A flurry of activities in the nation’s political space have demanded for urgent caution among the politicians in the interest of the country.
SEVEN months to the general elections, various signals hovering over the nation are threatening the coming general elections.
From the Boko Haram issue to Fulani herdsmen killings, defection by politicians to impeacement threats have become so ferocious in the country
AS the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is preparing to conduct free, fair and acceptable election in the country, reports in the political scene have become jaw breaking and indices shown that the coming election may be jeopadised.
REASONS for Nigerians entertaining fears over the possibility of the general elections not holding may not be far fetched as the boldness of the dreaded Boko Haram group to confront the power that be in the last nine years have put elections in the ravaged areas in abeyance.
DESPITE the Federal Government’s position that the terrorist group had been incapacitated and demobilised, the group had by 2017 killed over 100, 009 persons, according to Governor Ibrahim Shettima of Bornu State, and over 2. 5million people have been displaced internally by the group. Boko Haram reportedly controlled 27 local government areas in Bornu, Yobe and Adamawa States, and leaving in its trails the slaughtering of innocent souls, burning of communities, rape and mass kidnapping of girls, women and children.
WITH the capture of 276 Chibok girls and 110 Dapchi schoolgirls in 2014 and 2018 respectively, The emergence of this group has become a serious threat to the coming election as people in the affected local governments and states may not be able to exercise their voting rights during the coming elections because of insecurity.
IN addition to this is the herdsmen killings in Taraba, Benue, Adamawa, Plateau and some states where innocent souls are slaughtered on daily basis. It is disheartning that just seven months to the election, nothing concrete has been done to alleviate the suffering of those displaced by the herdsmen.
LIVES of the people are sacred, all Nigerians must be protected and those involved in these killings must be brought to judgement in the overall interest of the nation so as to make the coming general elections a reality.
HERDSMEN killings may become an albatross to the coming elections. The gale of killings are enough, threat to the electorate.
ADDITIONAL, threat to the coming election is the gale of defection by the politicians in the last two or three weeks. Although defection is democracy in action and constitutional, but when it is done in variance to the constitution, it becomes a threat. Our political class should learn from history, knowing fully that defection in the defunct Western Region between1965 and 1966 led to the collapse of government and the republic. It is therefore disheartening that the political class has not learnt from history, they still behave like the lord of the Minor who can crucify, stone to death the constitution of the land.
PRESENTLY, the defection has polarised the National Assembly as it was in the Western Region in 1966, as the legislators are divided into ‘warring factions’, threatening that the assembly would enjoy no peace again. While one group has put sitting in abeyance and national issues and INEC fund for the 2019 general election ‘arrested’, the other group has vowed that peace would elude the assembly except those who defected vacate their seats.
BESIDES, the gale of impeachment in Benue, Imo, Kaduna States may further heighten tension and put the coming election in danger. In all the states mentioned, democracy is under threat and the 2019 elections in great threat. All the indices portend grave danger and may truncate the nascent democracy if something urgent is not done to arrest the situation. The present democracy was watered by the blood of the martys, it must not be allowed to collapse.
IF the ongoing democracy collapses, history and posterity will not forgive the present crop of politicians in Nigeria.
THEREFORE, we call on the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency do more in the aspect of security and make the coming election a reality. Government must equip the security agencies to function well in combating any threat to the corporate existence of the country and the conduct 2019 general elections.
THE HOPE calls on the security agencies to be alive to their responsibilities and not take side on the ongoing political squabbles in the country.
WE advocate for the implementation of the 2014 National Conference recommendations, these we believe will put paid to all the agitations in the land.
THIS is the right time to save our democracy and this is the right time to save Nigeria.