The Nation Newspaper

Tag: not war

  • Free choice, not war

    Violence, in whatever context and by any means, is condemnable. However, when it attends a civic action meant to mobilise citizens for development, it is reprehensible. Elections are at the heart of democracy. It is the modern means if recruiting leaders and putting the people at the centre of governance. In a multiparty setting, free choice marks the beauty of the system, with the electorate empowered to decide the party to run public affairs for a defined period.

    When, then, violence disrupts the process from the party selection of candidates to actual voting and the post-election period, the society risks sinking into anarchy. Nigerian elections now epitomize all that could go wrong in electing leaders. In the process leading to the last election, the party primary system was turned more into a contest of raw power, than a test of strength, by aspirants and tendencies within the major political parties.

    Everything from the register of members to securing the primary venue, to even deciding the mode of election, led to hot exchanges and attempts to overawe opponents.  It was the early warning sign that the elections could be trailed by blood. At the end of the 2019 general election, 58 Nigerians were reported killed, with many more injured and some still hanging between life and death.

    This is barbaric. Many had thought that the outrage and salutary reforms that attended the wanton post-election killings and destructions, devilishly pronounced in the “do-or-die” election of 2007; and comparatively limited but still high casualty figure in 2011, would be enough to sanitise the system. This apparently is not so.

    The Buhari administration has a duty to bequeath an impeccable election mechanism to the country. No more should voters be seized with trepidation when stepping out to perform their civic duties. The penchant to descend into anarchy could have contributed to the fact that, in the 2019 polls, only about a third of those eligible actually participated in deciding those to lead the country in the next four years.

    The security organisations should step up their game by starting planning for 2023 now. It is not enough to vote billions of Naira for security, roll out tanks on election day and post military men to mount road blocks. Securing lives and property during electioneering should be more subtle and the architecture should rest more on intelligence. The electoral commission should begin immediately to commission and facilitate studies on how best to achieve this.

    The experience this year, during which hoodlums waited for the collation stage to strike, is an indication that the existing process has become anachronistic. Technology is too long in being adequately deployed. The 2015 Jega INEC took some steps forward with the introduction of the smart card machine and declaration of results at every polling unit. This has reduced fraud at that basic level.

    But electronic transmission of results, with adequate backup and safeguard, has become a desideratum to check violent disruptions. Besides, electoral crime should be made less attractive by prescribing adequate punishment for offenders and ensuring that nobody, however connected escapes justice.

    Beyond technology, however, politicians themselves must develop a democratic ethos.  Since 1999, nay since independence, Nigeria’s recurring problem has been running a democracy without democrats.  The huge cost of that, in sheer lives and limbs, and the ruin of military rule, has been shattering and sobering.

    The next one year is crucial to preparations for the next general election, if Nigeria is to escape the odium attached to the regular loss of lives and limbs, in the name of elections.

  • It’s election, not war

    SIR: Campaigns across all levels have reached feverish pitch, with respective party candidates trying hard to dot the ‘Is’ and cross the ‘Ts’. All that matters and are of utmost importance at the moment is simply how to coast home to victory in next month’s elections. Politicians aren’t bothered about the fact that Baga, a town in Borno has been taken over by Boko Haram insurgents, politicians are not bothered that all government owned hospitals and courts have been shut down owing to industrial actions. We remind these politicians that what we are preparing for is just an election, not a war!

    Should we continue in this direction, we would one day wake up and discover that the very country we proudly call our own has ceased to exist. Most Nigerians are so obsessed with politics and politicians that we allow several important issues to go unattended to. Serious pre-election questions are mounting on, but we have resolved never to get credible answers to them. So many unanswered questions stare us in the face, yet we act as if all is just okay with our country. Nigerians have surrendered their beloved country to economic plunderers, political saboteurs, religious merchants, mercantile media as well as social misfits. Men and women of integrity have distanced themselves from issues of governance, thereby allowing opportunists with little or no knowledge of what governance entails to run the show.

