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[OPINION] AMUPITAN- “His-Story” Beckons

Published

2 months ago

October 29, 2025

By Israel Adebiyi

There is something about names that our generation has slowly forgotten – their power, their prophecy, their weight in defining purpose. In the African worldview, a name is never an accident; it is a covenant. Our forebears named their children with deliberation, believing that words shape destiny. They did not simply call a child by what sounded beautiful; they invoked meaning, heritage, and expectation. That is why the Yoruba man, in a blend of philosophy and poetry, says, “Orúkọ ń rò ènìyàn” – a name molds its bearer.

It was this philosophy that filled my mind recently while interacting with members of the National Youth Service Corps Editorial CDS. During the introductions, one of the names that caught my attention was “Ajobiewe.” It instantly set off a train of thought – could there be a shared essence between names like “Ajobiewe” and “Eweje”? Were these mere titles of grace, or metaphors for destiny? In that moment, I was reminded again that our ancestors were intentional people; they named not just for identification, but for instruction.

That meditation on names became even more striking with the emergence of a new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC): Joash Ojo Amupitan. His surname, AMUPITAN, loosely translates to “the one whose life will tell stories or bear testimonies.” It is an uncommon name, but in a nation desperate for uncommon results, perhaps Providence is sending a message. For too long, the stories from Nigeria’s electoral body have been grim – tales of betrayal, manipulation, and distrust. But with Amupitan, Nigeria stands once again at the threshold of possibility: can this man become the positive story we have waited to tell?

To understand the task before the new INEC boss, one must first confront the ruins of public perception. Few institutions in Nigeria suffer as much credibility deficit as the electoral commission. From one election cycle to another, INEC has been accused of playing foot soldier to political interests, shifting goalposts midway, and delivering outcomes that mock the people’s will. It is a sad irony that the very institution meant to uphold democracy is often viewed as its greatest saboteur.

The distrust is generational. From the annulled 1993 election that shattered the hopes of millions, to the bitterly contested 2007 and 2019 polls, Nigerians have seen enough to be skeptical. Even the 2023 general election, heralded by promises of technological innovation through the BVAS and IReV systems, ended in disillusionment for many. Citizens who had hoped that technology would outsmart human manipulation were left heartbroken by what they perceived as selective transparency. Confidence in the system has been badly eroded.

This is the “itan” – the story – that Amupitan inherits. And it is not a flattering one. Yet therein lies his mandate: to rewrite the narrative, to tell a story different from those who came before him.

History has a way of testing every man it calls. For Amupitan, this appointment is both an opportunity and a trial. It is an opportunity to restore faith in one of Nigeria’s most important democratic institutions; but it is also a trial of character, courage, and conviction. He must choose whether to be remembered as another custodian of a broken system or as the one who dared to fix it.

In doing so, he must first recognize that electoral credibility does not rest merely on gadgets or grand pronouncements. It rests on integrity and institutional will. A thousand reforms mean little if those who implement them lack the courage to stand by the truth.

The new INEC Chairman must, therefore, prioritize transparency and communication. He must understand that Nigerians are not asking for perfection, but for honesty. He must rebuild confidence, not through press conferences, but through consistent and verifiable actions that prove the commission’s neutrality. Every election supervised by INEC, every rerun, every by-election must bear the unmistakable stamp of fairness.

The truth is that many of INEC’s failures stem not from technical limitations, but from internal rot. A structure compromised from within cannot deliver credibility externally. The new chairman must therefore embark on a bold internal reform – one that enforces discipline, integrity, and accountability within the ranks of electoral officers.

Every election year, Nigerians hear of “compromised ad-hoc staff,” “tampered results,” or “missing materials.” These are not coincidences; they are the consequences of a weak enforcement culture. To change the story, Amupitan must clean the house. He must be willing to confront the entrenched interests within the institution that have grown fat on impunity.

There is also the urgent need to strengthen collaboration with civil society groups and the media. These watchdogs are not enemies of the commission; they are partners in accountability. Opening INEC’s processes to scrutiny will not weaken it – it will legitimize it. Transparency, after all, is the oxygen of democracy.

Technology, while essential, is not the silver bullet. The BVAS, the IReV, and other innovations introduced in recent years have shown both their potential and their limits. Machines can transmit data, but they cannot transmit conscience.

Amupitan must, therefore, pair technological innovation with ethical reform. There must be stronger vetting and training of ad-hoc staff, better communication with party agents, and clearer contingency plans for network failures and litigation. The aim is not just to conduct elections, but to conduct credible ones that leave no room for avoidable suspicion.

No democracy survives long when the people lose faith in the ballot. That is Nigeria’s greatest danger – not coups, not protests, but apathy. When citizens begin to believe that their votes no longer matter, they retreat from the civic space, and democracy slowly dies.

