There is fear that the history of rigging and violence will repeat itself in the elections starting on February 14, 2015, CHUX OHAI writes
A few weeks ago, a popular standup
comedian based in Lagos needed financial support for a project he wanted
to start. But when he approached a relative for help, he got an
unexpected response: the latter advised him to wait till the end of the
general elections before going ahead with his plan.
“I was surprised. He told me that many
wise Nigerians are quietly sending their families abroad and remitting
money to foreign banks for safe-keeping, in case there is an outbreak of
violence in the country,” the comedian said, in an interview with our
correspondent recently.
The same mood prevails in different parts
of the country as Nigerians prepare to elect a new set of leaders in
February. There is a palpable fear of an outbreak of violence, no doubt
fuelled by recent events around the country and unguarded utterances by
politicians and their supporters.
Hoodlums on the rampage
Two days to the inauguration of the PDP
governorship campaign in Jos, some irate youths, believed to be
supporters of the APC, set ablaze two buses emblazoned with the picture
of President Goodluck Jonathan and his Vice, Namadi Sambo.
Apart from the buses, the youths were
said to have attacked another vehicle with the PDP logo on its chassis
and, afterwards, went on the rampage destroying other cars in the
vicinity.
Similar unprovoked attacks against the
President and his convoy were repeated in Kano, Bauchi and Katsina. In
Kano, one person was killed and five campaign vehicles burnt after a
clash between supporters of the APC and the PDP.
Some youths alleged to be supporters of
the APC presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), were
said to have launched an attack on PDP members in the Hotoro area of the
city.
Eye witness accounts said the destroyed
campaign vehicles belonged to the PDP. The attack reportedly started
around noon, just as Buhari held a meeting with journalists at the
Government House and President Jonathan held a rally at the Polo Club.
Also, the President and his entourage
narrowly missed being mobbed in Katsina by a large crowd chanting ‘Sai
Buhari’ on January 21, during a visit to the residence of the mother of
late President Umaru Yar’Adua at Yar’Adua quarters.
It took the combined effort of soldiers
and anti-riot policemen to disperse the crowd, which threw stones at
Jonathan and members of his delegation.
In Bauchi, the President’s re-election
campaign almost turned violent when some people at the venue of the
event threw stones and other objects at the canopy where the president
and members of his campaign team were making speeches.
While security agents battled to prevent
the hoodlums from disrupting the event, several vehicles belonging to
the PDP presidential campaign team were vandalised.
The All Progressives Congress in Rivers
State was forced to cancel its governorship campaign rally in Okrika,
following the bombing of the venue on Saturday, January 24. The party
went on to accuse supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party for the
attack.
The APC claimed in a statement signed by
Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, Director of Communications, Greater Together
Campaign Organisation, that heavily armed thugs had stormed the National
School Field, Okrika, venue of the APC governorship rally and opened
fire on some workers who were busy preparing the place for the rally.
Although nobody died in the attack, many were injured.
A few hours after the Okrika incident, heavily armed soldiers occupied the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium in Port Harcourt.
The stadium was the subject of renewed
hostilities between Governor Rotimi Amaechi and President Goodluck
Jonathan. Three days before the attack, Amaechi reportedly vowed not to
allow the PDP access to the facility for a planned presidential campaign
rally in the state capital.
In response, the PDP had threatened to
forcefully use the stadium for its rally. Apparently the soldiers were
drafted to the facility on the orders of the ruling party to stop the
governor from sealing it off.
The action and the attack on the venue of
the APC rally in Okirika, in which an explosive device believed to be
dynamite were detonated, have further heightened the tension in Rivers
State.
Earlier, one person was presumed dead and
many others seriously injured when two groups of armed youths shot at
vehicles conveying supporters of the All Progressives Congress from the
Asari-Toru and Khana Local Government Areas to the inaugural campaign of
the APC presidential candidate.
The twin attack on the convoys of APC
supporters was said to have occurred at the same time at abut 5.30am as
the party faithful made their way to the Adokiye Amasiemaka Stadium in
the Ikwerre Local Government Area.
Almost simultaneously, an undisclosed
number of people were feared dead and many others injured when some
members of the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives
Congress clashed in the Alimosho area of Lagos State.
More than eight vehicles were destroyed during the incident, which eye witnesses claimed lasted several hours
A member of the Lagos State House of
Assembly representing the Alimosho Constituency 1 had blamed the mayhem
on supporters of the PDP, whom he accused of attacking the APC
supporters without provocation during a political rally at the
Mosan-Okunola area.
He said the attackers went berserk,
destroying vehicles belonging to other road users that had nothing to do
with the rally. Even a church pastor and his children narrowly escaped
death in their own car. Worse still, the incident happened in the
presence of a team of policemen who simply stood by and watched the
hoodlums wreak havoc on law-abiding Nigerians.
Trading blame
The PDP and the APC have repeatedly
pointed the accusing finger at each other over these incidents. While a
statement issued recently by Femi Fani-Kayode , Director of Media and
Publicity of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, accused the
opposition party of instigating the attacks on Jonathan, the APC claimed
that the hostilities were orchestrated by the ruling party as a ploy
for the postponement of the presidential election.
