As the 2015
general election dances on the threshold, a lot of Nigerians have
become apprehensive that violence free-polls would be impossible, no
thanks to the explosive comments from candidates and political parties,
culminating in setting ablaze of campaign vehicles belonging to the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and bombing of All Progressives
Congress’s (APC) party secretariat.
The electorates don’t need a crystal ball to be able to decipher the handwriting on the wall. If things continue this way, the elections will take blood!
Politicians, candidates and supporters have continued to unsheathe claws and bared sharpened fangs as the campaigns progressed. Normally, candidates are supposed to unveil their manifestoes for Nigerians as they canvass for votes, but now, respected candidates have shockingly degenerated to attacking personalities, instead of issues bedeviling the country.
The dirty name callings and mudslinging came to a head with the attack and setting ablaze of two campaign buses of President Goodluck Jonathan by some youths at the Mangu Street junction in the Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State. These youths are likely playing out scripts given to them by politicians. Before people could get over the shock of the burnt campaign buses, explosion rocked the secretariat of the APC in Abam Ama, Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State.
A badly shaken Inspector-General of Police, IGP Suleiman Abba, who is presently beginning to realise the herculean task ahead of him, come February, condemned the two senseless pre-election violence, stressing that buildings and properties worth millions of naira, belonging to PDP and APC were damaged. Abba reminded politicians, party supporters and well-meaning Nigerians, that politics was a means of enthroning custodians of the people’s common wealth, for the overall benefit of all.
“As such, it should be played with every sense of decorum devoid of religious, ethnic and all other forms of primordial sentiments,” said Abba. He assured Nigerians that the perpetrators of these unaccepted and heinous acts would not go unpunished as the police would do all it takes to bring them to justice. But who in the political parties is paying attention to Abba or taking his threat seriously? If Abba wants to be heard and listened to, he needs to do more than talk and threaten.
He needs to take action before conflagration engulfs the country before, during and after February elections. Security experts, who spoke on the issue, said that Nigerians should kiss goodbye to any notion of having a violence free elections. Indeed, their words were like a clarion call, as they charged the electorates to be prepared for any eventualities. Dr. Ona Ekhomu, Chairman, Trans- World Security, Security and Investigations, said: “We definitely can’t have a violence free election! The election is already being marred by violence right now. The electorates are very violent. Their actions are violent.
There are indications that no matter who wins the election, there is going to be disagreement, perhaps even violence!” A former Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav said: “The whole thing is very frightening. Recently, they burnt some campaign buses in Jos and they also bombed the office of the APC in Rivers State. Today, (Tuesday) we read in the papers that the home of the National Chairman of APC in Abuja, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun was raided. We don’t know what is going to happen next. It appears our politicians are not patient and have not learnt anything.
Corruption is the only thing responsible for all these! The issue of election violence is very frightening. Already, they have started rehearsing. The burning of Jonathan’s campaign buses is very sad. And the politicians are not helping matters. They issue threats to one another and tell lies. These lies are threatening the peace and security of this country.
A crime analyst, Mr. Folorusho Atta, on the other hand, argued that a lot depends on Abba, if the country must not go up in flames during and after the elections. He said the elections will be a litmus test for Abba. His words: “This election shall be a litmus test for the Nigeria Police Force and IGP in particular. It’s going to make or mar the force. It also depends on the role Abba and his men will play.
If the IGP decides to start announcing elections results like it was done by someone in 1983, posterity will never forgive him and his men. If the police play their statutory roles well, remain unbiased, there won’t be post-election violence.” Speaking further, Ekhomu said that political violence was not the way elections are contested. He explained that when one is contesting, the person should make provisions for the fact that he may lose or win. “The mindset of the electorate right now, is like, ‘If my man doesn’t win, we would set the whole place on fire.’
The problems are the political parties,” said Ekhomu. “The parties are conducting the candidates and the parties are giving and contesting the elections. The candidates are mere figure heads in an electoral system. In Nigeria, when we vote, we vote for party, not the candidate. The candidate only carries the message of the party.
