The Nation Newspaper

Tag: violence

  • Ruler urges politicians to shun violence

    The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, has urged politicians to shun violence and embrace peace as the general elections draw nearer.

    He advised them to remember the poor and the supporters of their respective parties when they get to power.

    The monarch who spoke last weekend when the campaign train of the governorship candidate of the People Democratic Party (PDP) in the State, Senator Teslim Folarin paid him a courtesy visit, described Folarin as one of his sons who cannot be denied of his rights in the palace.

    According to him, Folarin was the only governorship candidate to be allowed campaign at the ‘Ojude Aremo’ (king palace) adding that many parties had written to that effect but were not allowed.

    “By God grace, your dreams shall be achieved. I want to beg all politicians to shun violence and embrace peace before, during, and after the coming elections. Folarin is my son. He is the first person to be taken to national assembly with a traditional ruler. I took him to the senate in 2003 when he contested and won the Oyo central senatorial seat. Among all the governorship contestants, he is the only one to be allowed here at the Ojude Aremo, for you to know that he is my son. Please when you get to power, don forget the poor masses and your supporters” he noted.

    The traditional ruler who, prayed for the governorship candidate to actualise his dreams admonished him not to be intoxicated by power after winning the election.

    Earlier, a former member of the National Assembly Senator, Chief Lekan Balogun and the former national vice chairman of the party, Chief Yekini Adeojo had described Folarin as an intelligent and highly respectiveful individual who had promised to consult the traditional rulers before taking decisions.

    Balogun said Folarin had severally displayed his readiness to listen to elders during his time as a senator and even till date, he continue to listen to the elders.

    Adeojo on his own part described Folarin as the choice of the people due to him overwhelming acceptance everywhere he visited with his campaign team.

    While reacting, the governorship candidate said PDP is a party of peace adding that those who were responsible for violence in the party had left.

    Meanwhile, the former special adviser to governor Ajimobi on the Youth, Hon. John Ebode who resigned in January 20th has defected to the PDP.

    He said he believed so much in the leadership of the former senate leader and as a youth, he understands the plight of this generation adding that his decision was taken in the best interest of the state and the youth, especially students.

  • Nigerians urged to shun violence

    A member of the Eti-Osa Local Government Chieftaincy Committee and the Secretary, Elegushi Royal Family, Chief Muritala Adedoyin Elegushi, has urged Nigerians to shun violence before, during and after the elections.

    Elegushi, the Alaawe of Ikate land, who spoke in Lagos yesterday, said people should not see election as a do-or-die affair.

    According to him, winners should be magnanimous in victory and losers should be gallant because the most important thing was the survival of the country.

    He decried the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for postponing the elections to March 28 and April 11 because of insecurity.

    Said he: “If the Federal Government cannot contain the Boko Haram insurgency between 2011 and now, how are we sure it will tackle the militias before the elections?”

    Chief Elegushi advised youths not to allow politicians to use them to cause violence because of money.

    “Most politicians’ children are in overseas, safe. Politicians are wise. They hide their children in overseas and use the children of the poor to foment trouble, exposing them to danger. Youths should not risk their lives because of pecuniary gains.”

    Elegushi enjoined the electorate not to sell their votes, adding that they should elect candidates who could perform.

    His words: “Nigerians should not just obtain Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), they should exercise their franchise. INEC should, however, be impartial.”

  • Averting violence in Rivers elections

    Averting violence in Rivers elections

    Chief Davies Ibiamu Ikanya is the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State in this piece, he highlights what he describes as the atrocities of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against APC members and the implications for the general elections. He warns that the state may slip into violence, if the acts of terror are not checked.

    The greatest obstacle to democratic consolidation in Nigeria is electoral violence. Pre-election violence is as a result of the rascally disposition of some desperate and greedy politicians, who want to secure electoral victory by subverting the process and undermining the rule of law. Whilst the threat of bloodshed has always been in the air in Rivers State since the countdown to the general elections started, the upsurge in the incidence of violence in the state in recent times is worrisome. Apart from the fact that this phenomenon affects the credibility of the electoral process, the legitimacy of the election results and the rule of law, the nature, extent and magnitude of violence indicate unequivocally that it is a deliberate tool for intimidation and terror adopted as a policy and backed by security institutions who are paid from our commonwealth to protect our citizens.

     

    Electoral violence

    Electoral violence is any random or organized act that seeks to determine, delay or otherwise influence an electoral process through threat, verbal intimidation, hate speech, disinformation, physical assault, forced protection, destruction of property or assassination. The aim of electoral violence is either to influence the outcome of the process or to disrupt the entire electoral process.

    The Federal Government under the collegiate presidency of Dr. and Dame Goodluck Jonathan adopted a deliberate policy of state-sponsored violence against Rivers people when it deployed Mbu Joseph Mbu intentionally to promote (through manifestly corrupt and illicit means) the ascendancy of Mr. Nyesom Wike to political infamy. Mr. Mbu’s antics are too numerous and very well publicized. However, it may be necessary to remind us that since the day he shamelessly escorted known criminals and outlaws through the streets of Port Harcourt in the guise of a demonstration, violence triumphantly returned to Rivers State

    The PDP, having established its machinery for violence, began to unleash mayhem in the form of physical attacks on the APC members, killing and causing grievous bodily harm on our members.

    Attack on House of Assembly

    The absurdity of the attack on the House of Assembly would confound any right-thinking person who knows that there are 32 members of the House of Assembly out of which, five purportedly tried to impeach the Speaker. In the course of their quest to regain lawful access to the House of Assembly complex, the remaining 27 members were forced to sit on the bare surface of Moscow Road from where Mr. Mbu dispersed them with tear gas. Mr. Mbu left Rivers State in exceedingly controversial circumstances, after presiding over the return of Rivers State to a near state of anarchy into the warm embrace of the president and his dear wife who promptly rewarded him with a “well deserved” promotion. His legacies include the return of hitherto outlawed warlords who have re-established their camps and are operating visibly. Before he was redeployed, his atrocities reached its apogee with the attempted murder of Senator Magnus Abe when police men on his orders attacked Save Rivers Movement members at College of Arts and Science premises in Rumuola, Port Harcourt.