    We need to constantly remind those seeking elective positions the need for them to anchor their campaigns on facts, figures and verifiable statistics and not on mundane matters. We expect these men to narrow their arguments to how they intend to raise the bar of leadership, improve security, provide qualitative and highly subsidized education and healthcare, eradicate corruption and put in place schemes that will promote entrepreneurship. This is the way to go.

    Why are our politicians not harping on the many socio-economic and political malaise confronting Nigeria? Why are the campaigners not stating in clear terms what they intend to carryout if given the opportunity to govern?

    Let me quickly dwell on the obvious shortcomings inherent in the campaigns of both President Goodluck Jonathan and that of General Muhammadu Buhari. It’s been a disastrous outing for both of them, especially in the case of Goodluck Jonathan. Both of them have reduced campaigns to a matter of you “insult me and I insult you back”. I think their handlers are not offering them the right briefs on what they should address or speak on. Ideally, a campaign speech or address should be expository, persuasive, convincing and moving. Not speeches laced with invectives, insults, demeaning words and defamatory lines.

    Many had really expected Gen. Buhari to have armed himself with necessary details as to how he intends to run Nigeria’s economy if elected. By now we had expected him to offer more insights into what he plans to do differently. Instead, Gen. Buhari has chosen to be very brief in his remarks at a time Nigerians want him to speak more.

    As for Dr Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP, he began his campaign rally on a very disastrous and disappointing note in Lagos. He blasted his chances. He spoke like an angry person. Very harsh, illogical and annoyingly repetitive. Many had expected President Jonathan to dwell more on what he has done since he assumed office in the last six years. Regrettably, he didn’t. Instead, he went after the personality of Buhari, forgetting that he was doing immeasurable favour to his major challenger. Ironically, the more he castigates his opponent, the more people accept him as their man. Tell Nigerians why your government has been unable to end insurgency in the north east. Tell Nigerians what your frustrations are with regards to tackling corruption. In clear terms, tell us why the economy is in tatters.

    As our candidates continue their campaign visits to other states, they should do well to scale down on rhetorics and dwell more on serious issues. No buck passing, mudslinging, hate speech, character assassination and other indecorous conducts. They should do well to caution their supporters against making careless utterances. Campaigns should be based on ideas, issues and implementable policies. Politicians shouldn’t go into the forthcoming polls with an i-must-win-at-all-cost mentality. No one’s political aspirations should be placed beyond national considerations. Elections will come and go, Nigeria will remain a united country. Its called election, not war.

     

    • Abdullahi Yunusa

    Imane, Kogi State

  • Osun’s day of election, not war

    Osun’s day of election, not war

    “Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters” —– Abraham Lincoln

    Is it true that voters must have faith in the electoral process for our democracy to succeed? If this is correct, then could it be rightly said that voters in this country genuinely have faith in the ongoing Professor Attahiru Jega-tutored electoral process? Then, how far has this impacted on the country’s democracy? This column is not oblivious of the fact that politicians and the people are all part of the electoral process; otherwise, there would be no process at all.

    Political leaders do emerge from the political class and it is from the people that we get the electorate that vote during periodic elections. But because the political leadership most times reneges on its promises to the people, the electoral process has always been a fierce contest between forces contending for political power.

    Naturally, the Election Day is always a judgment day in countries where votes count. It is a day for deciding whether those in power actually impact lives positively, changed destinies and made people’s dreams and expectations come true. The inception of a political tenure is the seed-sowing time, while the harvest period is the day of election. So, it is better to sow at the right time to have a bountiful harvest on the day of political judgment in the court of the electorate.

    In Osun State, tomorrow is that Day of Judgment. There is going to be a real test of electioneering and democratic values as voters in the state go to the polls. The task before the electorate of that state is to elect a leader that would steer the ship of the state for another four years. The incumbent, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, is seeking a fresh mandate on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Senator Iyiola Omisore is flying the flag of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), while Alhaji Fatai Akingbade is contesting under the banner of Labour Party. The irony is that all former governors of the state, including Isiaka Adeleke, Bisi Akande and Olagunsoye Oyinlola are in the APC plotting against the emergence of Omisore, the seeming major contender against incumbent, as governor. This gives a worrisome impression about the personality of the PDP candidate.

