an exercise in perseverance, especially the INEC officials in Apapa. Maybe i'm just complaining. Anyway, after 2 days of training and endless time on one queue or the other, i ended up at Sari-Iganmu, just off the expressway that goes to Mile 2. The making of a railway line that links one end of Lagos to the other is already well underway. Let me not digress.

I found very enthusiastic residents, who were very warm and helpful to us, and helped us to set up. The big disappointment of today were the finger print scanners from Zinox. It seems that we in Apapa got most of the bad ones, because registration virtually ground to a halt across the local government, and even beyond. Zinox can do a lot better than that. They have just given other local companies a bad name. I hope INEC has a back up plan that can go into effect early tomorrow morning because there is a tremendous amount of expectation and desire among ordinary Nigerians to get involved in the process. People are waking up. It is something that can't be properly grasped unless you are walking the streets with a box marked 'INEC', being stopped every few feet by ordinary people asking: 'will you come tomorrow?'

However, some youths are going to have to stretch themselves physically and deny themselves a few comforts for a short while to keep up with this enthusiasm. My day began at 7am, ended at 8pm and It seems I am condemned to missing Manchester United's game at Spurs. The things I do for my country. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Re-Evaluating Dele Momodu

When Dele Momodu announced his candidacy for the Presidency, I was one of the many who were taken quite aback. It was very hard for me to picture him as the President of Nigeria. That was because I saw him more as someone who belonged in celebrity circles, being the owner of OVATION magazine. Before that, I followed his articles in ThisDay on Saturday so I knew he had substance. Even then, I was very skeptical because he had never held any public office. In the months since, as presidential candidates began to come forward, I have had cause to re-evaluate my opinion of his campaign in light of what Nigeria needs now, and also in light of his antecedents.

To give us a better chance of achieving rapid economic growth, we the voters have to look outside the ruling party for our next president and also elect credible opposition candidates into as many positions as we can find them. Many of us actually know that the PDP are ruining us, but we don’t believe they can be defeated at the polls. It’s about time we realised that our votes give us ultimate power. Only by making better choices can we ensure better governance. If we continue to vote for candidates for sentimental reasons, things will keep going wrong. The following are the reasons why I think Dele Momodu deserves a fair hearing.

Ideology: Of all the candidates, he has the closest thing to an ideology. This goes back to his close association with MKO Abiola and the Hope ’93 campaign. Mr. Momodu leans to the left, to social welfare, just like the Social Democratic Party platform on which the late MKO ran. Many of the policies he proposes today are very similar to the ‘Farewell to Poverty’ manifesto. I think the presence of some kind of ideology is important, because in this country it’s all about grabbing for power without knowing what you’re going to do with it. The result is a nation that lurches from one policy to another, creating uncertainty in every sector. It is time we started to demand some evidence of an ideology from our candidates for political office.

Fresh Perspective: One of the biggest reasons to look beyond the PDP is that we would get a fresh pair of eyes to tackle our numerous problems. Einstein defined insanity as ‘doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results’. After 12 years of one party, and 3 presidents, Nigeria is still where it is. What we have had is not progress, its mediocrity. Aside Nuhu Ribadu, Dele Momodu is the only other candidate that represents a shift from the status quo. It has been largely the same people leading us for years, with nothing to show for it. Shall we persist with this insanity?

Success in Private endeavour: The vast majority of those who seek elective office in Nigeria are professional politicians. They don’t know how to do anything else. Whatever businesses they have are sustained by government patronage, based on their constant politicking. Dele Momodu has managed to build a business, a brand, from scratch, from outside the corridors of power with a loan from his uncle. In today’s Nigeria, this is not common. Before starting the Ovation brand, he was one of the leading journalists in Nigeria as Editor of Classique aged just 30. In an era of ‘sudden wealth’, his is an outstanding example of success achieved the right way. His experience as a successful entrepreneur will be of huge benefit to this nation riddled with inefficiency at every level.

Principles: In the aftermath of June 12, Dele Momodu was a presenter on Radio Freedom (Radio Kudirat) in 1995, at the risk of his life. He was one of those imprisoned by IBB, and then he went into exile to start over. In my opinion, his role in those difficult times is not known by enough people. Many in the SDP eventually took jobs in Abacha’s government and became PDP stalwarts, but he didn’t. It would have been very easy for him to join the PDP, but he didn’t. Dele Momodu apparently understands that ultimately, evil association corrupts good manners. Even his exit from the Labour Party was based on principle, in the light of statements by the LP National Chairman that he ‘did not have the mandate to field a presidential candidate’. He has now pitched his tent with the National Conscience Party founded by the late great Gani Fawehinmi, whom he was very close to.

Resilience: When he first announced his candidacy, many people wrote him off but he has stuck to his task, trying to win voters over in spite of the odds. This is a lot more than can be said of a couple of other candidates who seemed promising but have dropped out of the race. This kind of resilience is necessary in trying to tackle this country’s numerous problems.

How can anyone clean up a system he is part of? If we agree that the PDP is the problem with Nigeria, having held power for so long and done so little with it, how does electing a PDP candidate get us out of this mess? Now is not the time for ethnic sentiments, religious sentiments, or any other kind. All it has gotten us so far is several hundred dead in Jos, kidnappings in the East, Boko Haram and bombings on Independence Day, Christmas Eve & New Year’s Eve. What other proof does the electorate need to look at alternative candidates?

The usual way of doing things have not worked for us. We still complain about the same things now that we complained about in 1999. Nothing has changed. If we go down the same path, do we really think that the outcome will be different? There is absolutely no reason not to consider Dele Momodu as a potential President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. What the electorate should demand is three presidential debates where the aspirants will field the tough questions and show their grasp of the issues and the soundness of their solutions at the end of which the best man wins. It is very important to register to vote, but if we elect the wrong candidates because we don’t take the time to check what they stand for, it will be another long 4 years.