     

    Violence against APC members

    The following are but a few of the known cases of death and grievous bodily injuries caused our members by the PDP through its members and hirelings.

    Perhaps, the most brazen of all attacks took place in the early morning of the flag-off of the Presidential Campaign of the APC in Port Harcourt. Two different sets of gun men attacked buses conveying the party supporters from different parts of the state to Port Harcourt. The buses located several hundred kilometers from each other were riddled with bullets. A day after the attack, the police naively dismissed the attacks as incidents of armed robbery. Whilst it must be noted that nothing was stolen from the victims, one must ask the police why the “robbers” isolated APC members on the same day, at about the same time and in two different locations in the state?

    Many APC supporters on their way to the official flag-off of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s presidential campaign were attacked by gun men near Harry’s Town in Degema and Sakpenwa in Tai. The cowards were not bold enough to do it without hiding under face masks. They left many unconscious and in their pool of blood and fled into anonymity to spend the filthy money from their cowardly masters.

    After this, the APC secretariat in Okrika, the home of Madam Patience Jonathan was destroyed by a bomb explosion. Whilst no life was lost, party members have been terrorized and the message is clear that the PDP and its dangerously armed terrorist gangs will not allow the APC to lawfully contest for the votes in Okrika Local Government Area.

    Chief Orerehim was on the 10th of January beaten alongside others when they were having a caucus meeting at Oro-owo, Rumueme, Ward 10, Obio-Akpor LGA by thugs. He was seriously beaten and injured. He reported the matter to Rukpakani Police Station, Ada George Road. But, no arrest, invitation or investigation was made by the police.

    On January 22 in Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area, some group of PDP thugs destroyed APC billboards/banners and injured one Mr. Precious Tende. That was the third time Evans Bipi and his cohorts had willfully destroyed APC banners/billboards in Ogu, headquarters of the Local Government Area. the Ogu Council of Chiefs, the police at Ogu, the Department of State Security (DSS) and the Joint Task Force Unit are all aware of it.

    The following day, some PDP thugs numbering about 24 attacked the private residence of Barr. Cyprian Chukwu, a member of the APC in Ward 9, destroying valuable properties. He was lucky not to be at home when they came. They decapitated a young man in the premises and he is lying critically ill in the hospital with machete wounds on both arms.

    In the early hours of January 24, thugs on the orders of Mrs. Patience Jonathan, PDP attacked the National field in Okrika which was to be the venue of an APC rally scheduled for that day with guns and explosive devices and destroyed a musical/public address system, canopies, podium and chairs. Thereafter, they attacked the residence of APC Councilors and members in Okrika Local Government Area. The police are yet to make any arrests.

     

    Aiding and abetting by police

    Most of these heinous crimes have been aided and abetted by the police. In some cases, they simply looked the other way whilst the crimes were committed. In other instances, they arrested the APC complainants or members of supporters on phantom charges just to neutralize the political influence of the APC in the area. Below are some of the flagrant cases of police harassment, intimidation, unlawful arrests and detention against members and supporters of APC in Rivers State.

     

    Victimisation, arrest and detention

    In Omuma Local Government Area, Hon. Emeka Wogu, a former member of the Rivers State House of Assembly, a former Commissioner and currently Chairman, Caretaker Committee, Omuma Local Government Council was arrested and accused of shooting at Mr. President’s billboard. Meanwhile, on the fateful day (August 25, 2014), he was at a Joint Allocation Committee meeting in Port Harcourt and was nowhere near the scene of the incident at Omuma Local Government Area. He arrested on August 27, 2014 by over 60 armed policemen in a commando style, handcuffed in the presence of his children and detained for two days. He was subsequently released without any charge.

    In Ikwerre Local Government Area, Godwin Wojinda was arrested by the SARS squad of the police for stopping one Isi from running away with permanent voters cards (PVCs) belonging to ward 3, Omagwe, Ikwerre Local Government Area. He is still in police detention even when the culprit returned the hijacked material to the INEC Local Government Area Electoral Officer. He was not arrested; rather it was the complainant that was clamped into detention by the police.

     

    Anxiety over polls

    As the general elections approach, the scale, magnitude and intensity of the orchestrated violence against members of the APC has been assuming a frightful dimension, necessitating that we cry out to Nigerians and the international community. Our plight is akin to that of a people in a militarily conquered and occupied territory. PDP thugs and hirelings practically commit murders under the watchful and protective eyes of the police without as much as a slap on the wrist. The objective is obviously to antagonize and intimidate our supporters into believing that it is unsafe for them to come out and vote, thus effectively disenfranchising them.

    We make this distress call to all men, women, organizations, nations and people who cherish democracy to intervene before it is too late. It is unimaginable that a president, who is from the Niger Delta region and who assumed office on the wings of agitations for equity and justice, would permit unprovoked and premeditated violent attacks on the same people he hopes to ride on their primordial sentiments to secure his second term. The president’s cavalier attitude to the escalating violence in the state borders on criminal negligence because he knows or ought to know (or in the least remember) the level of arms in circulation and the historical volatility of the state (and region).

    We call on Amnesty International, the International Red Cross, the relevant organs of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) to immediately commence independent inquiries into the gruesome attacks and killings in Rivers State. We call on these and other humanitarian and democratic organizations and institutions to set high-powered election monitoring networks, teams and processes to monitor the election in Rivers State to avert unnecessary bloodbath, which may cripple our already weakened economy. An acceptable electoral outcome is possible in Rivers State, but only if the elections are truly free and fair. There cannot be free and fair election, if the spate of violence, high handedness, intimidation and terror is not halted. We pledge to remain law abiding but we shall defend ourselves, our people and their votes by all lawful means.

  • ‘PDP wants to instigate violence’

    ‘PDP wants to instigate violence’

    Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) Publicity Secretary Comrade Joe Igbokwe spoke with reporters in Lagos on the preparations for the general elections and how Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains are promoting discord and intolerance in the Centre of Excellence.

