Human face of digital covenant:In this diagnostic session of Telecoms Clinic@ITREALMS, REMMY NWEKE navigates Nigeria’s electoral crossroads. By dismantling the 'discretionary' transmission myth and detailing the security of VPN tunneling, he reveals why the digital umbilicus is the only way to finally exorcise the ghosts of elections past.
In the dusty courtyards of rural polling units across Nigeria, the grand debates of the National Assembly often feel a world away, yet they dictate the heartbeat of the citizen's experience.
When a grandmother, Alhaja Aisha, in a remote village in Adamawa stands for hours clutching her Permanent Voter Card (PVC), she is not thinking about the semantic friction between "transfer" and "transmit" in the Electoral Act.
She is looking at the glowing screen of a Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) device, trusting that the digital ghost of her fingerprint will be the key to her voice being heard in Abuja, the federal capital territory.
Shadow of 'discretionary' clauses:
The recent drama in the 10th Senate, where mandates for real-time electronic transmission were sidestepped for 'discretionary' language, is more than a legislative tug-of-war. It is a direct challenge to the digital covenant established in the 2022 Act.
The Supreme Court, in its landmark ruling on Oyetola v. Adeleke, clarified that under current laws, the IReV is essentially a "viewing" tool rather than a mandatory collation foundation. This legal loophole is the very "shadow" that legislators seem hesitant to illuminate.
Engineer’s Dilemma: Precision vs. Politics:
The engineers on the front lines bear the weight of this legislative indecision. Nigeria’s digital infrastructure is no longer in its infancy; National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data reveals over 160 million active internet subscriptions and a teledensity exceeding 97 per cent.
Imagine a local telecoms technician racing through difficult terrain to troubleshoot a "blind spot," only to realize the law does not require the data he is fighting to upload to be sent immediately. These professionals operate in a vacuum where the infrastructure is ready, but the political will remains in "low-power mode."
The Crossroads: Data vs. Discretion:
Telecoms Clinic@ITREALMS observes a nation at a digital crossroads. We have the fiber, we have the satellites, and we have the talent. What we lack is the legislative courage to marry our democracy to our data. As long as Section 50 and 60 of the Electoral Act allow for a "manual fallback" in an age of instant global communication, the Nigerian voter remains tethered to a system where their choice can be "lost in transit."
Technical Bodyguard: VPN Tunneling:
To restore faith, we must move the conversation from "can we transmit?" to "why won't we?" Industry-standard protocols, leveraged globally by banks and the United Kingdom-based Groupe Spéciale Mobile Association (GSMA), prove that security is a solved problem.
Experts at the GSMA, pointed out that VPN Tunneling is the equivalent of building a private, reinforced glass tunnel through a busy highway. When the BVAS device "tunnels" its data, it wraps the results in heavy encryption. Even if intercepted, the data is a scrambled mess.
VIP Escort: APN Prioritization
But what happens when the "highway" is jammed? This is where Access Point Name (APN) Prioritization; a technical standard frequently briefed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to the National Assembly, comes in.
By using a private APN, telecommunications companies (Telcos) create a "VIP Lane or BRT Lane" specifically for election traffic. It is like an ambulance with sirens blaring; the network recognizes BVAS data as "Mission Critical" and moves secondary traffic, such as WhatsApp messages and TikTok videos to the side. Even in a crowded area where regular users see "No Service," the BVAS remains connected, tuned to a frequency the public cannot access.
Shadow of 'discretionary' clauses:
The recent drama in the 10th Senate, where mandates for real-time electronic transmission were sidestepped for 'discretionary' language, is more than a legislative tug-of-war. It is a direct challenge to the digital covenant established in the 2022 Act.
For the young tech-savvy voter, Opeyemi, in Lagos, the IReV portal was promised as a window into the soul of the counting room. However, as noted by the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) and YIAGA Africa, when that window remained dark during the 2023 presidential tallies, the "technical glitch" became a personal heartbreak.