“What is happening right now is that the parties are becoming very violent in their rhetoric and actions. Right now, we’re in the midst of a lot of electoral violence. Just yesterday (Monday), the APC office was bombed. From several media reports, we see that Commissioners of Police in every state are warning politicians to calm down their supporters or they would be arrested for incitement. “An Imam was arrested by the police in one of the western states after he gave a speech in the mosque. What I’m trying to say, is that there’s a lot of violence already. Asking whether there would be violence next month is a forgone conclusion!” Ekhomu said that the only solution would have been, if the security agencies could deal with the problems unveiling right now, before the elections proper.
“If security agencies can arrest people for inciting comments and prosecute them, that will help. But there should be glaring and abundance of evidences to show that an individual has crossed the line or was involved in acts of violence before he should be arrested and prosecuted. This is to ensure that the law enforcement officers are not accused of being partial. What we do now, will lay the foundation for mid-February, end and beyond.” He noted that the real violence, especially in Nigeria, usually starts after the elections, when votes had been declared.
He further said: “Some parties are already saying they won’t accept the outcome of the election when election had not been held. And it’s very unfortunate. People who make such statements should be invited by law enforcement for questioning. “I don’t know why our security agencies are doing us a great disservice by being very laid back, lackadaisical and intellectually lazy. You don’t need to be a genius to know a statement that is inciting. If somebody says he’s not going to accept the results, security agents should ask him, which election results does he already know or has in his pockets. Such statement sets the stage for violence. When they lose, their supporters will unleash violence because they had already been told not to accept the result. And that’s the worst form of creating incitement and violence!”
Tsav said that most political office holders had stolen and since nothing had been done to them, others now wanted to come and steal, while those who are there still wanted to remain there at all cost. “If we have a way of fighting corruption, all these rubbish will not be there!” railed Tsav. “In the case of security agencies; the time is too short for them to any proffer solution for these entire crises. When we were under British rule and you have a situation like this, you send plainclothes security men to integrate with these politicians and pretend to be part of them.”
He said that the police could have done well by recruiting young school leavers who are presently roaming the streets. These school leavers could have been trained and given undercover police jobs to do, in tensed political situations. Tsav said: “They’ll get information that will help the country a great deal. But we are not doing that! The Policemen and Department of State Security (DSS) we have these days are always quick to flash their identity cards. If you’re undercover and identify yourself, your cover is blown.
Police should have had plainclothes policemen to integrate into society with politicians, criminals and know the situation on ground, so that they can work on it. “But here, everyone is anxious to make money and get a new rank, without putting efforts into the job. We appeal to politicians to be God-fearing and stop making explosive situations that could create trouble in this country. We don’t know who would be consumed by the time this trouble starts. Innocent and old people may be consumed. The electorates should vote wisely.”
Atta has a post-election advice for Abba and his men. Hear him: “I think that after the elections, the police should place their priority on other crimes such as insurgency, armed robbery and kidnapping which in recent years, had reached its crescendo. The police, while grappling with elections activities, must spread her tentacles to other areas as criminals and undesirable elements may want to perfect their acts or use this period to attack citizens and foreigners. “Without being pessimistic, 2015 poses danger to police as criminals and insurgents are increasingly becoming difficult for the police and her sisters agencies to tackle.
The police might not triumph over criminals as the criminals are getting more sophisticated, acquiring high caliber weapon to the obsolete and antiquated weaponry of the police.” He further suggested that for a standard police force, the federal government must fund the police properly, so that it can perform optimally this year. Atta said: “Since gadgets and patrol vehicles are inanimate things, well trained personnel are needed to man them. The Nigerian Police Force remains the worst in Africa when it comes to maintenance culture and indiscipline.
The IGP must rise up and act!” If the ongoing political wrangling and violence continue, many electorates may be forced to stay at home, keeping away from polling booths. Perhaps the most pivotal and daunting challenges before Abba, is this forthcoming elections. Abba must do everything within his power to ensure that the elections will be violent-free one. It’s vital and necessary for him to synergise, not just with INEC, but also with other security agencies. As for the electorates, they should not allow themselves to be used as pawns on a chess board.
They should vote quickly and quietly and go back home, to keep out of harm’s way. They should avoid unnecessary or planned bickering at polling booths, aimed at disorganising and causing mayhem. They should not forget that when anarchy is loosened, they and their kids are the ones mostly likely to be killed. The politicians and their kids will never be there. Most of their kids and loved ones are already overseas.
