National Daily

Violence: Caution against 2011

THE sobering words of Richard AKINJIDE, a former Justice Minister and Attorney-General of the Federation, in January, 2010 that “…We now have a nation without a leader; we now have a boat without a captain; we now have an army without a General…I will not say that is a failed state, but we are steadily moving towards that”, must worry every rational, patriotic and objective Nigerian. This February, we face the first in the series of inevitably staggered elections, thrust upon us by avoidable delays at election petition tribunals and by a Constitution that is loudly silent on a specific time-limit for petitions to be concluded before winners are sworn in. As the general elections get ever so close, Nigerians are beginning to entertain mortal fears about their safety as ell elections in Nigeria, bye- or general, are occasions for the slaughter of political opponents. Although we still have about a year and a half to go, the orgy of election-related killings has begun, with the assassination/murder of Dipo Dina, former governorship candidate of the Action Congress political party in the April 2007 elections, in Otta, in his native Ogun State has reminded Nigerians once more, of how much of an endangered specie the 'ordinary-Nigerian' is. If we ever doubted that there was a vacuum in government, we now know better. We had unresolved killings when Mr. President was in situ; is it now that he has been absent for more than two months that we can hope?

Coming on the heels of recently confirmed deaths [of more than 350!] as a result of recent riots up north, and recalling past deaths from electoral violence in an ordinary 'Re-run' election as we saw in EKITI state, the senseless killing of Mr. DINA provides another opportunity to call on ALL Nigerians to gird their loins before we get debased further. What is the value of a Nigerian life? We need to examine ourselves, individually and collectively, to determine how we arrived at this sorry place where life is 'short, nasty and brutish'! Who will protect us from all this insecurity in 2011when experience has shown that our Police are unable, unwilling, scared or just not ready to solve all the killings? These are dangerous times indeed: we cannot afford to ignore the increase in violent crimes and as the Vice President noted the seeming acceptance of the use of violence as a means to settle differences. From OGUN to OSUN, BAUCHI to BAYELSA and from PLATEAU to ANAMBRA states, the story is the same; we need to caution ourselves before violence mars the process to elect a Governor on February 6, 2010 in ANAMBRA state.

It seems that the Independent Electoral Commission [INEC] is seemingly determined to give Nigerians an election that will change the perception of the Commission as an impartial stooge of the ruling party. We note also the cynicism with which Nigerians greeted the appointment by INEC of an election monitoring board [EMB] for ANAMBRA state, a fact that is admittedly not lost on even the members of the board [whose Chairman ironically is the first Vice-President of the Nigerian Bar association [NBA], INEC's greatest critics]. Could INEC be seeking legitimacy and credibility for its elections through surreptitious endorsement by a board it appointed itself, even if members are proven men of integrity? We are aware that INEC took the board's advice and implemented corrections recommended on certain matters. We implore the board to make public, ALL its recommendations to the commission, so that Nigerians can know if INEC selectively implemented any.

We commend the Inspector-General of Police [IGP] for reiterating the importance of security to all senior officers and Commissioners of Police. We urge the police to take seriously, reports about procurement/sewing of fake uniforms for fake policemen by politicians and movement of fake electoral/ballot papers as made by the ANAMBRA EMB With revelations that the recent riots in JOS, Plateau state were fuelled by inciting text messages giving false information to different religious/ethnic groups and egging them on, the IGP was right to call on Nigerians to shun rumor-mongering that could generate panic, disorder and lawlessness. In this regard, we feel that a responsive government needs to be more transparent and forthcoming in managing information. In this digital age when news travels at the touch of a button, public officers insisting on secrecy or [worse!] selectively disseminating, in spite of Presidential orders to the contrary, you leave room for wild speculation.

Whether it's about the President's health or not, we align ourselves with the view of Mr. AKINJIDE, that Nigerians have the right to know. Where you fail to provide information, you allow rumor to thrive. Again we call on the National Assembly [NASS] to pass the Freedom of Information [FOI] Bill urgently so that we can access the information we need and put paid to groping-in-the-dark; this is the only way to prevent the rumors that often lead to mayhem. If text messages were used in Plateau state, what is to stop it being used in 2011 to cause trouble? We urge Nigerians be vigilant and to think carefully about the origins and effects of any 'negative' texts sent to their cell phones before forwarding same; with a little logic and some caution, we may save the day!

We note the Police also cheekily calling on INEC to emulate the Ghana electoral commission by giving Nigerians a credible election. [Even our Police recognized that Ghana did something right?!] As we say YES to that, may we ALSO remind the police about their inadequacies: the perceived impartiality that we all have come to associate with them at elections? We hope that the IGP will pay as much attention to the reported roles played by the police at the polling booth during previous elections: intimidation of innocent voters who feel obliged to stay away when they see too many security agents, harassment of opponents of their principals especially where they are attached to 'big-man-politician', turning a blind eye to ballot-box snatching by those the police is sympathetic to and aiding the roughing-up of perceived enemies by political thugs of whatever party they are attached to.

We therefore call on the IGP to emphasize that policemen should not be intimidated by the presence of 'big shots' at the scene of the election. The law is the law: the police do not have to be coerced into arresting those who are in breach of the law. They should be BOLD enough to arrest ANYONE doing ANYTHING the electoral act frowns on. The police must NOT allow themselves to be used to inflict pain on the electorate. The ANAMBRA election should be a test case for INEC for 2011. Nigerians and indeed the world, are watching. As we approach 2011, let us get things in perspective. Election Day is the culmination of a long process; if we get the process right- free, fair and transparent primaries within the political parties-2011 will be a breeze.