But a curious twist to the accusations
and counter-accusations of violence emerged when Governor Isa Yuguda of
Bauchi State revealed that those who attacked Jonathan’s entourage in
the state capital were sponsored by leaders of the PDP in the state and
not by the APC.
Blaming the PDP leaders from Bauchi, who
are opposed to his administration, for the attack, in an interview with
the BBC Hausa Service, Yuguda said, “The attack was organised by some of
our top party chieftains who are from the state and live in Abuja.”
However, reacting to the situation on
Twitter, Buhari called on security agencies to arrest anybody caught
taking part in violence during the presidential election.
He wrote, “As our message of change
continues to sweep around the country; we re-iterate our call against
violence. I again call on security agencies to promptly arrest and
prosecute all those found guilty of violence in any form. This is an
urgent duty.
“Elections are not war. Politics is not a
battle. Violence and hate speech by supporters of any of the candidates
is not acceptable. As I have continued to repeat at rallies and in the
media, it is our collective responsibility to ensure campaigns remain
peaceful. The only effective way to register our rejection of the
present failure in governance is to vote peacefully and protect our
votes peacefully.”
Drums of war
At the end of a crucial meeting in
Yenagoa recently, a coalition of former Niger Delta militants and their
followers warned that they would consider any attempt to unseat
President Goodluck Jonathan to be a direct attack on the Ijaw people.
The ex war lords in attendance at the
meeting included the controversial leader of the Niger Delta Peoples
Volunteer Force, Asari Dokubo, Victor Ben Ebikabowei, aka, Boy Loaf, and
Government Ekpudomenowei, aka, Tompolo.
Noting that Jonathan’s anticipated
victory in the forthcoming February 14 presidential election would be
non-negotiable, they threatened to unleash violence and deny the rest of
the country access to the oil fields in the region if Nigerians failed
to re-elect the President.
The meeting reportedly focused on the
recent attacks on President Jonathan during his campaign tour of parts
of the North and other issues affecting the Ijaw.
Addressing the gathering, Dokubo was
quoted in news reports as saying, “For every Goliath, God created a
David. For every Pharoah, there is a Moses. We are going to war. Every
one of you should go and fortify yourself.”
Earlier, beating its own drums of war,
the opposition APC had vowed to form a parallel government should the
presidential election be rigged.
In a congratulatory message to Nigerians
towards the end of 2104, the party’s chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, had
said, “As a party, we assure you that we will congratulate president
Goodluck Jonathan and his party, PDP If our presidential candidate and
party are defeated in free and fair elections, and we will not go to
court.
“However, as a party, we wish to
reiterate, that we will not hesitate forming a parallel government, if
the 2015 election are rigged either by the use of security agencies
(police or military) to harass, intimidate and cajole voters or through
the use of a compromised Independent National Electoral Commission,
(INEC).”
Also, some youths in Bayelsa State,
acting under the auspices of the Bayelsa Youth Vanguard, have threatened
to disrupt the Peoples Democratic Party presidential rally in Yenagoa,
the state capital, if Dame Patience Jonathan accompanies her husband to
the event, which is scheduled to hold on February 5.
Accusing the President’s wife of plotting
to destabilise Bayelsa and fuel a needless crisis and political tension
in the state, the youths warned her not to attend the rally. They vowed
to mobilise against Jonathan’s campaign in the state if his wife failed
to retrace her steps.
Unending cycle of post-election violence
Post-election violence is not new in Nigeria. In fact, it is almost synonymous with the political culture here.
Between 1963 and 2011, Nigerians have
witnessed large-scale loss of lives and property during outbreaks of
post-election violence across the country.
Investigation shows that the crisis in
the old Western Region, which eventually resulted in the truncation of
the First Republic, pales into insignificance when compared to the
August 1983 riots in Akure, Ondo State.
Remotely ignited by the declaration of a
former Deputy Governor of the state, the late Chief Akin Omoboriowo, as
the winner of the 1983 governorship election by the then Federal
Electoral Commission, under the platform of the less-fancied National
Party of Nigeria, the riots were arguably the most violent in the
history of post-independence Yoruba-land.
The riots, which resulted in the loss of
many lives and the destruction of properties valued at hundreds of
millions of naira, were particularly aimed at NPN stalwarts and
sympathisers in the state.
In 2003, reactions to allegations of
rigging in the federal and state elections led to the death of over 100
people. Many others were injured. Most of the deaths reportedly occurred
when opposing bands of party supporters fought each other in an effort
to control an area and displace each other.
The cycle continued in the 2007
elections, which was described by international observers as one of the
worst they had witnessed anywhere in the world. An estimated 300 people
lost their lives to the violence resulting from the elections.
Needless to add, Nigeria has not quite
recovered from the devastating effects of the 2011 presidential
election. Memories of the election, which claimed about 1000 lives and
left the country deeply divided along religious and ethnic lines, are
still fresh.
After the election, held on April 16,
demonstrations by supporters of the candidate of the Congress for
Progressive Change, Muhammadu Buhari, turned violent in 12 northern
states as mobs burned the homes, vehicles, and properties of PDP
stalwarts and traditional leaders who were seen to have backed the
ruling party.
