Nigerian 2015 Elections: What Maps Stole

Nigerian 2015 Elections: What Maps Stole

Fesowola O. V. Akintoye  mnis,rs,mSCgis, MSc GIS & Env.
Email: fesowola@glogeomaticsnigeria.com.

Political elections are processes of establishing the rights of people to choose their leaders because a crowd of people divided along age, culture, language, religion etc. cannot govern itself. Without leadership, there cannot be order and crowd actions does not confer responsibilities on anyone; more so that within every crowd there will always be smaller crowds.

Providing order and organizing societies require knowledge of the various facets of the environment through collection and modelling of data and information about people, who they are, where they live, what they do, their interests, expectations and aspirations. These will translate to bio-data, locational data, proximity to facilities utilities and market. A map models or reflects all of society’s traits and trails depending on the required application domain.

Nigeria has been said to either be under mapped or much better to say has not been mapped for efficient management and administration of human, economic and natural resources. Government social projects have been executed over the years ranging from census, elections, national statistics gathering etc. without accurate geographic implications. All published information are either at state or at local government geographies that makes it difficult to provide services or execute national projects like the 2015 elections at both wards and household sensitive scale. All election results were announced at states and regional scales. No one has been able to relate election results and associated issues to reflect wards and household scale inferences and conclusions.

Managing 170 million people, their environmental and social impacts require knowledge; and knowledge can only be derived or generated from acquired data and processed information. Maps carry and model data, information and knowledge (indicators and all) for expert inferences, research and decision supports. Analogue maps could be lifeless and static; digital maps provide basis for today’s aspirations, lifestyle and livabilities. From location and direction search, physical and economic planning, marketing and advertising; to siting of bank outlets, megastores and real estates. 

Intelligent maps can provide the following:

·         Planning and research.

·         Direct knowledge (distance and direction search/points and area of interest search).

·         Answers to, what if, questions.

·         Access to hidden facts.

·         Relationship information between man, his actions and the resultant impacts.

·         Exploration, exploitation and management of resources.

So what did maps steal from the 2015 national elections? Maps provide tools, assistance and geospatial infrastructures for adequate and effective planning. Lack of sensitive maps affected the quality of the preparation and voting; and subsequently an illogical results. The consequence of the failure to carry out logical elections across the country has robbed the nation of the logical basis for the future elections. 

The elections though said to be free and fair had a lot of irregularities reported in the news media. The problems has not taken the credit away from Prof. Atahiru Jega (the INEC chairman) and his team of professors. They are not magicians to conjure the data, information and knowledge that do not exist for planning and project execution.

Reported Problems in the news media were:

·       -  Incomplete voters’ registration exercise.

·       -  Low election turn out.

·        - Underage voting.

·        - Hijacking of ballot boxes.

·         -Multiple thumb printing.

·         -Contention over increase in pollen centres across the country.

·         -Manipulations of votes in rural areas.

·        - Inconsistencies between census, NBS population statistics and election results statistics.

·        - Inability to relate voting and household variables to generate indicators of voters’ aspirations and expectations.

·        - Inability to generate poverty and affluence variables and indicators of the patterns of voting and more.

All problems encountered would have been avoided if appropriate maps (social and linear scales) were acquired and used. Geo-spatial databases and systems have and are capable of providing basis for planning, logistics, organizing, documentation as well as assessing social projects leading to cost effective, time saving and logical results.The benefits that could have accrued to the nation from the last election as bi-products have been stolen by the in-availability of appropriate and efficient or lack of maps. 

Inteligent maps can provide basis for assessing data and information generated during census and election as well as other national socioeconomic projects. For example, a community with a hundred housing units in a classed residential area and known average household size can be evaluated for its generated projects to within tolerable limits.

In my mind, I picture Nigeria wearing Agbada or Babanriga (a larger flowing garment) over its large body; so she is formless covered and shielded by our collective imaginations. Formlessness breeds mistrust, contention, confusion, disagreements and failure. The true shape and size of Nigeria must be known.

 

Those who refuse to map Nigeria give room to falsification of our true national socio-economic and political facts and figures; they allow the entrenchment of corruption in our national lives. It is time to map Nigeria.