    What is your assessment of the ampaigns so far?

    Campaigns have been going on across the country, but I regret to say that we are dodging the issues. We are leaving out the burning issues to dwell on personalities and this is where we are not getting it right. Desperation and fear have gripped the ruling party that they now play dirty. In the presidential campaigns, the APC candidate, General Buhari, has been a problem for the PDP. The Buhari of 2003, 2007 and 2011 has turned to a political giant, a volcano, a bulldozer, an avatar, a caterpillar and a  massive movement in 2015. A man who contested elections in 2003, 2007 and 2011 is being accused of not having a certificate in 2015 because the man has moved from the back seat to the driver’s seat. They talk about his certificate, his age, his health, his family, his religion, his wife, his culture etc.

    The corrupt and desperate politicians and subsidy scammers are worried to the bones. The fear of Buhari is now the beginning of wisdom. They know that a President Buhari will not accept corruption as a way of life again. They know that he will plug the loop holes in the systems. They know that the people that ruined Nigeria will be brought to book. They are moving their families and wealth abroad because Buhari is coming and he is coming on strong. I fear for those who think it is going to be business as usual. All things considered, President Jonathan has lost this election the day Buhari was picked as a candidate of the APC in Lagos. From all permutations, calculations and analysis the game has been won and lost at the first ballot. I pity anybody who will not be wise enough to know that the market is over. There is finger of God in all this. Did anybody remember that Buhari cried in 2011 for Nigeria? God saw that genuine tears and decided to pave way for him to help in fixing the land. Buhari’s coming in 2015 is a prayer answered. In Lagos, the campaigns are all about continuity of intelligent leadership, committed leadership and disciplined leadership. In Lagos, it is experience versus inexperience. It is Ambode’s 27 years experience and retired as Accountant-General in Lagos State versus Jimi Agbaje, a drug seller in a small shop in Apapa. It is capacity versus incapacity. It is capability versus incapability.

    What are the issues that will shape the Presidential elections and the governorship election in Lagos?

    At the presidential level we expect that Nigerians will think about the very important issues of national security. Nigerians will ask questions about the Chibok girls and our stolen territories by Boko Haram. Nigerians will ask questions about the power sector and why it has not worked after investing billions of dollars in 16 years. Nigerians will ask questions about unemployment and the NIS recruitment tragedy of last year. Nigerians will ask questions about the the stolen billions of dollars and the subsidy scam. Nigerians will ask questions about corruption in high places and why we cannot build our infrastructure. Nigerians will ask questions about the abuse of law enforcement agencies etc. In Lagos, Lagosians will look at the last 16 years of AC, ACN and APC governance. They have seen the transformation from what former President Obasanjo called a slum to a modern and cleanest city in Nigeria. Lagosians have seen how the lives and property were secured through committed and effective leadership. They have seen their Lagos has been made a world destination in 16 years.

    How can the votes count?

    Votes must count if we want to help this country to grow. If you rig a meretricious mediocrity into an exalted of the President or Governor, the people will suffer for four or eight years. This is the reason why our democratic institutions must help the system to work. Our country is down today because we have helped to rig common criminals into exalted offices. Our country is suffering today because we have helped to rig compound fools and nitwits in positions of authority. When these kinds of people are elected to positions they do not merit, they convert the huge offices to become family assets. The Police, Army, Navy, Airforce SSS or DSS, Civil Defence, NYSC, Customs, etc must allow our democracy to work. They must make our votes to count this time around.

    How can violence be averted?

    Do the right thing. Be neutral. Stop intimidation. Respect the fundamental rights of others. When peoples’ rights are violated, they may take laws into their hands. When our law enforcement agencies encourage some privileged Nigerians to oppress the poor, please know that trouble is coming. When Senator Obanikoro, a junior Minister took soldiers to stop Lagos State Housing project at Ilubirin in Lagos Island, he and the soldiers are looking for trouble. When Segun Adewale, a PDP Senatorial Candidate for Lagos West took thugs and policemen to The campaign office of his counterpart in APC in the same zone, Solomon Adeola Olamilekan’s ( Yayi) to try to assassinate him, are they not looking for violence? If you try to steal the peoples’ votes, you are looking for trouble. For our democracy to work better, all democratic institutions must be strengthened to be efficient and neutral. This is the way to avert violence.

    Why are people not collecting their voter’s cards?

    Some people are not collecting the PVCs because INEC did not get it right from the onset. You can’t plant cassava and hope to harvest yam. Whatever you sow, you will reap. I have been told that the only way a small army can defeat a huge army is probably because the small army had a better training, well equipped, well organized and possibly led by a gallant general. If INEC had been better organized and prepared like we have seen in other climes like India, collecting PVCs would not have been an issue. People and institutions fail because they fail to plan.

    Do you support deployment of troops for the election?

    If the troops will hit the streets just to help maintain law and order,that will be nice and acceptable. We have seen them do it in the past but if it turns out to be like the one we saw in Ekiti and Osun states, it will be unacceptable. Soldiers are supposed to be neutral, they are supposed to be defenders of every Nigerian but we are living witnesses of how these soldiers have been deployed to oppress, repress and suppress the opposition. Often times we see these soldiers working for the ruling party, abusing and humiliating the opposition with reckless abandon. I hope this will not happen in February 14 2015. Our soldiers must defend every Nigerian and equally defend our renascent democracy. Our soldiers that were rated among the best in Africa are now being rated as weak and ill-equipped to confront the common enemy. Our troops must redeem their battered image now.

  • Averting violence in Rivers elections

    Averting violence in Rivers elections

    Chief Daveis Ibiamu Ikanya is the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State. In this piece, he highlights what he describes as the atrocities of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against APC members and the implications for the general elections. He warns that the state may slip into violence, if the acts of terror are not checked.

    he greatest obstacle to democratic consolidation in Nigeria is electoral violence. Pre-election violence is as a result of the rascally disposition of some desperate and greedy politicians, who want to secure electoral victory by subverting the process and undermining the rule of law. Whilst the threat of bloodshed has always been in the air in Rivers State since the countdown to the general elections started, the upsurge in the incidence of violence in the state in recent times is worrisome. Apart from the fact that this phenomenon affects the credibility of the electoral process, the legitimacy of the election results and the rule of law, the nature, extent and magnitude of violence indicate unequivocally that it is a deliberate tool for intimidation and terror adopted as a policy and backed by security institutions who are paid from our commonwealth to protect our citizens.