Amupitan’s task, then, is not just administrative; it is spiritual. He must rekindle belief. He must make Nigerians dream again of elections where competence triumphs over manipulation, and where winners celebrate without the sour taste of stolen mandates.

This will require humility – the willingness to listen to public grievances, admit institutional lapses, and take corrective action promptly. Leadership in INEC must shed arrogance and embrace service.

But even as we place demands on the new INEC Chairman, we must also turn to the political class. Electoral credibility is not the sole responsibility of the umpire; it is the collective responsibility of all who play the game. Politicians who see public office as a do-or-die affair undermine democracy more than any faulty server could.

Nigeria’s political actors must learn to win honorably and lose gracefully. They must stop weaponizing ethnicity, religion, and violence to subvert the people’s will. For once, the pursuit of power should give way to the pursuit of purpose.

The judiciary, too, must rise above compromise. When courts deliver judgments that contradict the spirit of democracy, they do not just decide cases – they shape national destiny.

Democracy is not a spectator sport. Citizens cannot demand accountability from institutions they do not engage with. Nigerians must therefore reclaim ownership of the process. From voter registration to election day monitoring, the people must be involved, informed, and insistent.

Civil society must keep the pressure on. The media must continue to tell the stories that matter, without fear or favor. And ordinary Nigerians must understand that participation is power – the ballot, when used with conviction, is still mightier than the bullet.

Names, after all, are prophecies. Amupitan – the one who will be used to tell stories. The question is: what story will be told of him? Will it be another lamentation of lost opportunity, or a narrative of national redemption?

In a time when Nigeria’s democracy trembles under the weight of cynicism, his appointment is an invitation to hope. The story he writes will not be written with ink, but with integrity; not with words, but with actions.

At the end of his tenure, may the stories told of him not be of betrayal and bitterness, but of courage and credibility. May his name – Amupitan – indeed become a testimony, not just for himself, but for a nation that desperately needs one.

News

Edo Assembly Charges Contractor Handling Ekekhuan Road To Accelerate Work

Published

55 minutes ago

December 15, 2025

Editor

The Edo State House of Assembly Special Ad-hoc Committee on Project Inspection has charged the contractor handling the Upper Ekehuan Road project to accelerate work to enable residents enjoy the dividends of democracy promised by Governor Monday Okpebholo.

Chairman of the committee, Hon. Addeh Isibor, said this during inspection at Upper Ekehuan Road in Igo Community, Ovia North East Local Government Area,

He said the inspection was part of the House’s continuous assessment of projects being executed by the Okpebholo administration across the state.

Hon. Isibor noted that although heavy rainfall posed challenges to full assessment of some sections of the road, the committee was impressed that the contractor remained on site despite the adverse weather conditions.

In his remarks, Hon. Kingsley Ugabi said the project reflected the governor’s sensitivity and compassion toward the people of the area, stressing that communities in Oredo East and Ovia North East were already witnessing tangible dividends of democracy.

Similarly, Hon. Donald Okogbe described the Upper Ekehuan Road as a major and legacy project for Edo State.

He commended the quality of the toll-bin works so far, while urging the contractor to significantly increase the pace of construction to meet public expectations.

Okogbe added that the committee had communicated its concerns to the Commissioner for Works, expressing confidence that discussions would lead to improved performance, as Edo people desire a project that is both durable and delivered on schedule.

Providing technical updates, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Projects, Engr. Phoebe Williams-Bello, disclosed that the 12.6-kilometre road has recorded over one kilometre of toll-bin construction on both sides, with about 850 metres of earthworks completed, noting that persistent rainfall has been the major constraint.

The Commissioner for Works, Hon. Felix Akhabue, assured that the ministry would intensify monitoring to ensure faster delivery.

He expressed optimism that with the onset of the dry season, construction activities would advance more rapidly.

The committee also inspected other ongoing projects, including Catholic Charismatic Renewal Road, Ugbihoko Quarters, Palace Road along Upper Mission Road, Ekiuwa–UNIBEN Road and Temboga Road, where contractors were commended for the quality and consistency of work so far.

News

Out-of-school: Group To Enroll Adolescent Mothers In Bauchi

Published

5 days ago

December 10, 2025

Editor

Women Child Youth Health and Education Initiative (WCY) with support from Malala Education Champion Network, have charted a way to enroll adolescent mothers to access education in Bauchi schools.

Rashida Mukaddas, the Executive Director, WCY stated this in Bauchi on Wednesday during a one-day planning and inception meeting with education stakeholders on Adolescent Mothers Education Access (AMEA) project of the organisation.