The electorates don’t need a crystal ball to be able to decipher the handwriting on the wall. If things continue this way, the elections will take blood!
Politicians, candidates and supporters have continued to unsheathe claws and bared sharpened fangs as the campaigns progressed. Normally, candidates are supposed to unveil their manifestoes for Nigerians as they canvass for votes, but now, respected candidates have shockingly degenerated to attacking personalities, instead of issues bedeviling the country.
The dirty name callings and mudslinging came to a head with the attack and setting ablaze of two campaign buses of President Goodluck Jonathan by some youths at the Mangu Street junction in the Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State. These youths are likely playing out scripts given to them by politicians. Before people could get over the shock of the burnt campaign buses, explosion rocked the secretariat of the APC in Abam Ama, Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State.
A badly shaken Inspector-General of Police, IGP Suleiman Abba, who is presently beginning to realise the herculean task ahead of him, come February, condemned the two senseless pre-election violence, stressing that buildings and properties worth millions of naira, belonging to PDP and APC were damaged. Abba reminded politicians, party supporters and well-meaning Nigerians, that politics was a means of enthroning custodians of the people’s common wealth, for the overall benefit of all.
“As such, it should be played with every sense of decorum devoid of religious, ethnic and all other forms of primordial sentiments,” said Abba. He assured Nigerians that the perpetrators of these unaccepted and heinous acts would not go unpunished as the police would do all it takes to bring them to justice. But who in the political parties is paying attention to Abba or taking his threat seriously? If Abba wants to be heard and listened to, he needs to do more than talk and threaten.
He needs to take action before conflagration engulfs the country before, during and after February elections. Security experts, who spoke on the issue, said that Nigerians should kiss goodbye to any notion of having a violence free elections. Indeed, their words were like a clarion call, as they charged the electorates to be prepared for any eventualities. Dr. Ona Ekhomu, Chairman, Trans- World Security, Security and Investigations, said: “We definitely can’t have a violence free election! The election is already being marred by violence right now. The electorates are very violent. Their actions are violent.
There are indications that no matter who wins the election, there is going to be disagreement, perhaps even violence!” A former Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav said: “The whole thing is very frightening. Recently, they burnt some campaign buses in Jos and they also bombed the office of the APC in Rivers State. Today, (Tuesday) we read in the papers that the home of the National Chairman of APC in Abuja, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun was raided. We don’t know what is going to happen next. It appears our politicians are not patient and have not learnt anything.
Corruption is the only thing responsible for all these! The issue of election violence is very frightening. Already, they have started rehearsing. The burning of Jonathan’s campaign buses is very sad. And the politicians are not helping matters. They issue threats to one another and tell lies. These lies are threatening the peace and security of this country.
A crime analyst, Mr. Folorusho Atta, on the other hand, argued that a lot depends on Abba, if the country must not go up in flames during and after the elections. He said the elections will be a litmus test for Abba. His words: “This election shall be a litmus test for the Nigeria Police Force and IGP in particular. It’s going to make or mar the force. It also depends on the role Abba and his men will play.
If the IGP decides to start announcing elections results like it was done by someone in 1983, posterity will never forgive him and his men. If the police play their statutory roles well, remain unbiased, there won’t be post-election violence.” Speaking further, Ekhomu said that political violence was not the way elections are contested. He explained that when one is contesting, the person should make provisions for the fact that he may lose or win. “The mindset of the electorate right now, is like, ‘If my man doesn’t win, we would set the whole place on fire.’
The problems are the political parties,” said Ekhomu. “The parties are conducting the candidates and the parties are giving and contesting the elections. The candidates are mere figure heads in an electoral system. In Nigeria, when we vote, we vote for party, not the candidate. The candidate only carries the message of the party.