     

    Electoral violence

    Electoral violence is any random or organized act that seeks to determine, delay or otherwise influence an electoral process through threat, verbal intimidation, hate speech, disinformation, physical assault, forced protection, destruction of property or assassination. The aim of electoral violence is either to influence the outcome of the process or to disrupt the entire electoral process.

    The Federal Government under the collegiate presidency of Dr. and Dame Goodluck Jonathan adopted a deliberate policy of state-sponsored violence against Rivers people when it deployed Mbu Joseph Mbu intentionally to promote (through manifestly corrupt and illicit means) the ascendancy of Mr. Nyesom Wike to political infamy. Mr. Mbu’s antics are too numerous and very well publicized. However, it may be necessary to remind us that since the day he shamelessly escorted known criminals and outlaws through the streets of Port Harcourt in the guise of a demonstration, violence triumphantly returned to Rivers State

    The PDP, having established its machinery for violence, began to unleash mayhem in the form of physical attacks on the APC members, killing and causing grievous bodily harm on our members.

    Attack on House of Assembly

    The absurdity of the attack on the House of Assembly would confound any right-thinking person who knows that there are 32 members of the House of Assembly out of which, five purportedly tried to impeach the Speaker. In the course of their quest to regain lawful access to the House of Assembly complex, the remaining 27 members were forced to sit on the bare surface of Moscow Road from where Mr. Mbu dispersed them with tear gas. Mr. Mbu left Rivers State in exceedingly controversial circumstances, after presiding over the return of Rivers State to a near state of anarchy into the warm embrace of the president and his dear wife who promptly rewarded him with a “well deserved” promotion. His legacies include the return of hitherto outlawed warlords who have re-established their camps and are operating visibly. Before he was redeployed, his atrocities reached its apogee with the attempted murder of Senator Magnus Abe when police men on his orders attacked Save Rivers Movement members at College of Arts and Science premises in Rumuola, Port Harcourt.

     

    Violence against APC members

    The following are but a few of the known cases of death and grievous bodily injuries caused our members by the PDP through its members and hirelings.

    Perhaps, the most brazen of all attacks took place in the early morning of the flag-off of the Presidential Campaign of the APC in Port Harcourt. Two different sets of gun men attacked buses conveying the party supporters from different parts of the state to Port Harcourt. The buses located several hundred kilometers from each other were riddled with bullets. A day after the attack, the police naively dismissed the attacks as incidents of armed robbery. Whilst it must be noted that nothing was stolen from the victims, one must ask the police why the “robbers” isolated APC members on the same day, at about the same time and in two different locations in the state?

    Many APC supporters on their way to the official flag-off of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s presidential campaign were attacked by gun men near Harry’s Town in Degema and Sakpenwa in Tai. The cowards were not bold enough to do it without hiding under face masks. They left many unconscious and in their pool of blood and fled into anonymity to spend the filthy money from their cowardly masters.

    After this, the APC secretariat in Okrika, the home of Madam Patience Jonathan was destroyed by a bomb explosion. Whilst no life was lost, party members have been terrorized and the message is clear that the PDP and its dangerously armed terrorist gangs will not allow the APC to lawfully contest for the votes in Okrika Local Government Area.

    Chief Orerehim was on the 10th of January beaten alongside others when they were having a caucus meeting at Oro-owo, Rumueme, Ward 10, Obio-Akpor LGA by thugs. He was seriously beaten and injured. He reported the matter to Rukpakani Police Station, Ada George Road. But, no arrest, invitation or investigation was made by the police.

    On January 22 in Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area, some group of PDP thugs destroyed APC billboards/banners and injured one Mr. Precious Tende. That was the third time Evans Bipi and his cohorts had willfully destroyed APC banners/billboards in Ogu, headquarters of the Local Government Area. the Ogu Council of Chiefs, the police at Ogu, the Department of State Security (DSS) and the Joint Task Force Unit are all aware of it.

    The following day, some PDP thugs numbering about 24 attacked the private residence of Barr. Cyprian Chukwu, a member of the APC in Ward 9, destroying valuable properties. He was lucky not to be at home when they came. They decapitated a young man in the premises and he is lying critically ill in the hospital with machete wounds on both arms.

    In the early hours of January 24, thugs on the orders of Mrs. Patience Jonathan, PDP attacked the National field in Okrika which was to be the venue of an APC rally scheduled for that day with guns and explosive devices and destroyed a musical/public address system, canopies, podium and chairs. Thereafter, they attacked the residence of APC Councilors and members in Okrika Local Government Area. The police are yet to make any arrests.

     

    Aiding and abetting by police

    Most of these heinous crimes have been aided and abetted by the police. In some cases, they simply looked the other way whilst the crimes were committed. In other instances, they arrested the APC complainants or members of supporters on phantom charges just to neutralize the political influence of the APC in the area. Below are some of the flagrant cases of police harassment, intimidation, unlawful arrests and detention against members and supporters of APC in Rivers State.

     

    Victimisation, arrest and detention

    In Omuma Local Government Area, Hon. Emeka Wogu, a former member of the Rivers State House of Assembly, a former Commissioner and currently Chairman, Caretaker Committee, Omuma Local Government Council was arrested and accused of shooting at Mr. President’s billboard. Meanwhile, on the fateful day (August 25, 2014), he was at a Joint Allocation Committee meeting in Port Harcourt and was nowhere near the scene of the incident at Omuma Local Government Area. He arrested on August 27, 2014 by over 60 armed policemen in a commando style, handcuffed in the presence of his children and detained for two days. He was subsequently released without any charge.

