Nigeria’s elder statesmen speak: OUR FEARS FOR 2015

The build up to next month’s gen­eral elections has been momen­tous. However, unlike previous run-on to national elections in Nigeria, there has been justifiable sense of apprehension across the land. Even before campaigns hut up, utterances and body-language of political actors and their supporters are sending fright throughout the country.

Like most com­patriots, elder statesmen from all cor­ners of the country are also expressing their sense of apprehension. SATUR­DAY SUN spoke to several of them and their fears are articulated here.

Alhaji Lateef Jakande, former Governor of Lagos State

“Politicians should think of Nigeria first’’

This is an election year, politicians should not destroy the country through their actions and utterances.

They should play politics without vio­lence. The whole world is watching us; we should not disappoint the world. Politicians should think of Nigeria first before any other thing. My greatest fear for this election is that of violence. Should violence break out, we can all imagine what will be the con­sequence. With insecurity in some parts of North, occasioned by Boko Haram insur­gency, we can’t afford another bloodletting. I appeal to President Goodluck Jonathan, his opponents, and also Professor Attahiru Jega and every other person that has one role or the other to play during the election, to think about Nigeria’s survival. Everybody involved should play the game according to the rules. I believe, with God on our side, and with those involved playing the roles expected of them, there should be no cause for alarm.

General Adeyinka Adebayo, President, Yoru­ba Council of Elders, (YCE)

“Political leaders should not make inflammatory remarks’’

My fear for 2015 general election is about Nigeria and our survival as a nation. The election should not be seen as a do-or-die affair. Our political leaders and their sup­porters should realise that they can hold of­fices when there is a nation or country. They should eschew bitterness and violence. They should refrain from making inflammatory statements capable of triggering violence. Political leaders should strive to be role models. Our political leaders should remem­ber that Nigeria occupies a unique place, not only in Africa, but also throughout the world as the most populous Black nation on earth, and this is one of the reasons we can’t afford to have a crisis. Political campaign should be issue-based. There should be no attack on personalities.

Comrade Hassan Sun­monu –Former president, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)

‘Politicians should imbibe tenets of democracy’’

I believe that if our political gladiators keep to the rule, there won’t be need to en­tertain fear. But in this part of the world, our political leaders still need to imbibe the tenets of democracy. My fear is that any at­tempt at rigging may trigger violence. I urge INEC to be an unbiased umpire during the elections. Our political leaders should also behave like statesmen. They should all real­ise that the success or otherwise of this elec­tion is in their hands. They should cooperate with INEC and also educate their support­ers on the need to jettison violence. Our se­curity agencies, including police and DSS, should also be given adequate training and orientation to enable them to play the roles expected of them during the polls. Other key stakeholders like the media and the or­ganised labour should also play the role of watchdogs expected of them.

Senator Olabiyi Durojaye

“Will of the people should be respected’’

First of all, I want to enjoin all and sundry to thank God for surviving 2014. I implore our politicians to face the coming elec­tion with the seriousness it deserves. They should have the fear of God as we are pre­paring for the D-day. Our politicians should also play the game by the rule. INEC, as the umpire, should ensure a level playing field for all. Politicians, especially those in power, should respect the will of the people. The will of the people should not be doctored. It should not be tampered with. I have no fear about 2015 general elections. I believe that God is in control. I believe that we will have cause to rejoice if everybody involved in the election does the right thing.

Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Afenifere leader

“Nigeria is greater than individual or group”

There should be no cause for alarm. Eve­rybody should realise what is at stake, and, therefore, should work towards the success of the elections. The political parties should play by the rule and INEC should perform its duty without fear or favour. We should all work towards ensuring that sanity pre­vail. The elections should not be allowed to threaten the peace of the country. Nigeria is greater than any individual or group. Po­litical leaders should show maturity in their utterances and conduct. If we do the right thing, there will be peace.

Alhaji Balarabe Musa, former Governor, Kaduna State

“We’re faced with two negative options”

Nigerians should be prepared to face two negative options of leadership in 2015 polls, because we are left with two negative op­tions of electing who becomes the President, whichever way, we are between fascism and incompetency as long as this election is con­cerned. We must prepare for the worst lead­ership in this country.

Matthew Owojaye, im­mediate past chairman, Northern Christian Elders Forum (NORCEF)

“This not Nigeria of our dream’’

“There is no need for tension over 2015 general elections if the Federal government does the right thing. What is the correct thing? They should strategize and plan very well for the election. Inadequate prepara­tions is one of the major problems confront­ing us as a nation. We also want assurance that there will be no room for violence after the elections. We are looking for a nation where no man is oppressed. Nigeria of today has not been the Nigeria of our dream.