Engineer’s Dilemma: Precision vs. Politics:
The engineers on the front lines bear the weight of this legislative indecision. Nigeria’s digital infrastructure is no longer in its infancy; National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data reveals over 160 million active internet subscriptions and a teledensity exceeding 97 per cent.
Imagine a local telecoms technician racing through difficult terrain to troubleshoot a "blind spot," only to realize the law does not require the data he is fighting to upload to be sent immediately. These professionals operate in a vacuum where the infrastructure is ready, but the political will remains in "low-power mode."
By keeping transmission discretionary, the National Assembly tells these engineers that their precision does not matter as much as a manual tally sheet that can be altered in the back of a moving vehicle.
The Crossroads: Data vs. Discretion:
Telecoms Clinic@ITREALMS observes a nation at a digital crossroads. We have the fiber, we have the satellites, and we have the talent. What we lack is the legislative courage to marry our democracy to our data. As long as Section 50 and 60 of the Electoral Act allow for a "manual fallback" in an age of instant global communication, the Nigerian voter remains tethered to a system where their choice can be "lost in transit."
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Technical Bodyguard: VPN Tunneling:
To restore faith, we must move the conversation from "can we transmit?" to "why won't we?" Industry-standard protocols, leveraged globally by banks and the United Kingdom-based Groupe Spéciale Mobile Association (GSMA), prove that security is a solved problem.
Experts at the GSMA, pointed out that VPN Tunneling is the equivalent of building a private, reinforced glass tunnel through a busy highway. When the BVAS device "tunnels" its data, it wraps the results in heavy encryption. Even if intercepted, the data is a scrambled mess.
This tunnel ensures that from the moment "Send" is pressed at the ward level, the data remains in a tamper-proof environment until it reaches the INEC fortress.
VIP Escort: APN Prioritization
But what happens when the "highway" is jammed? This is where Access Point Name (APN) Prioritization; a technical standard frequently briefed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to the National Assembly, comes in.
By using a private APN, telecommunications companies (Telcos) create a "VIP Lane or BRT Lane" specifically for election traffic. It is like an ambulance with sirens blaring; the network recognizes BVAS data as "Mission Critical" and moves secondary traffic, such as WhatsApp messages and TikTok videos to the side. Even in a crowded area where regular users see "No Service," the BVAS remains connected, tuned to a frequency the public cannot access.
Conclusion: A Choice, Not A Chance:
When these technologies converge, the excuse of "network issues" evaporates. The Private APN ensures the data has a path; the VPN Tunnel ensures that path is secure.
For the Telecoms Clinic@ITREALMS, the message is clear: this technology is not a futuristic dream. It is the same reality that allows you to move millions of Naira via a mobile app in seconds. When the National Assembly hesitates to mandate electronic transmission, they are not waiting for a technical miracle; they are ignoring a technical reality.
When these technologies converge, the excuse of "network issues" evaporates. The Private APN ensures the data has a path; the VPN Tunnel ensures that path is secure.
For the Telecoms Clinic@ITREALMS, the message is clear: this technology is not a futuristic dream. It is the same reality that allows you to move millions of Naira via a mobile app in seconds. When the National Assembly hesitates to mandate electronic transmission, they are not waiting for a technical miracle; they are ignoring a technical reality.
We have the digital bodyguards and the VIP lanes. We just need a law that finally gives our democracy the "Go" signal.
Call to action:
The Telecoms Clinic@ITREALMS Call to Action: We call on the 10th National Assembly to invite a joint technical task force from Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) and the NCC to demonstrate these protocols on the floor of the Senate.
Call to action:
The Telecoms Clinic@ITREALMS Call to Action: We call on the 10th National Assembly to invite a joint technical task force from Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) and the NCC to demonstrate these protocols on the floor of the Senate.
Let technology, not rhetoric, be the witness.
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