The rioters also targeted and killed some
Christians and Southerners living in the North and burnt churches
across the region. As the riots spread, mobs of Christians in some
communities in Kaduna State retaliated by killing Muslims and burning
their mosques and properties.
In Bauchi State, some members of the
National Youth Corps Service, who served as ad-hoc election staff, were
slaughtered by the rioters. Altogether the riots lasted three days, but
it left in its trail bitterness, anguish and misery.
Saving Nigeria from a possible anarchy
A former Governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji
Balarabe Musa, has warned that unless the PDP and APC, as well as the
Federal Government, resolve to prevent an outbreak of violence after the
presidential election, the country may slide into another spell crisis.
Noting, in an interview with our
correspondent, that both parties must decide whether there will be
violence before or after the election, Musa says, “The fear of rigging
is likely to trigger off violence before or after the election. The fear
is real because the Independent National Electoral Commission is not
prepared for this election.
“Already there are other indications of a
possible outbreak of violence. For instance, by their actions and
utterances, the supporters of the PDP and the APC have shown that there
will be violence.
“Some people from the South-South are now
saying that if President Goodluck Jonathan is not elected for another
term in 2015 there will be no oil for the rest of the country.
Similarly, some of the supporters of the APC have said that if their
candidate for the presidential election does not win they will form a
parallel government.
“Now, with these statements and in spite
of the agreement signed by the presidential candidates of both parties,
it is clear that the two candidates will not be able to restrain their
supporters from engaging in violence before, during and after the
election.”
The former governor insists that INEC has
no record of preparedness for a free, fair and transparent election,
especially as it is clear that more than 50 per cent of the eligible
voters in Nigeria do not have the Permanent Voter Card.
Faced with these facts, he argues,
Nigeria may be heading towards the worst kind of anarchy that the
country has ever experienced. To make matters worse, there is loose
money in the country to organise for that.
In spite of the situation, prominent
Lagos-based lawyer, Fred Agbaje, thinks that something can be done to
avert an outbreak of violence during and after the general elections.
He says, “First, the major characters
vying for the presidency must learn to play by the rules. Secondly, the
security agencies, especially the Nigeria Police, should stop seeing
themselves as extensions of a political party.
“The various political parties must also
learn to tutor their followers on the need to abide by the rule of law
as against the rule of jungle. Otherwise, we are going to witness mass
killings and disrespect for the rule of law, as well as disrespect for
the provisions of the Electoral Act will continue.
“Anybody caught violating the provisions
of the Electoral Act and the peace pact, as well as those making
attempts to foment trouble should be arrested and taught a lesson. That
is the way out.”
Agbaje demands an end to the persisting hate campaign among supporters of the two leading political parties.
Wondering why the presidential candidates
of the PDP and APC are not doing anything to curtail their followers on
the field who are making such dangerous utterances, he says, “Has
President Jonathan ever said anything about the wicked and dangerously
ominous statements credited to some Niger Delta militants, such as the
Asari Dokubos of this world? The presidential candidate of the PDP and
the chairman of the party are keeping quiet over such statements that
are likely to inflame the body politics.
“In other words, those people are already
preparing to strike after the presidential election, which is a
violation of the constitution – since it is the duty of everybody in
this country to respect law and order – and a violation of the penal
laws, particularly the criminal code. The latter prevents anybody from
making statements that can divide the nation. Such people must be
brought to book because this type of hate statement touches on the
foundation of the things that hold Nigerians together.
“If you are saying that if you don’t win,
you are going to form a parallel government and if you don’t win, you
will make the country uncomfortable, what has the government, through
the security agencies, done to ensure that these proponents of war are
dealt with?”
How to prevent election violence
Also, an expert on security matters, Ona
Ekhomu, wants the Federal Government to show that it is willing to do
something about those promoting and sponsoring violence in the country.
According to him, many available options,
other than signing unenforceable pacts and admonishing supporters of
the political parties not to engage in violence, are not being explored
by the government.
He says, “We know that our people are
very vocal and voluble and they will say very reckless things. When they
say such things without evidence, usually accusatory and inciting in
content, they should be called in for questioning and be deprived of
their freedom until they are able to provide evidence of their
accusations.
“We need to give a signal that we are a
serious people and a serious government by dealing with those who incite
violence of any kind during elections. We saw what happened in 2011.
There was pre-election incitement and it was not dealt with. Of course,
after the election, there was violence. This time, I think the
incitement we have had is about 100 times of what we saw in 2011.
“Those who have been making all kinds of
stupid statements, such as those saying that they will declare war if
they don’t win elections and those who have said they will form a
parallel government if they fail to win, too, should be called in and
questioned. It is not late to do this.”
Based on what the stakeholders are
saying, it appears that the path to a smooth, free and fair general
elections devoid of violence depends on the roles played by the
political parties and their supporters, the presidential candidates,
INEC and the security forces. In the days ahead, it is obvious that a
lot will also depend on their attitude to the rule of law and the
willingness of security agents to ensure the sanctity of human life and
property.
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