The Need For Violence Free Elections -By Nuratu A. Oyetunji

It was Nigeria’s pride that she achieved independence with minimum violence but it is rather unfortunate that after independence, the country has been held in a spiral of political violence. Nigeria’s political scene is now bedevilled by violence.

In recent decades, Nigeria has been in the news for very ugly reasons. Political violence in different parts of the country with predominance in the northern parts of Nigeria is now becoming national character. Both the state and her citizens are being held hostage by this smashing political reality in which both are unfortunate but willing conspirators. From independence to date, electoral violence in Nigeria has improved in sophistication.

The culture of violence has not only been imbibed and sustained as part of the country’s political behaviour, it has become one of the potent causes of the low participation of Nigerians in politics and other social activities.

Past electoral violence has put a bad taste in our mouths that the fear of yet another break out is on everyone’s thought. Over the years, violence has destroyed property worth millions of Naira and thousands of lives as well. Political violence negates peaceful co-existence, law and order. It also militates against the consolidation of democracy and social co-existence, which would have impact on the social, economic well being of the nation and create imbalance in social relations.

These are concerns for security operatives and it is important that adequate security is maintained before, during and after the general elections beginning on March 28.

Ultimately if this ugly trend of electoral violence is not nipped in the bud now it could be a free and unmitigated gateway to the disintegration of the country in tandem with the rumoured prediction by the US State Department. Nigeria is already on the brink of collapse and many are already describing it as a failed state. Thus, any serious challenge beyond its controlling capacity becomes the clarion call ‘to your tents oh Israel’. All hands must be on deck to prevent this from happening because the problems that go with such disintegrative process is terribly overwhelming. A peep at what is happening in Syria, Libya, Yemen, Central African Republic, etc is frightening enough.

So, the importance of security in any given nation cannot be over-emphasised because it goes with governance. The 2015 general election is turning out to be one of the most contested since return of democracy.

As a country, we need to avoid or shun any post election violence because we face a bigger threat of division. It is important that this election goes smoothly and people should accept the results without recourse to violence.

Ahead of the elections, candidates of different political parties have signed peace accord at different times and at different levels, committing themselves to a violence-free election. The focus is to ensure that the post-election violence experienced in parts of the country especially in 2011 will not recur before, during and after the elections.

There is also the need for security personnel comprising policemen, army, navy, air force and other paramilitary agencies to intensify patrol of roads and streets in towns and cities across the country to demonstrate their combat readiness ahead of the elections.

The necessity of free and fair elections can never be overemphasised, bearing in mind what its opposite could mean for an emerging democracy like Nigeria. There is no doubt that a breakout of electoral violence during the 2015 elections would spell doom for the future of the country. Emergence of the wrong people, which could result from voter apathy arising from fear of violence into political offices in Nigeria, will lead to poor leadership. Wrong leadership is evil and evil leadership is a forerunner to destruction and underdevelopment.

Nuratu A. Oyetunji writes from Abuja and can be reached on nuratu_abdur@yahoo.com