    Omisore has deployed many stunts just to convey a deceitful populist perception of himself. They include his widely publicised photographs of where he was buying corns on the road and riding motor cycle, commonly called Okada. Those images have merely portrayed his deceitfully theatrical side which has no basis in sane governance.

    Yours sincerely believes that Osun people must be careful in making a choice tomorrow. Euripides, Orestes might have had someone like Omisore in mind when he said: “When one with honeyed words but evil mind persuades the mob, great woes befall the state.” For instance, Omisore, whether rightly or wrongly, has without knowing, built a notorious image for himself in the political history of that state.

    Many believe that if he ever gets to power, which is very unlikely, Osun will turn into Hobbesian state of brute and force devoid of ideas and reason.

    Whatever reservations yours sincerely might have for the defection of people like Oyinlola to APC, he, at least, made a profound statement that corroborated the above public perception of Omisore during Aregbesola’s Osogbo Federal Constituency Campaign Mega Rally earlier in the week. Oyinlola could not have known Omisore less – having been  in the same PDP with him over a reasonable long period of time – not to have known the implication of reviving the death of late Bola Ige at that rally, where he said: “Omisore is selfish and self-centred. I did not know who and how Bola Ige was killed. What I know is that Omisore was accused of killing Chief Bola Ige. When Omisore wanted to nominate a person to fill my seat as PDP National Secretary, he chose Professor Wale Oladipo. He also nominated Jelili Adesiyan, my former Commissioner for Education, for ministerial position. Adesiyan, Oladipo and Omisore were imprisoned for their alleged complicity in Bola Ige’s death.’’

    He reportedly continued further: ‘Omisore also picked Gani Olaoluwa, who was also detained on Bola Ige’s death, as PDP chairman in the state. My question is: Is it until we are all turned to criminals or imprisoned before we can get political office? The person they are proposing to pick as senatorial candidate in Osun Central, Kunle Alao, known as Lele, was also a co-detainee with Omisore, Oladipo and Adesiyan on Bola Ige’s death.’ Omisore has not given any published satisfactory response to the Oyinlola effusions against him. The Osun voters might be interested in having his convincing response before tomorrow’s election.

    In contrast to Omisore, Aregbesola, notwithstanding his touted inadequacies, is genuinely popular of all the candidates and on comparative basis, has done his best for the state in almost four years that he was in the saddle. Apart from contesting under a formidable opposition platform, Aregbesola, as if hearkening to the true meaning of his name, is a steadfast party man. His compelling intellectual oratory, simplicity, commitment to service, sense of humour and ability to blend with the high and mighty in the society, add up to give him a remarkable edge. His policies including Opon Imo, O’Meals scheme and his employment-generation ability, especially for the youth, are admirably inspiring. The incumbent is indeed popular and loved by the Osun people.

    It is this Aregbesola’s genuine affinity with his people that calls for caution from the ruling PDP not to be hell-bent on having that way at all costs tomorrow. President Goodluck Jonathan’s public statement that tomorrow’s election will be highly policed and militarised is misplaced. Ekiti election was militarised and despite the fact that this was not why Governor Kayode Fayemi was voted out does not make it right. In yours sincerely’s view, militarization is act of assembling and putting into readiness for war or other emergency, the soldiers and entire military of a country. This is no war in Osun tomorrow; it is an election.

    And in case President Jonathan and his Minister of Defence had forgotten the provisions of the constitution (as amended), it is better to restate it here for their kind and keen attention: Section 215(3) of the 1999 Constitution vested in the Police the exclusive power to maintain and secure public safety and public order in the country. On the other hand, the President has the power as enshrined in the constitution in section 217(2) of the Constitution to deploy the armed forces for the “suppression of insurrection and acting in aid of civil authorities to restore law order.”

