Kelechi Esogwa-Amadi
In the past few days, the media has been awash with the news of Professor Mrs Omiete Briggs’ replacement as the collation officer for Port Harcourt City Local Government Area for the February 25 presidential and national assembly election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Rivers State.
According to Dr. Johnson Alalibo Sinikiem, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Rivers State, Prof. Mrs Briggs was replaced because of complaints of alleged death threats to her life by unknown callers.
According to the INEC REC, Prof. Briggs’ husband, Dr. Amoniya Briggs, complained that his wife has been the target of death threats because she refused to tamper with the results of the presidential and national assembly election as conducted in Port Harcourt City local government area on February 25.
It is plausible to assume that in relieving Prof. Briggs of her duty, INEC is considering her safety, which suggests that the electoral umpire and by extension the federal government has no plan or provision for her protection to enable her continue with her assignment in the forthcoming governorship election.
This is very worrisome because her demonstration of patriotism in the face of pressure, intimidation and threat should earn her special privilege and attention in terms of protection by the federal government. Since it appears that she may have offended some desperate actors by her refusal to be compromised in the uncanny circumstances that characterised the presidential election, leadership burden or moral obligation as well as her constitutional rights to life and free movement demand that the federal government accord her and her family all the protection they need to enable her complete her assignment as INEC collation officer without let or hindrance. This is because it is her type – people with integrity – that the Nigerian masses need at this point in time that the revolutionary clamour for a new Nigeria is at its peak.
At this juncture, another critical look at her “offence” – for which she is allegedly being threatened with death from strange callers – will suffice.
After the conclusion of voting on the day of the presidential election, Prof. Omiete Briggs, probably aware of the desperation of certain forces to doctor the results of the election, whisked the ballot papers away to prevent their hijack by thugs apparently working for the desperate forces.
Frustrated at having been outsmarted by a brilliant, courageous, incorruptible female collation officer, the desperate forces mobilised their boys to go and besiege the INEC office as a form of protest, accusing her of running away with the ballot papers in order to doctor the results. They turned the story against her. They wanted to be clever, knowing that their preferred candidate had lost, from the results announced at the various polling units in the Port Harcourt City Local Government Area.
Meanwhile, where she was, Prof. Mrs. Omiete Briggs was under intense pressure, with calls flooding her from those who either threatened or wanted to bargain with her for compromise, all to which she gallantly refused to succumb.
But having successfully secured the ballot papers from being hijacked, she was faced with another big challenge. How would she get the results across to INEC office without being attacked by the angry hirelings that have besieged the INEC gate calling for her head after unsuccessfully trying to twist the story against her?
With no other choice left than to do the needful at that point, arrangement was quickly made for armed security men to escort her into the INEC premises to preclude the frustrated invaders from pouncing on her.
After collation of the untampered presidential election results from Port Harcourt City Local Government Area, Labour Party’s Peter Obi won with 62,450 votes; Peoples Democratic Party’s Atiku Abubakar came second with 7,203 votes while the All Progressives Congress’ Bola Tinubu finished third with 5,562 votes.
It was victory for democracy, made possible by the determination, courage and integrity of a young woman dedicated to her duty and committed to the cause of a new Nigeria where corruption, greed, avarice, criminality and injustice will no longer be the order of the day – a new Nigeria desperately desired and clamoured for by the Nigerian masses – especially the younger generation who trooped out en masse on Saturday, February 25, 2023, to vote for a man whom they see as the embodiment of that New Nigeria.
But Prof. Briggs’ patriotism seems not to have gone down well with the desperate forces hence the alleged threatening calls and suspicious movements that kept coming her way after that.
Her husband, Dr Amoniya Briggs, explained the situation to journalists thus: “There has been a viral video; where it emanated from, we don’t know but we feel that it was something done within the confines of INEC. During the elections, she was under so much pressure to act otherwise. However, because of her belief and her faith, she stood by the results and declared what the people voted for.
“Now, in as much as we thank Nigerians for calling and commending her, on the flip side, there have been so many threats and unknown numbers calling, threatening her left, right and center. She came to serve her country. The purpose of this briefing is to let the security agencies, especially the Inspector General of Police and INEC know what is happening.”
Having now relieved Prof. Mrs Omiete Briggs of her electoral assignment ‘for security reasons’, the onus lies on INEC to go a step further to initiate, with the help of security agents, a full-scale investigation into the allegation of death threats her husband complained about.
INEC should not abandon her to her fate after replacing her, since the reason for her predicament was her uncompromising resolve to protect the integrity and image of the electoral umpire and her country.
In saner societies where selflessness, integrity and patriotism are appreciated, Prof. Mrs Omiete Briggs will be celebrated for her action.
Unfortunately, in Nigeria, our value system has plummeted to a near zero level. That explains why a woman who has demonstrated such love and loyalty to her fatherland at the risk of her life will suddenly become an endangered specie rather than a gem to be celebrated.
INEC can remedy this flaw. It can do that by first ensuring that she and her family are well protected at least till the end of May when a new government is supposed to be ushered in.
After that, INEC should recommend her to the higher authorities for national recognition, honour and promotion. The essence of that is to portray her as an inspiration and moral idol to the younger generation who are today in dire need of moral mentorship.
By her heroism, Prof. Mrs Omiete Briggs has boldly engraved her name in gold in the annals of Nigeria’s history thereby earning a proud niche for herself in the nation’s hall of fame.
Honouring her as a heroine of democracy and epitome of integrity will not only spur her to sustain this rare legacy but will also inspire her fellow women in the public service and other sectors as well as the younger generation to emulate her, as we anxiously await the eventual dawn of a New Nigeria.