    In Ikwerre Local Government Area, Godwin Wojinda was arrested by the SARS squad of the police for stopping one Isi from running away with permanent voters cards (PVCs) belonging to ward 3, Omagwe, Ikwerre Local Government Area. He is still in police detention even when the culprit returned the hijacked material to the INEC Local Government Area Electoral Officer. He was not arrested; rather it was the complainant that was clamped into detention by the police.

     

    Anxiety over polls

    As the general elections approach, the scale, magnitude and intensity of the orchestrated violence against members of the APC has been assuming a frightful dimension, necessitating that we cry out to Nigerians and the international community. Our plight is akin to that of a people in a militarily conquered and occupied territory. PDP thugs and hirelings practically commit murders under the watchful and protective eyes of the police without as much as a slap on the wrist. The objective is obviously to antagonize and intimidate our supporters into believing that it is unsafe for them to come out and vote, thus effectively disenfranchising them.

    We make this distress call to all men, women, organizations, nations and people who cherish democracy to intervene before it is too late. It is unimaginable that a president, who is from the Niger Delta region and who assumed office on the wings of agitations for equity and justice, would permit unprovoked and premeditated violent attacks on the same people he hopes to ride on their primordial sentiments to secure his second term. The president’s cavalier attitude to the escalating violence in the state borders on criminal negligence because he knows or ought to know (or in the least remember) the level of arms in circulation and the historical volatility of the state (and region).

    We call on Amnesty International, the International Red Cross, the relevant organs of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) to immediately commence independent inquiries into the gruesome attacks and killings in Rivers State. We call on these and other humanitarian and democratic organizations and institutions to set high-powered election monitoring networks, teams and processes to monitor the election in Rivers State to avert unnecessary bloodbath, which may cripple our already weakened economy. An acceptable electoral outcome is possible in Rivers State, but only if the elections are truly free and fair. There cannot be free and fair election, if the spate of violence, high handedness, intimidation and terror is not halted. We pledge to remain law abiding but we shall defend ourselves, our people and their votes by all lawful means.

  • Audacity of Violence

    Since the commencement of the electioneering campaign process towards the general elections which kicks off next week, loyalists and supporters of some of the political parties and many other faceless Nigerians, have, through their actions, body language, speeches, advertisements and documentaries, been fanning the embers of war ahead of the elections. They have been threatening fire and brimstone. From the North to the South of the country, the situation remains the same. Palpable tension is in the air, so thick that it could be sliced with a butter knife.

    As this column wrote last week, as a result of this tension in the land, quite a good number of people are already voting with their feet. They are relocating their families out of the country or back to their respective villages over the fear of imminent violence. Not even assurances by top officials of government and other agencies are enough to dissuade the mass exodus from perceived hotspots in the country. From discussions everywhere you go to in the country these days, it is clear that since 1999, Nigerians have not witnessed any election as tension-soaked and keenly contested as next week’s presidential election.

    The election fever is not evident in the country alone as the international community has also been caught up in the trajectory. Quite recently, John Kerry, the United States Secretary of State, had to dash down to Nigeria to meet with the two frontline Presidential candidates – President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples’ Democratic Party and General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives’ Congress – as well as officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.  His message was that the international community is watching Nigeria and that peaceful and timely elections were vital to the continued existence of the country as well as peace in the West African sub-region.

    Obviously, there were other underlining factors that prompted Kerry’s visit. But if he was economical with words during his visit, the events that took place shortly after his departure showed that the country may well be sitting on a keg of gunpowder. Few hours after Kerry’s departure, President Jonathan’s campaign train moved to Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, the epicentre of the Boko Haram terrorists’ onslaught in the North-east. Borno is one of the three north-eastern states under emergency rule. With elaborate security arrangement provided by ground troops and the Air force, complete with roving helicopter gunships, the president managed to complete his campaign and departed from the city. Unfortunately, hours after, Maiduguri became a battle zone as Boko Haram terrorists, attacking from three flanks, descended on the city like a swarm of bees. It took heavy military reinforcement and bombardments, coupled with a curfew, to clear the city of the daring and deadly invaders.

    With this ever-present threat of violence from Boko Haram and the hate preaching by politicians all over the place, the country’s path seems to be littered with landmines. In fact, the threat from Boko Haram is only the most dramatic aspect of a situation in which almost every line on the chart of national stability is heading in the wrong direction. Falling oil prices have eroded government revenue, leading to raids on the sovereign wealth fund and pointing to a not too distant moment when governments at all levels – federal, state and local government – may be unable to pay those who work for them or even to maintain essential services. And this is happening in an energy-rich country where, for example, there is no reliable electricity supply, something that is very disastrous for economic survival and other social services.

    The truth is that as resources shrink, the hydra-headed monster called corruption will certainly get worse, leaving even far less available for legitimate purposes. Right now, in spite of significant increases in defence spending, troops battling terrorists in the north of the country are still without adequate equipment and, in some cases, even proper kits and regular supplies of food and ammunition. The police are not faring any better as no money has been allocated to them for the elections, leading to the usual speculation that the money earmarked for defence and security, may have developed wings.

    Apart from this, there is a sharp division between the political parties, on virtually every issue and all the issues about the forthcoming elections. The division between the parties has largely followed primordial ethnic and religious fault lines – north and south, Christian and Muslim, to mention only the most obvious – which rather than easing, have been deepening in recent years. Perhaps, of greater worry is the ready recourse of politicians to unleash menacingly-looking thugs, all brandishing dangerous weapons and missiles, on innocent people. While some of the campaigns have been marred by violence and may get worse in the days ahead, some ethnic bigots are also threatening to spill blood if their candidate is unsuccessful in the coming election. My fear is that if the situation is not urgently checked, the nation may soon be embroiled in violence of unimaginable proportion.

    With this sordid scenario, like I said earlier, the country’s path in the weeks ahead is laden with landmines. Even if the country manages to scale through the elections without the worst happening, the result of the elections may come under serious litigation. If this happens and the government fails to move quickly to defuse tension as well as arrest the  looming fiscal crisis, such a weakened government would find it even harder to put in place  adequate military architecture to combat the growing menace of the terrorists ravaging the north-east part of the country. The terrorists could as well intensify their attacks during the election period to create maximum confusion and disorder.

