Thread by @ChidiOdinkalu

2mrw, we'll have another episode of #NigeriaDecides. It'll be of huge significance for the credibility of international election observation. In many ways It's the 1st major test for Int'l #ElectionObservers since the fiasco of #KenyaDecides2017

#DomesticObservers will also be deployed all over the country for #NigeriaDecides. There are 119,973 Polling Units (PUs). Observers will not be in all the PUs. The goal, however, is to cover all 8,809 wards in the country. Tens of thousands of Observers will be involved in this.

One major reason for the inability to deploy #ElectionObservers all over the country is security. In parts of some states, including Borno (NE), Rivers (SS) & Zamfara (NW), it is impossible to guarantee the safety & security of both election officials & #ElectionObservers.

In those places where they will be deployed, #ElectionObservers in #NigeriaDecides2019 will also be under close scrutiny. 1 Governor, @elrufai, has already threatened them with #bodybags. How they go about their brief will be closely watched

Usually in #AfricanElections, #InternationalObservers spend time talking up how #Africans are queuing peacefully, as if that's the reason we go to vote - to admire queues. Africans have a right to expect that our elections shd be credible. That's more than abt "peaceful" queues!

So, tomorrow, to all the #InternationalObservers & media in #NigeriaDecides2019, please drop this obsession with "peaceful" Africans queuing. We don't want to hear rpts or read morning hour tweets telling us that voting that has barely started is "peaceful"....

In any case, "peaceful" election is not a fact' it's a conclusion or opinion reached at the end of the process. There are many factors that will determine electoral amity in #NigeriaDecides2019. The controlling factor is credibility & electoral justice.

#InternationalObservers should focus on & report the facts & not feed us opinions or prejudices that reflect their low or no expectations for #AfricanElections. Lives depend on the credibility of our elections over here & in #NigeriaDecides2019, the stakes are exceedingly high.

Most people will respect an outcome that reflects fairly the will of the people. For that to happen, you need @inecnigeria & the security agencies to be act fairly. Any sense of robbery could be inimical to post-election equableness.
#NigeriaDecides2019
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