February 10, (THEWILL) – A professor is, more or less, an expert in his chosen field of study. He is a specialist of a kind often expected to play a very important role in teaching, research and decision-making, in terms of academic self-administration and control of the learning environment.
In short, professors are generally entrusted with the responsibility of training and guiding the youth to become functional members of the society in the future.
That is why professorship, an exalted position by all means, comes with a huge responsibility. Unfortunately, a few years ago, a certain professor of Human Kinetics at the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Ignatius Uduk, failed to realise this.
Uduk is on his way to jail for election fraud, an offence he committed during the 2019 General Election. Interestingly he was prosecuted by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, an electoral umpire that many voters in Nigeria hardly consider to be without blemish.
Prof Uduk was accused of announcing false election results, publishing same and lying under oath in Essien Udim State Constituency where he served as Returning Officer during the 2019 general election. He was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment.
The court judgement has attracted reactions across the country, with many Nigerians jubilantly describing it as a welcome development.
Reacting to the conviction of Uduk in an interview with Arise TV on Friday, a former Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority, Tonnie Iredia highlighted the need for Nigeria to re-evaluate its approach to election management.
“I think that we probably need to change our approach to INEC and perhaps other agencies that are involved in the conduct of elections. We need an impartial election umpire,” Mr Iredia said.
Apparently echoing the thoughts of many Nigerians who still have not fully recovered from the shocking actions of the likes of Prof Uduk, he added, “It is frustrating when people we consider credible, such as university professors, behave like political thugs and undermine the voting process.” He urged those entrusted with conducting elections to prioritise national development over personal gain.
The former NTA boss also commended the judges who delivered the ruling in Uduk’s case, noting that fairness in judicial ruling, which has been rare in Nigeria, should be the norm.
Indeed, fairness is a factor that is lacking in Nigeria’s election-related court cases. We urge other judges to henceforth follow the example of Justice Bassey Nkanang and co and uphold the integrity of the judiciary.
The jailing of Prof Uduk signals the dawn of a new era, especially for the judiciary which also appears to be on the brink of positive change, particularly with regard to the handling of election-related cases in the country.
Nigerians have been looking forward to reforms or other instruments by which a turn-around can be effected in the affairs of the judiciary in such a way that hope can be restored in its capacity to guarantee the common man justice.
But before this can be achieved we need to have the right people on board, people of proven integrity and commitment to service, not charlatans whose real interest is personal gain.
Above all, we advocate more stringent measures by the authorities to protect the judiciary from further incursions by election fraudsters in the mold of Professor Ignatius Uduk. Until law-abiding Nigerians collectively insist on a severe punishment regime to serve as a deterrent to electoral offenders, the situation will never change.