    In his historic election campaign en route the 2008 American presidential elections, Barack Hussein Obama, the incumbent President of the United States of America, demonstrated that with boldness and unwavering commitment to a cause, victory can indeed be achieved. That unwavering commitment as chronicled in his now famous book, The Audacity of Hope, singled him out as a man who knows his onions and just where to fix them. It painted Obama as a person who had a vision for America, a vision rooted in the values that have always made America the last bastion of hope in the world. Unfortunately, now that the general election in Nigeria is right here at our doorstep, we are yet to recognise such vision dripping with patriotic fervor in our politicians even as they crisscross the entire length and breadth of the country wooing and cajoling voters to give them their votes.

    For several months before his eventual election as president in 2008, Obama held meetings across the country with all manners of people on front porches and family farms; in the basements of churches and at town hall meetings. The people he met knew that it wasn’t possible that government alone can solve all their problems and they never expected it to be so. Instead, the people believed in personal responsibility, hard work and self reliance. They also believed in fairness, opportunity and the responsibilities they have to one another.  They believed in an America where good jobs are there for the willing, where hard work is rewarded with a decent living and they also recognised the fundamental truth that a sound economy requires thriving businesses and flourishing families. However, what they will not take is to see their tax dollars going down the drain or private pockets as we witness too often in Nigeria.

    In a globalised world that changes every now and then, forging this kind of future like that of the Americans in a place like Nigeria can never be a tea party. In other words, it will never come easily. It requires new ways of thinking, of doing things and a new spirit of patriotism. That is exactly what is expected of Nigeria and Nigerians and not the growing audacity for violence. Although, the country has, several times proved the doomsayers wrong before now, it however, remains to be seen if the present worsening odds against it could also pass away without causing a major catastrophe in the polity.

  • Lawyer seeks end to violence against females

    Child Rights activist, Taiwo Akinlami has urged the male youths to change their perception about the girl-child and women.

    Akinlami gave the advise in an address delivered as guest speaker at the inauguration of a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), HeforShe committed to ending violence against the girl child and women in the country.

    The occasion was at the gender equality programme organised by L.E.A.R.N in collaboration with United Nations Information Center (UNIC) held last week at Birch Freeman Secondary School, Mushin.

    Akinlami who spoke extensively on gender equality, urged them to honour women who brought them to life and not o see the girl child as an inferior human being.

    He urged them to make a commitment on changing themselves and their perceptions about women and to be part of the change going on around the world on the wrong perception people initially harbor about women.

    Former Speaker of Lagos State Children’s Parliament, Emmanuel Awobona, also enjoined the students to see women as mothers and to always see them  as such.

    Awobona urged the youths to stop regarding the girl child as the weaker vessel stressing that the fact that she was created out of a man’s rib does not necessarily make her a subordinate. He urged them to regard and treat women  as equals.

    The Project Manager L.E.A.R.N Mrs. Bisi Awoyomi in an opening remarks stressed the need for the boys to put an end to violence against women and girls and see them as partners in all that they do.

    The students drawn from junior and senior schools presented two different  drama that portrayed  end to  “violence against women”.

    The students along with that of Yaba College of Technology, the L.E.A.R.N team and facilitators did a walk chanting ‘STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN’

     

  • How to prevent violence during elections, by JNI

    The apex Islamic body in the North, Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), has said free, fair and credible elections will prevent a repeat of the 2011 post-election violence.

    It noted that the acceptance of the outcome of the elections by all, especially the major stakeholders, was significant to post-election peace.

    Addressing reporters yesterday in Kaduna, JNI’s Secretary General, Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, on behalf of its President-General and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, said election stakeholders should ensure justice in the conduct of this year’s polls.

    It said: “…Bearing the burden of the trust of leadership, being conscious of the imperative of truthfulness in salvaging a rather drifting polity and, most importantly for the sake of posterity, the JNI hereby asserts that the most significant antidotes to violence are: free, fair and credible elections on one hand and faithful acceptance of the outcome of elections by all.

    “In any election, there must be winners and losers. We would only get it right when the elections are obviously and manifestly seen to be transparent and credible in conduct and, consequently, the losers accept defeat in good faith.”

    JNI urged the major presidential and governorship candidates to respect the Abuja Peace Accord and avoid utterances that may trigger violence.

    It said: “It is our firm belief that doing everything possible to forestall violence and save lives and property in the forthcoming elections is our collective obligation that we all have to discharge and we must, therefore, stand up to do it faithfully and devoutly.

    “From the Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) distribution and other preparations towards the elections, to the political rallies and campaigns at various levels, there have always emerged issues and incidents that generated excitements, concerns and even anxieties.

    “Against the backdrop of these happenings, the JNI feels obliged to comment with a view to calling on, not only Muslims but the entire citizens of our great country, to demonstrate real and genuine sense of patriotism, responsibility, tolerance and commitment to peace and stability in Nigeria before, during and after the elections.

    “As an important stakeholder in the elections, in the governance of the country and indeed because of its firm commitment to the country’s unity, stability and progress, the JNI believes that this call on the citizens for peace is essentially and genuinely a religious and civic obligation.

    “It has always been the case, not only in Nigeria but in all democratic societies in the world, that seasons of general elections are usually fraught with anxieties, uncertainties and even tensions. It is apparent that the elections in the next two weeks are the most keenly contested in the history of our country…”

  • ‘Nobody can be president through violence’

    ‘Nobody can be president through violence’

    Hon. Mohammed Kumalia is a lawyer by profession and a politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1999 to 2007 and served as the Minority Leader of the House from 1999 to 2003. He also contested the governorship election in Borno State in 2097, but lost. In this interview with Tony Akowe in Abuja, he speaks on the forth coming election and the insurgency in the North-East

    YOU were well noticed at the National Conference but for over a months after the report was submitted to the government, nothing seems to have been done about the report. Are you not disappointed?