Alhaji Abdullahi Madalla, former FCDA boss

“We may find ourselves back in military era”

Our politicians, unfortunately, are cam­paigning as if their entire lives depend on 2015 elections. They are behaving as if the elections would be the last to be conducted; as if there will be no tomorrow. If they con­tinue like this, I’m afraid sooner than later, we may find ourselves back in the military era; then all the efforts we have put into building democracy would have been wast­ed. Soldiers have always taken advantage of situations like this to strike, especially when impunity is taken too far. Politicians provide the military the enabling environment to strike. Politicians should not allow the past to repeat itself. But should they fail to heed this warning, they will be the ultimate loser. Politicians are the ones enjoying the perqui­sites of office; they are the ones that will re­gret if, through their action, this democracy is truncated.

Patrick Tom Adaba, former Kogi State deputy governor

“Violence will take Nigeria backwards”

The president has assured us that the elec­tion will not be marred by violence and we believe him. It is, therefore, the responsibil­ity of government to provide adequate secu­rity and a level playing field for the elections to hold peacefully.

My fear is that violence will take Nige­ria back to the dark days. All hands must be on deck to ensure that the election does not cause the implosion of the country.

Nigeria is greater than any individual or party. Therefore, I plead with the opposition, the ruling party and all Nigerians to play the game according to the rules.

Ambassador Yahaya Kwande,

“I weep for this country”

We are moving with great hope for de­mocracy. However, the primaries conducted by the political parties fell short of expecta­tions. Until the primaries are done the way it is done in other parts of the world, Nigeria can never have it right. Every card-carrying member of a political party should have a say in the choice and election of candidates that will contest on the platform of the party. The worst thing I have seen is the betrayal of the people by the so-called money-seeking del­egates. If you sit among the delegates, and notice their movements from one candidate to another, it is on the basis of their votes going to the highest bidder and not about the programmes the candidates have for the development of this country. I weep for this country. Corruption, which is the bane of our society, starts from there. You will only have delegates discussing how much a candidate has for them to vote for him. As it is now, all the political parties have their methods of selecting their presidential candidates, but the questions of consensus as entrenched in the constitution is the bane of this country. People should have been allowed to vote as we did in 1992, when people like Shehu Yar’ Adua, Lateef Jakande, Adamu Ciroma, Olu Falae and other eight contestants in the SDP and NRC were vying for the presidency and in every village, a card-carrying member had the right to go and vote. So, there was no way people could doctor the results of the election and this went well for the country. It was a transparent process. But gathering hu­man beings who are very hungry to go and sit down and elect somebody is asking for trouble and that is what has happened. As for the election and the anxiety it is generat­ing among Nigerians, I make bold to say that nothing will happen. Nigerians should rest assured that this country will not break up.

Prof Bolaji Akinyemi, deputy chairman, just-concluded National Conference

“Jonathan and Buhari should sign an undertaking’’

Excerpts of his letter to both

Now we are back at the same crossroads again, except this time is more precarious and dangerous than the last time. Firstly, we have this very notorious prediction from United States semi-official sources that the world is expecting a cataclysmic meltdown of the Nigerian nation in 2015. Of course most Nigerians have taken umbrage at this prediction for their country. But there are Nigerians who are indifferent to the out­come of this prediction. One of my low moments during the just concluded 2014 National Conference was when in an at­tempt to break an impasse, I painted a grim picture of devastation which would follow a breakdown of the Nigerian state, to which a delegate between 45 and 55 years old re­plied, “so what?” I thought to myself, here is a man who would probably run away to a neighbouring country at the boom of the first gun but was callously indifferent to the fate of the youth, women and children who would be caught in the middle. Secondly, the certainty of violence after the 2015 elec­tions is higher than it was in 2011. If Presi­dent Jonathan wins, the North would erupt into violence as it did in 2011. If General Buhari wins, the Niger-Delta will erupt into violence. I don’t believe that we need rocket science to make this prediction. The vio­lence of 2015 is going to be horrendous and worse than the one of 2011 for the simple reason that the illegal massive importation of weapons into the country has reached such alarming proportions that I really wonder which is better armed, the militias on one hand or the official armed forces on the other hand. For the avoidance of doubt, I am not imputing the illegal importation of arms to any particular zone. Some years ago, some Iranians were arrested for bringing in a shipload of weapons into Lagos harbour. They were tried and jailed and then smug­gled out of the country. Some months ago, sophisticated weapons were discovered buried in the basement of a Kano house. All these have now fallen below the radar. These are the ones we know about. How many do we not know about?

Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, former Lagos State Com­missioner of Police

“We’re sitting on keg of gunpowder”

The 2015 general elections pose a serious threat to peace and security in the country, considering the utterances and body-lan­guage of members and followers of the two major contending political parties-APC and PDP who see the election as do-or-die affair.

Each of the two political parties believes that it will win and accuses the other of plan­ning to rig. The situation has further created suspicion and heightened tension by the utterances of the wide-mouthed Asari Do­kubo who recently claimed in a newspaper interview that Jonathan has already won the election and nobody has called him to order. The president seems to be enjoying Asari Dokubo’s threats.

Both the PDP and APC are making de­rogatory remarks against the contending candidates and thereby unnecessarily heat­ing the polity. Another matter of grave con­cern is the fact that there are large quantity of arms in the hands of party thugs and other unauthorised persons.

Our security agencies know about this and such arms may be freely used during the general elections. We are indeed sitting on a keg of gunpowder and only God can save us.

All the aspirants nationwide are desper­ate over winning the 2015 elections and such desperation is creating tension and anxiety in the polity. What is more, all man­ner of people are in possession of fire arms.

The 2015 election is not about the peo­ple’s interest but for selfish and pecuniary reasons to amass wealth for themselves. The fight against corruption is weak and political office holders have taken advantage of that to amass wealth.

Every patriotic Nigerian, including sensi­ble politicians, should pray and wish that the 2015 general elections would be conducted peacefully and fairly. Any eruption of vio­lence before, during and after the elections, may threaten the corporate existence of Ni­geria.

The peaceful conduct of this election de­pends, to a large extent, on the commitment of INEC and security agencies.

Chief Aja Nwachukwu, former Minister for Education

“Politics is not do- or-die affair’’

My fear is that the polity is gradually be­ing over-heated and the primaries of most political parties have created a lot of confu­sion in the polity. There is a lot of dissatis­faction generally among the party faithful across political parties as a fallout of the pri­maries. One wonders what the problem is, because, by right, we should be improving democracy but because of greed, the empha­sis appears to be on what one is going to get rather than what one will give to the peo­ple as service and this is what encourages do or die politics. Fear about 2015 elections will cause confusion in the polity and will also affect campaign and peaceful elections. Politicians should present themselves first as contestants for service and if people find them worthy, they will vote for them. Poli­tics is not a business venture, it is a call to service and politicians should come with the spirit of service.

Chief Dozie Ikedife, for­mer President- General, Ohanaeze

“I’m worried by polticians’ utterance”

I’m deeply worried about the attitude and utterances of some politicians as the gen­eral elections draw nearer. If you overheat the polity, everybody will be a loser. Then going to the main election itself, I think it is ripe to warn that if the election is rigged, it is bound to spark off protest, which could es­calate to any height and nobody can predict what will be the result. To avoid this, INEC must go the extra mile to ensure transparent, free, fair and credible elections.

INEC must be truly independent as the name implies. It should act like the blind­folded lady symbol of justice. To all poli­ticians and electorate, I want to say that elections must not be do-or-die affair. We must look at a bigger picture and rise above personal, religious, geographical or ethnic interest. The bigger picture is that we have democracy and the voice of the masses must not be muffled, strangulated or elimi­nated. There is so much bottled-up feeling in Nigeria and let nobody do anything to ig­nite it. Let us play according to the rules of the game and leave the rest to God.

Chief Mbazulike Amae­chi, Aviation Minister in the First Republic

‘Rigging will lead to crisis’

There is nothing to fear under normal circumstances. If there must be fear or worry, it will all come from politicians. For this election, the responsibility falls on the INEC, politicians and political parties and President Goodluck Jonathan. These people and institutions should strive to promote, by every possible means, free, fair, clean, transparent and credible elections. Rigging would lead to crisis that we would not be able to manage. Politicians should talk about issues, policies and their manifestoes. They should talk about what they will do about dilapidated infrastructure, unemployment, electricity problem and a host of other chal­lenges facing this country.

Gen. David Jemibewon, former Minister for Police Affairs ‘Nigeria will not disinte­grate’

It is natural to harbour apprehension and fears whenever there is a general election in the country. But I tell you, there is nothing to fear; our democracy will come out stronger after the election. So, I do not foresee any breakdown of law and order that will lead to the disintegration of Nigeria as some people might be thinking.