“What is happening right now is that the parties are becoming very violent in their rhetoric and actions. Right now, we’re in the midst of a lot of electoral violence. Just yesterday (Monday), the APC office was bombed. From several media reports, we see that Commissioners of Police in every state are warning politicians to calm down their supporters or they would be arrested for incitement. “An Imam was arrested by the police in one of the western states after he gave a speech in the mosque. What I’m trying to say, is that there’s a lot of violence already. Asking whether there would be violence next month is a forgone conclusion!” Ekhomu said that the only solution would have been, if the security agencies could deal with the problems unveiling right now, before the elections proper.
“If security agencies can arrest people for inciting comments and prosecute them, that will help. But there should be glaring and abundance of evidences to show that an individual has crossed the line or was involved in acts of violence before he should be arrested and prosecuted. This is to ensure that the law enforcement officers are not accused of being partial. What we do now, will lay the foundation for mid-February, end and beyond.” He noted that the real violence, especially in Nigeria, usually starts after the elections, when votes had been declared.
He further said: “Some parties are already saying they won’t accept the outcome of the election when election had not been held. And it’s very unfortunate. People who make such statements should be invited by law enforcement for questioning. “I don’t know why our security agencies are doing us a great disservice by being very laid back, lackadaisical and intellectually lazy. You don’t need to be a genius to know a statement that is inciting. If somebody says he’s not going to accept the results, security agents should ask him, which election results does he already know or has in his pockets. Such statement sets the stage for violence. When they lose, their supporters will unleash violence because they had already been told not to accept the result. And that’s the worst form of creating incitement and violence!”
Tsav said that most political office holders had stolen and since nothing had been done to them, others now wanted to come and steal, while those who are there still wanted to remain there at all cost. “If we have a way of fighting corruption, all these rubbish will not be there!” railed Tsav. “In the case of security agencies; the time is too short for them to any proffer solution for these entire crises. When we were under British rule and you have a situation like this, you send plainclothes security men to integrate with these politicians and pretend to be part of them.”
He said that the police could have done well by recruiting young school leavers who are presently roaming the streets. These school leavers could have been trained and given undercover police jobs to do, in tensed political situations. Tsav said: “They’ll get information that will help the country a great deal. But we are not doing that! The Policemen and Department of State Security (DSS) we have these days are always quick to flash their identity cards. If you’re undercover and identify yourself, your cover is blown.
Police should have had plainclothes policemen to integrate into society with politicians, criminals and know the situation on ground, so that they can work on it. “But here, everyone is anxious to make money and get a new rank, without putting efforts into the job. We appeal to politicians to be God-fearing and stop making explosive situations that could create trouble in this country. We don’t know who would be consumed by the time this trouble starts. Innocent and old people may be consumed. The electorates should vote wisely.”
Atta has a post-election advice for Abba and his men. Hear him: “I think that after the elections, the police should place their priority on other crimes such as insurgency, armed robbery and kidnapping which in recent years, had reached its crescendo. The police, while grappling with elections activities, must spread her tentacles to other areas as criminals and undesirable elements may want to perfect their acts or use this period to attack citizens and foreigners. “Without being pessimistic, 2015 poses danger to police as criminals and insurgents are increasingly becoming difficult for the police and her sisters agencies to tackle.
The police might not triumph over criminals as the criminals are getting more sophisticated, acquiring high caliber weapon to the obsolete and antiquated weaponry of the police.” He further suggested that for a standard police force, the federal government must fund the police properly, so that it can perform optimally this year. Atta said: “Since gadgets and patrol vehicles are inanimate things, well trained personnel are needed to man them. The Nigerian Police Force remains the worst in Africa when it comes to maintenance culture and indiscipline.
The IGP must rise up and act!” If the ongoing political wrangling and violence continue, many electorates may be forced to stay at home, keeping away from polling booths. Perhaps the most pivotal and daunting challenges before Abba, is this forthcoming elections. Abba must do everything within his power to ensure that the elections will be violent-free one. It’s vital and necessary for him to synergise, not just with INEC, but also with other security agencies. As for the electorates, they should not allow themselves to be used as pawns on a chess board.
They should vote quickly and quietly and go back home, to keep out of harm’s way. They should avoid unnecessary or planned bickering at polling booths, aimed at disorganising and causing mayhem. They should not forget that when anarchy is loosened, they and their kids are the ones mostly likely to be killed. The politicians and their kids will never be there. Most of their kids and loved ones are already overseas.
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