Politics
A Nation In Despair
Fifteen days from now, millions of Nigerians will troop to the polling booths to cast their votes for who will be the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. But this every-four-year ritual has many obstacles of which security is one.
Just few days ago, the National Security Adviser to the President, General Babagana Monguno held a crucial meeting with state governors on the issue of security during the forthcoming elections and to chart a way forward.
General Monguno, worries in his bid to ensure that the elections went as planned, warned against the use of thugs by politicians.
He said government will demonstrate zero tolerance to political thuggery and illegal bearing of fire arms.
This show of concern was apt and very necessary as experience had shown over the years that in every election in Nigeria, there was always tension and reports of acts of violence in virtually every geo-political region in the country.
Although the 1999 elections which ushered in the present democratic dispensation was peaceful, subsequent ones were not so, especially those of 2011 and 2015.
In 2011, aftermath of the elections in which former President Goodluck Jonathan emerged victorious witnessed acts of violence leading to the killing of some youth corpers and even the burning of the Kaduna City residence of former Vice President Namadi Sambo.
Apart from that, there were reported killings in other parts of the country.
The worst of such incidents was the brutal killing of the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Kano State with his entire family.
In all these acts of violence, no one was arrested, prosecuted or jailed. Even the then Police Commissioner who was supposed to have provided adequate security for all electoral officers in Kano State did nothing to apprehend the culprits but was rewarded with the position of inspector-general of Police.
The problem with Nigeria is that it is quite easy to scream insecurity but when it comes to taking critical actions, sentiments come in.
The issue of political thuggery is nothing new as it has existed right from the late 1950s to early 1960s in the first republic.
Today, in the 21st century after almost 60 years of Independence, we are still talking of “Political Thuggery” as if it is something new that challenges.
Yes, it is challenging but the issue should not be addressed to the governors alone, but to all stakeholders in the electoral process. The use of thugs in elections is not only shameful and embarrassing but shows the level of desperation some politicians will go to ensure that they win elections. Again even some security operatives behave as “Thugs” during elections. In Rivers Sate, during the re-run elections in 2016, a very senior police officer was captured on video manhandling a female electoral officer while demanding for the result sheets of the election.
Similarly in Ekiti and Osun States elections, there were reports of security men chasing away potential voters.
Furthermore the verbal threats of the political actors, hate speeches with that of the body language of the president did not help matters. Although every Nigerian wants a free, fair and credible elections, have the gladiators and those who want the vote of the electorate really abreast of the chain reactions of their negative actions on the polity?
As the count-down tickles on, as Nigerians, we need to ask questions and find solutions to electoral violence and rigging. Most people who engage thugs to intimidate voters and inflict bodily harm on them are well known in the society. Even the thugs are identifiable. Then why were they not arrested in the past. If actions needed to be taken, then the Police should be allowed to do its work but in a situation where power is concentrated in few hands, the police or other security agencies cannot be effective.
From all observations of the trend in politics and power play, no police commissioner or inspector-general of police has ever resigned over policies by the government that undermines the electoral process.
This time around that the polity is already heated up with the world watching us, the national security Adviser should not just warn but ensure that the problem of thuggery was nipped in the bud and he should liaise with all security agencies to ensure that anyone caught in acts of violence was not just arrested but prosecuted, no matter the party affiliation of the individual. It is then and only then that we can say the government is serious in tracking down acts of violence during elections.
In Nigeria, we seem to treat vital issues with levity, especially on electoral matters. In other climes town hall meetings and outside engagements with the electorate help score candidates in public opinion which really translate into actual election results. Maybe they think that public enlightenment programmes are not for them.
Every electoral violence is politically motivated and the key actors are the various party chieftains and their followers who did not witness the presence of any of the political parties.
Also as part of the efforts to ensure that Nigeria departed from the past, the national orientation agency had embarked upon a massive enliftment programme, geared towards a hitchfree election devoid of violence and thuggery.
Various speakers who participate at the south-south zonal flag-off of stakeholders dialogue for peace and violence free 2019 general elections harped on the need for electorate and the political actors to shun violence. The concept which was apt surprisingly did not witness the presence of any of the political parties.
The political parties ought to have sent representatives. One begins to wonder how the 91 political parties could not even send a single representative to know the feelings of the civic society and other non governmental organizations in the south south. Maybe they will give the excuse of the campaigns, but this is not tenable.
It is the potlicians who are being accused of sponsoring thugs and equipping them with arms and ammunition. So the platform to address some of these issue is not campaign rallies but for them to meet at a neutral venue where they will dialogue with each other and the larger society.