According to her, the project targeted three Local Government Areas of Bauchi, Misau and Katagum for implementation in the three years project.

She explained that all stakeholders in advancing education in the state would be engaged by the organisation to advocate for Girl-Child education.

The target, she added, was to ensure that as many as married adolescent mothers and girls were enrolled back in school in the state.

“Today marks an important step in our collective commitment to ensuring that every girl in Bauchi state, especially adolescent who are married, pregnant, or young mothers has the right, opportunity, and support to continue and complete her education.

“This project has been designed to address the real and persistent barriers that prevent too many adolescent mothers from returning to school or staying enrolled.

“It is to address the barriers preventing adolescent mothers from continuing and completing their education and adopting strategies that will create an enabling environment that safeguard girls’ rights to education while removing socio-cultural and economic obstacles,” said Mukaddas.

She further explained to the stakeholders that the success of the project depended on the strength of their collaboration, the alignment of their actions, and the commitments they forge toward the implementation of the project.

Also speaking, Mr Kamal Bello, the Project Officer of WCY, said that the collaboration of all the education stakeholders in the state with the organisation could ensure stronger enforcement of the Child Rights Law.

This, he said, could further ensure effective re-entry and retention policies for adolescent girls, increased community support for girls’ education and a Bauchi state where no girl was left behind because of marriage, pregnancy, or motherhood.

“It is observed that early marriage is one of the problems hindering girls’ access to education.

“This organisation is working toward ensuring that girls that have dropped out of school due to early marriage are re-enrolled back in school,” he said.

Education stakeholders present at the event included representatives from the state Ministry of Education, Justice, Budget and Economic Planning and Multilateral Coordination.

Others were representatives from International Federation of Women Lawyers, Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE), Bauchi state Agency for Mass Education, Civil Society Organization, Religious and Traditional institutions, among others.

They all welcomed and promised to support the project so as to ensure its effective implementation and achieve its set objectives in the state.

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OPINION: Fubara, Adeleke And The Survival Dance

Published

5 days ago

December 10, 2025

Editor

By Israel Adebiyi

You should be aware by now that the dancing governor, Ademola Adeleke has danced his last dance in the colours of the Peoples Democratic Party. His counterpart in Rivers, Siminalayi Fubara has elected to follow some of his persecutors to the All Progressive Congress, after all “if you can’t beat them, you can join them.”
Politics in Nigeria has always been dramatic, but every now and then a pattern emerges that forces us to pause and think again about where our democracy is heading. This week on The Nation’s Pulse, that pattern is what I call the politics of survival. Two events in two different states have brought this into sharp focus. In both cases, sitting governors elected on the platform of the same party have found new homes elsewhere. Their decisions may look sudden, but they reveal deeper issues that have been growing under the surface for years.

In Rivers, Governor Siminalayi Fubara has crossed into the All Progressives Congress. In Osun, Governor Ademola Adeleke has moved to the Accord Party. These are not small shifts. These are moves by people at the top of their political careers, people who ordinarily should be the ones holding their parties together. When those at the highest levels start fleeing, it means the ground beneath them has become too shaky to stand on. It means something has broken.

A Yoruba proverb captures it perfectly: Iku to n pa oju gba eni, owe lo n pa fun ni. The death that visits your neighbour is sending you a message. The crisis that has engulfed the Peoples Democratic Party did not start today. It has been building like an untreated infection. Adeleke saw the signs early. He watched senior figures fight openly. He watched the party fail to resolve its zoning battles. He watched leaders undermine their own candidates. At some point, you begin to ask yourself a simple question: if this house collapses today, what happens to me? In Osun, where the competition between the two major parties has always been fierce, Adeleke was not going to sit back and become another casualty of a party that refused to heal itself. Survival became the most reasonable option.

His case makes sense when you consider the political temperature in Osun. This is a state where the opposition does not sleep. Every misstep is amplified. Every weakness is exploited. Adeleke has spent his time in office under constant scrutiny. Add that to the fact that the national structure of his party is wobbly, divided and uncertain about its future, and the move begins to look less like betrayal and more like self-preservation.

Rivers, however, tells a slightly different story. Fubara’s journey has been a long lesson in endurance. From the moment he emerged as governor, it became clear he was stepping into an environment loaded with expectations that had nothing to do with governance. His political godfather was not content with being a supporter. He wanted control. He wanted influence. He wanted obedience. Every decision was interpreted through the lens of loyalty. From the assembly crisis to the endless reconciliation meetings, to the barely hidden power struggles, Fubara spent more time fighting shadows than building the state he was elected to lead.