    I would not say that I am disappointed yet because as you may have noticed, at the time the conference was convened, it was close to the time for preparation for the elections and most public analysts and commentators have said that the timing of the conference was not the best and that it was allowed to take place within the framework of the tenure of the current president and therefore it is likely that the recommendations may not be put to use before the elections and I think this is what is actually taking place now. But what we have done at the National Conference is not something that can be wished away because it was four months of torture and rigorous debate, horse trading and exchange of ideas. At the end of which, a lot of fantastic recommendations have been made for the good of the country and to solidify the union. To that extent, I believe that after the elections, these recommendations will be tabled before the National Assembly who should be able to pass some of them, if not all of them.

    The issue of whether to postpone the elections or not is currently on the front burner of national political discourse. What is your view on this?

    You know that the President recently met with the American Secretary of State, John Kerry, and he was very clear about his determination to ensure that the election is not postponed and that the hand over date of May 29 is sacrosanct. That was what the President said. So, all the people that are speculating about who is responsible for the push for the postponement of election have placed it on the door step of the PDP. They feel that it is the PDP that wants elections postponed. But the number one PDP man, who is Mr. President, told the American Secretary of State that he is determined to hold the election and that the handover date is sacrosanct. To that extent, as far as I am concerned, every other thing is just speculation and politicking. Even if a matter is sufficiently addressed by whoever is supposed to address it in this country, because of political reasons, some people would want the matter to continue to be in the news to score some political points.

    You are a member of the PDP and at the moment, opposition appeared prepared to take on the PDP head on. What, in your opinion, are the chances of the PDP in the elections?

    As you know, the PDP is the party in power. It is a very strong and resilience party. In the last 15 years, there have been attempts to upstage the PDP, but that has not been possible. I agree with you that this time, the opposition is very determined and very strong. There are so many PDP people that have crossed over and are now members of the opposition party. I will be the first to admit that the PDP has a very strong challenge to contend with in 2015 General Elections. At the same time, you can see from the nature of the campaigns that even where people expects that the PDP will not have a good showing, when the President went there, people are amazed by the crowd. People were shocked by the crowd that PDP gathered when the President went to Kano. Initially, people thought the stadium will be empty because Kano is an APC state. The same thing happened when he came to Borno where the insurgents have really decapitated the spirit of the people and their love for the PDP. I want to say that up to this moment, PDP is the party to beat and I want to believe that the party stands a very good chance to win the election. We are not sitting back, but working seriously while waiting for God to decide because He is the decider of who gets power. I am a Muslim who believes that God is the giver and the taker and if God says that PDP will form the next government, nobody can stop that.

    As a member of the PDP, are you not also worried that ex-militants in the Niger Delta are threatening to go to war against the nation in the event that your candidate, the President, loses the election?

    I am worried about some of the utterances that some of the -ex-militants are making. In fact, those are the guys that are making it more difficult for some of us who are northerners and are members of PDP to even talk to our people in the way and manner we should talk to them because of some of the utterances they are making. PDP is a national party, with members from all works of life, from all geopolitical zones and religious affiliations and President Jonathan is a member of the party and President of the country. We don’t see Jonathan as a Christian President of Nigeria or an Ijaw President of Nigeria or a South-South President of Nigeria. We see Jonathan as a Nigerian who happens to be the President of this country and more importantly, a member of the PDP who is the president. That is the way we look at him. But the type of profiling that people like Tompolo and Asari Dokubo want to give the President is making it difficult for a number of members of the party, especially those who are not from the South-South to defend what they are doing. I don’t even know if they are members of the PDP and I don’t know what business they have in the PDP. If they are supporters of the President, let them go and support him and that ends there. But they should not put their mouth in a business that is not theirs. As far as I am concerned, they are neither spokesmen nor officials of the PDP and so cannot speak on behalf of the PDP and it is not their business what the PDP does with its presidential candidate. It is we, card carrying members of the party that should market and sell our President. If they are his supporters, let them support him, but trying to threaten the whole country that if Jonathan is not elected President of this country, that all hell would be let loose is out of the question; the question is, who the hell are you? Tompolo cannot hold this country to ransom.  Asari Dokubo cannot hold this country to ransom because this country is bigger and greater than any individual. So, I don’t support what they are saying, I am worried even though I am not the spokesman of the PDP. However, they should be asked to shut up and face their business. They are not spokespersons of the PDP and I don’t care if they are from the same tribe with the president. As a politician, the kind of affinity I have with the president is more relevant and stronger.

    Less than 24 hours after the President had his rally in Maiduguri, there was an attempt by the insurgents. Are you not worried that the insurgents are gaining ground on a daily basis and the government has not been able to address the problem?

    The attack on Maiduguri was very unfortunate and I am worried about this. I am worried about the escalating violence in the North-East; I am worried about the violence happening in Borno, Yobe and Taraba. In Borno, everyday, the insurgents are taking over more and more territory and this is worrisome. The influx of people from other towns and villages to Maiduguri has over stretched the city and it now has more than five times its capacity. Yet, these people are trying to come and attack Maiduguri. So, my appeal to the security agents is that since this thing is not abating, they should redouble their efforts in making sure that they flush out these insurgents so that people can return to their homes.

    In recent times, we have seen some efforts by other countries trying to help in the fight against these insurgents and yet, you still have them operating as if they are in total control. Is it that they are stronger?

    I want to believe that the Nigerian Army is far superior, better trained and that they have what it takes to flush out these insurgents. They are more professional. Their outlook and in their training and therefore, I do not want to be one of those who believe that this rag tag army of Boko Haram is more professional than the Nigerian Army, I don’t want to believe that.

    On the issue of foreign assistance, let me say that I have listened at various times when the meetings of these countries and our president have been held and they have always pledged their support. But the truth of the matter is that we are not satisfied with the level of support they are giving us because the border between Cameroon and Chad is very big and porous. Most of the time, when they are repelled from here, they retreat to those countries, regrouped and come back.

    In a bid to ensure violence free election, an accord was signed by all the presidential candidates taking part in the election. But from what we are seeing on ground, there seems to be breaches already. To what extent do you think that this accord can ensure free and fair election?

