2015: Avoiding Our Common Enemies By mas danlafia. on August 14, 2013 - 7:53pm I am not the spokesperson of the chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, but I suspect the former vice-chancellor of Bayero University, Kano, is very conscious of his mandate and that of the commission he is heading. Evidence: In the last few weeks he has consistently raised the alarm over certain conspicuous factors that are likely to slow down the promotion of sound democratic election processes and knowledge in line with Section 2 (b) of the amended Electoral Act 2010, as we move towards 2015 - the year many sadists and evil-thinking-politicians have described as “year of political Armageddon” in our country. He had advised the National Assembly to quickly address it through further amendment of the Electoral Act. Jega was particularly interested in the areas of internal democracy within the political parties, especially in the processes of electing candidates for the general elections and the recurring election violence in our politics. I had thought that, like Jega, every political player as well as stakeholders -- political parties, civil society groups, faith groups, all arms of government and the media -- should be concerned about these critical issues as we prepare for the 2015 general elections. But, sadly, we are more concerned about irrelevant issues – name-calling, emotional and dangerous ethnic and religious matters and elevation of primordial sentiments that are capable of further dividing our nation to undeserved level. Read national dailies, watch many television stations or listen to radio stations on a daily basis and you will discover that they are pre-occupied with the crisis between Governor Rotimi Ameachi of Rivers State and his party, the so-called division within the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, the Bamanga Tukur must-go campaign by some sections of the media and other nonsensical and ridiculous matters that have no relevance in our road to good governance and sound democratic norms and values. At a time many right-thinking persons expect the political parties to engage the National Assembly by mobilising their members at the legislative arm of government to fix these anti-democratic issues in our electoral laws, some of their leaders are busy insulting themselves on the pages of newspapers every day. And, unfortunately, the media, the profession I belong to that ought to set the agenda, are blindfolded and find it more convenient to have an unholy alliance with some dirty politicians than carry out their constitutional responsibility of holding them accountable. Let’s come to our senses: One of the factors that have consistently hindered sound and true democracy in our nation is lack of internal democratic processes in recruiting candidates for elections. Over and over again, we have witnessed in this country how some political godfathers sat down in their cozy homes on Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, Ota Farm or somewhere in Kano and Katsina states and decided candidates for governorship, National Assembly, state assemblies and even councillors in all states and across political parties. The implications of this undemocratic method can be seen in our politics today: We have ended up having certificate forgers – people who have no classmates in primary, secondary and higher institutions and yet parading several school certificates -- 419ers, kidnappers, bandits, religious and ethnic bigots and other criminals as governors, lawmakers and chairmen of local governments. If we are interested in having good people at all levels of governance in our nation – as some overnight political saints are preaching -- we must quickly address these issues. Another matter we must also urgently address before the 2015 general elections is violence and the lethal activities of some gangs of thugs that have always been associated with our elections in the past decades, especially in 2011. For example, the noxious election-related and communal violence across the country, more especially in the northern part of our country following the April 2011 presidential voting, left thousands of people dead, according to respected human rights organization Human Rights Watch. In northern Nigeria, the victims were killed in the three days of rioting in 12 states. Even though the matter has been investigated and several reports submitted, both the state and federal authorities have refused to promptly prosecute those who orchestrated and carried out those crimes and address the root causes of the violence. It is on record that the violence began with widespread protests by supporters of the main opposition candidate, following the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011. And many local and international groups had reported how the protests later degenerated into violent riots and sectarian killings in the northern states. Several reports that have been submitted said that over 3,000 persons were killed, while more than 65,000 people were displaced and billions of naira worth of properties destroyed. Before then, corrupt politicians - in many cases backed by mafia-like political godfathers -- openly mobilised gangs of thugs to terrorize innocent people and political opponents and to stuff or steal ballot boxes. Reports had suggested that security agents were often present during such incidents but frequently turned a blind eye to or, at times, participated in the criminal game. In some locations, elections simply did not take place, yet some dirty staff members of the electoral commission reported high voter turnout and questionable results. And the local and international community had thought that both the state and federal governments would quickly build on the democratic gains from the elections by bringing to justice those who orchestrated the horrendous crimes and addressing the starting place of the violence. Sadly, that has not been done. Rather than focusing on those issues, some stakeholders are busy running their stinking mouths. Trust my judgment: Because of our inaction, especially that of the necessary authorities, the promoters of these evils will surely improve on their deadly games in 2015. And this is not the best way to deepen our constitutional democracy or good governance - where everybody is expected to play according to the rules and regulation. Let’s think rightly.
Posted on: Wed, 14 Aug 2013 18:16:10 +0000
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