It soon became clear that he was governing through a maze of minefields. Those who should have been allies began to treat him like an accidental visitor in the Government House. The same legislators who were meant to be partners in governance suddenly became instruments of pressure. Orders came from places outside the official structure. Courtrooms turned into battlegrounds. At some point, even the national leadership of his party seemed unsure how to tame the situation. These storms did not come in seasons, they came in waves. One misunderstanding today. Another in two weeks. Another by the end of the month. Anyone watching closely could see that the governor was in a permanent state of emergency.

So when the winds started shifting again and lawmakers began to realign, those who understood the undercurrents knew exactly what was coming. Fubara knew too. A man can only take so much. After months of attacks, humiliations and attempts to cage his authority, the move to another party was not just political. It was personal. He had given the reconciliation process more chances than most would. He had swallowed more insults than any governor should. He had watched institutions bend and twist under the weight of private interests. In many ways, his defection is a declaration that he has finally chosen to protect himself.

But the bigger question is how we got here. How did two governors in two different parts of the country end up taking the same decision for different but related reasons? The answer goes back to the state of internal democracy in our parties. No party in Nigeria today fully practices the constitution it claims to follow. They have elaborate rules on paper but very loose habits in reality. They talk about fairness, but their primaries are often messy. They preach unity, but their caucuses are usually divided into rival camps. They call themselves democratic institutions, yet dissent is treated as disloyalty.

Political parties are supposed to be the engine rooms of democracy. They are the homes where ideas are debated, leaders are groomed, and future candidates are shaped. In Nigeria, they increasingly look like fighting arenas where the loudest voices drown out everyone else. When leaders ignore their own constitutions, the structure begins to crack. When factions begin to run parallel meetings, the foundation gets weaker. When decisions are forced down the throats of members, people begin making private plans for their future.

No governor wants to govern in chaos. No politician wants to be the last one standing in a sinking ship. This is why defections are becoming more common. A party that cannot manage itself cannot manage its members. And members who feel exposed will always look for safer ground.

But while these moves make sense for Adeleke and Fubara personally, the people they govern often become the ones left in confusion. Voters choose candidates partly because of party ideology, even if our ideologies are weak. They expect stability. They expect continuity. They expect that the mandate they gave will remain intact. So when a governor shifts political camp without prior consultation, the people feel blindsided. They begin to wonder whether their votes carry weight in a system where elected officials can switch platforms in the blink of an eye.

This is where the politics of survival becomes dangerous for democracy. If leaders keep prioritizing their personal safety over party stability, the system begins to lose coherence. Parties lose their identity. Elections lose their meaning. Governance becomes a game of musical chairs. Today you are here. Tomorrow you are there. Next week you may be somewhere else. The people become bystanders in a democracy that is supposed to revolve around them.

Rivers and Osun should serve as reminders that political parties need urgent restructuring. They need to rebuild trust internally. They need to enforce their constitutions consistently. They need to treat members as stakeholders, not spectators. When members feel protected, they stay. When they feel targeted, they run. This pattern will continue until parties learn the simple truth that power is not built by intimidation, but by inclusion.

There is also the question of what these defections mean for governance. When governors are dragged into endless party drama, service delivery suffers. Time that should be spent on roads, schools, hospitals, water projects and job creation ends up being spent in meetings, reconciliations and press briefings. Resources that should strengthen the state end up funding political battles. The public loses twice. First as witnesses to the drama. Then as victims of delayed or abandoned development.

In Rivers, the months of tension slowed down the government. Initiatives were stalled because the governor was busy trying to survive political ambush. In Osun, Adeleke had to juggle governance with internal fights in a crumbling party structure. Imagine what they could have achieved if they were not constantly looking over their shoulders.

Now, as both men settle into new political homes, the final question is whether these new homes will provide stability or merely temporary shelter. Nigeria’s politics teaches one consistent lesson. New alliances often come with new expectations. New platforms often come with new demands. And new godfathers often come with new conditions. Whether Adeleke and Fubara have truly found peace or simply bought time is something only time will tell.

But as citizens, what we must insist on is simple. The politics of survival should not become the politics of abandonment. Our leaders can fight for their political life, but they must not forget that they hold the people’s mandate. The hunger, poverty, insecurity and infrastructural decay that Nigerians face will not be solved by defection. It will be solved by steady leadership and functional governance.

The bigger lesson from Rivers and Osun is clear. If political parties in Nigeria continue on this path of disunity and internal sabotage, they will keep losing their brightest and most strategic figures. And if leaders keep running instead of reforming the system, then we will wake up one day to a democracy where the people are treated as an afterthought.

Governors may survive the storms. Parties may adjust to new alignments. But the people cannot keep paying the price. Nigeria deserves a democracy that works for the many, not the few. That is the real pulse of the nation.