    There are different levels of interventions. The leaders, that is, President Jonathan who is the candidate of the PDP, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, who is the candidate of the APC, and their national chairmen, signed the document. However, the best they can do is to project, live by and preach that people should not carry arms and whenever people do anything that is violent, they should make a statement. Since that accord was signed, there are things that have happened. I can remember that on some occasions, Buhari has come out to condemn certain things and disown people that have done certain things. Similarly, President Jonathan has condemned certain actions. The parties too have condemned certain actions. That is the best they can do at that level of leadership.

  • Let’s stop talking and planning violence

    Many Nigerian politicians these days are talking and planning, not elections, but violence. Some are threatening war by their own particular nationalities against all other nationalities of Nigeria. Some are issuing threats of religious wars, though in veiled phrases. Altogether, it seems as if, come mid-February, the real event in Nigeria is not going to be elections but horrific conflicts and pogroms.

    As the rest of the world absorbs these fearsome vibrations from Nigeria, worldwide apprehension about Nigeria has risen to fever pitch. What one would describe as the peak came early this week when the American  Secretary of State, John Kerry, hurried to Nigeria to appeal to Nigerian rulers and leaders to stop planning for violence and start planning for free, fair and peaceful elections. If the government of America feels compelled to take that kind of action, then the situation must be a lot worse than most of us, ordinary Nigerians, know.

    It is therefore critically important for us all to warn our politicians. Tempers are such in Nigeria these days that if violence starts as is being threatened and planned, it is very likely to develop to extents beyond the wildest imaginations of any Nigerian and any Nigerian political leader. In country after country in Black Africa, political violence usually starts small, but by igniting pent-up angers, fears and hostilities, it then sets up horrendous conflagrations that seem to go on forever – often consuming and destroying lives and properties indiscriminately. Nigeria is more combustible today than most Nigerian politicians seem to know or care to know. They are wrong in thinking that another Nigerian civil war will proceed and end neatly, or be spatially limited, like our first civil war.

    It will help if our politicians watch videos on the civil wars that have wracked the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo-Kinshasa) off and on since 1960. The political storm started as a small incident a few days after the celebration of independence. Then it rolled forward and ballooned out until it engulfed most of the country, led to the assassination of its first Prime Minister, generated a viciously corrupt military dictatorship, and then concatenated in an even larger second civil war. This second war became so massive that it involved all the countries of Central Africa and became known as “Africa’s World War”. An estimated 5.4 million people have died in this war – the largest human casualties of any one war since the Second World War of 1939-45. Today, in spite of United Nations and African Union peace-keeping efforts, rebel forces are still alive in parts of this country.

    I have academic colleagues who saw some parts of the Rwanda genocide of 1994. As they tell it, there was not much of a sign of impending trouble in the days before. But once the mass killings started, it was as if everybody had long been preparing to kill their neighbours. Within days, virtually everybody in sight was a machete-wielding desperado and killer. A journalist on the spot reported, “There are no devils left in hell; all of them are on duty in Rwanda”. Within 90 days, over 750,000 people had been killed, and over two million had been forced to flee from their homes.

    Virtually every country of Black Africa is prone to these political wild fires. Last week, I told the story of the mass killings now in progress among the 40 different nationalities of South Sudan where, in only two years of independence, between 50,000 and 100,000 people have been slaughtered. Somalia slowly slid into confusion in 1991, and it continues to live in that disorder till today. A few days ago, the United Nations and the African Union agreed to increase the number of international peace-keeping forces in Somalia. The political hurricane goes on and on all over Black Africa, generating horrific destruction, loss of lives, and blood-curdling human deprivation and suffering.

    The truth behind these patterns of madness is that our Black African countries are very fragile. The disorientation started when our various peoples were forced into countries that were not their own choosing; and it has become very profound in our time. Our peoples feel trapped and deprived, and are therefore often on edge. Little conflicts have a tendency to blow up into mammoth disasters. Therefore, it is a serious crime to start violence in any of our countries – because it is impossible to tell how far and wide it will go.

    As I have said in various ways in this column, the disorientation of our many peoples in Nigeria has been compounded by the folly of concentrating power and resource-control in the so-called “federal government”. We have called into being a demon that we can never, on our own, peacefully send away. No Nigerian who enters into the limitless powers of the presidency and the limitless ocean of money under the president’s control can ever choose to do the right thing and return Nigeria to a sane federation. The disorientation, sense of loss, anger, bitterness and mutual animosity among our various peoples have risen very high and are escalating fearfully at this point. It is therefore a very wrong time for our politicians to play with any idea of conflict.

    Whatever else they may choose to do with our country, our political leaders must seriously commit themselves to the avoidance of violent conflicts. The candidates in the coming presidential election have agreed to conduct their election campaigns, and run the election itself, in peace, and to prevail on their supporters and activists to do the same. We do not see the effects of that agreement in the conduct of the campaigns yet. Threats of violence are still being hurled from virtually all sides, and politically motivated conflicts are still being reported in various places. The informed world still continues to worry. Governments and international agencies are considering how to help Nigeria to prevent violent conflicts generated by election.

    But whatever help the international community may offer, it is we Nigerians that must bear the ultimate responsibility for the destiny of Nigeria. In the context of our senseless accumulation of power and resource-control into the federal centre, we have evolved a political culture that conceives of elections as do-or-die wars. If we really intend to sort out the future of this country in a peaceful manner, we must get rid of this essentially criminal approach to elections.

    For our 2007 elections, many countries and international agencies sent pre-election observers, and then sent countless observer teams at election time. Yet, we made that election one of the most criminally rigged elections in our history. I fear that we are going to do exactly like that with our February election – and that if we do, we will almost certainly have the violent conflicts that the world fears. And judging from the moods of these times, I fear that the violence of 2015 may be our final folly together. Those thinking of rigging elections, and those thinking of responding with violence – both are, in the atmosphere of today, planning to ride on a tiger’s back, and they are taking the risk of ending up in the tiger’s belly.