    Again, where is insurrection in any part of Osun as the state prepares for tomorrow’s election? Does the deployment of military and hooded security men not amount to usurpation of police powers with regards to maintenance of law and order? Now, my message to Osun people:

    Democracy requires eternal vigilance. They must do everything to protect their votes jealously, lest they have a costly error to pay for!

  • Let’s promote unity, not war

    Let’s promote unity, not war

    Recent happenings in the country have, again, shown us that all is not well with Nigeria. But what could be the sins of this nation that has the potential to be great and endowed with human and material resources? The nation is battling all kinds of ailment.

    In its 53 years of independence, the country has been held by the jugular by corrupt leaders, who promote nepotism, tribalism and religious disaffection to divide the citizens and feather their own nest. Nigeria needs the help of all of us and God to truly be a nation for human beings and not beasts.

    In the dead of the night, 276 school girls were abducted from the sleep by members of Boko Haram sect at Government Day Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State. The incident happened despite emergency rule in that state. For what purpose were they kidnapped?

    Today, no one is safe in the Northeast. The populace cannot sleep with their two eyes closed even in the day. The dreadful Boko Haram insurgents have made the region ungovernable for the government. The sect has unjustly killed thousands of innocent citizens, thus intensifying tension in the country. What if the family members of the victims rise up today to revenge the death of their loved ones? Wouldn’t that give rise to another civil war?

    Where the hope for Nigeria lies remains million dollar question to answer. Does it mean that the labours of our heroes past are in vain? We kill ourselves for nothing; some even go to the mountain top to pray and fast for their follow humans to die, forgetting the teaching of Jesus, who said: “Love your enemies and pray for them.” For the people here, it is “hate your enemy and destroy them”.

    This is the reality of our society today.  All kinds of evil are being perpetrated in the country despite our claim to high religious values. Nothing seems to work well; corruption is at its peak; politicians use their follow country men for rituals to win elections. Who will save the situation?

    Where are we heading to? Could the path we are following now be a wider road to the gradual disintegration of the country? Ethnic militias are also rising up to demand certain rights or secede from Nigeria. The activities of the likes of Asari Dokubo, Ralph Uwazuruike and their co-travellers are a pointer in this direction. If these ethnic champions and militants are not checked, their activities may upset the arrangement and send the country on the path of disintegration.

    Some people have been saying that the unity of Nigeria is not negotiable; this is bad thinking. But it is evident that Nigerians are not united as brothers and sisters, who share the spirit of oneness. Many have said that there is no need killing ourselves, rather we should strive to sustain the freedom our founding fathers bequeathed to us. But are we really doing that? We have been divided by our religion and tribe.

    It is unfortunate that, some of the issues that led to civil war in 1967 are repeating themselves and the government at the centre seems unconcerned. Nigerians must rise up to denounce these evil forces that will set us against one another and cause another civil war. I am sure nobody would like to witness another horror of killing. We must, therefore, begin to sensitise ourselves towards the danger and consequence of not re-uniting to tackle our common challenges and weakness. When we do this, the challenges confronting us may become a thing of the past.

    The former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, said what we are witnessing today is not too far from what happened under his administration, which led to the civil war. We have the responsibility to pray and work with the government to end the cycle of violence, so that unity of the country would not be affected. It is imperative for the government to deal decisively with troublemakers and their agents.

    We must be united as a nation that fought a bloody war against the colonial masters and won. This country can remain as one united entity when we invest efforts to solve its contemporary challenges.

    We must not see war as the solution to our problems. We must detest the warmongers and agents. We should unite against forces that want to take away our freedom. Let us not look at ourselves based on our colour of skin or the language we speak or our faith, we should engage ourselves based on our common humanity and shared agenda to make our country great.

    For now, Nigeria, our country, needs men and women of courage, who can stand the test of time and make sacrifice for its progress.

    Mark, 400-Level Business Education, YABATECH