Here in Rivers State there is urgent need to disabuse the mind of the international community that the place is volatile as being painted by those who don’t see anything good in the present administration.
The provision of adequate security is the duty of everyone and not just the duty of the police and her sister agencies.
If we recall, some few weeks back, some group of politicians threatened to ensure that elections would not hold in Rivers State if the court injuction barring them from presenting candidates in the gubernatorial, state and National assembly elections was not rescinded. This level of disdain for the collective well being of the larger society should be taken seriously by the security agencies. But however, since the threat was issued not one single individual who made that threat has been arrested and questioned.
This brings us to ask the question of whether we have two Nigeria? One for the ruling party and one for the opposition.
For the public to have trust in the system and for the issue of violence not to rear its ugly head ahead of the forthcoming elections, there should not be favouritism whereby those who commit crimes but belong to the ruling party are never arrested, whereas those in the opposition who cough are treated as armed robbers and murderers.
Let us begin to implement policies that will discourage violent tendencies. And again youths who allow themselves to be used by politicians are not just stupid but destroying their future.
Electoral violence destroys a country’s image and hinders economic growth.
No investor will like to tie his funds in a volatile environment and now is the right time for Nigerians to say a big no to thuggery and electoral manipulations.
Tonye Ikiroma-Owiye
The immediate past President of Obolo Youth Coalition( OYC), Mr Ijong Ama Nkpon Amon, has commended the National Assembly committee on constitutional review for the inclusion of Obolo State as one of the states proposed to be created in the country.
Mr Amon also urged the NASS Committee to give priority to Obolo as the proposed state is viable in terms of human and material resources.
It would be recalled that the proposed Obolo State compromises eight local government areas, one from Rivers State and seven from Akwa Ibom State.
The OYC former National President who briefed newsmen on the issue described the proposed Obolo State as the most viable among the 31 proposed new states in the country.
He also described the inclusion of Obolo State among the list as a dream come true for sons and daughters of Obolo nation who have for years yearned for a political entity that will bring the Obolo people who are scattered in various states across the country together.
According to him, the proposed Obolo State is even more viable than some existing states in the country as it has both human and material resources to survive, adding that the proposed state is not only rich in oil and gas but has enough marine and forest resources to generate revenue.
Mr Amon who recounted how the agitation for the proposed state started said Obolo State agitators were the first to submit a memorandum to both chambers of the National Assembly for the creation of Obolo State.
According to him, the agitation started way back in 2022 when, as the president of Obolo youth coalition, he submitted a memorandum to the National Assembly, adding that he was happy that his efforts were yielding results.
The youth leader also said that there is no impediment to the creation of Obolo State as population wise and natural resources the state is fully qualified
“Obolo is over qualified in terms of geographical spread and resources.
Also population wise and land mass, Obolo is richer than some states in Nigeria. Obolo is the most viable, it has oil and gas,fishes and forest resources”, he said.
Mr Amon, who is also a one time Speaker of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Youth Parliament and president, Andoni Youth Coalition, further said the creation of Obolo State will not only help to improve the conditions of life of the Ijaw nation but also Niger Delta at large.
He argued that even if the creation of the state does not come to pass, history will record that Obolo people once agitated for their own state but expressed the hope that the agitation will yield positive results this time around.
Mr Amon urged Obolo people to be resilient and continue to pray for the actualization of the Obolo State.
Meanwhile Mr Amon has said that the creation of more states in the country will pave the way for the practice of true federalism in the country.
He told newsmen that it would enable states in the country to depend less on federal allocation as they will be made to source for revenues to survive.
According to him: “creation of more states will give more powers to the states to source for revenues and pay taxes to the federal government and this will bring true federalism”, he said.
By: John Bibor
A former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has faulted calls for the creation of 31 additional states in the country .
Speaking during an interview yesterday, the PDP chieftain said creating additional states would not solve the country’s challenges or promote its development.
Recall that the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, last Thursday said the House had received proposals for the creation of 31 new states.
Hon. Kalu, who is also Chairman of the House Constitution Review Committee, said that six new states were proposed in the North-Central, four in the North-East, five in the North-West, five in the South- South, five in the South-East and seven in the South-West.
According to him, the proposed states include Okun, Okura and Confluence from Kogi; Benue Ala and Apa from Benue; FCT State; Amana from Adamawa; Katagum from Bauchi; Savannah from Borno; Muri from Taraba; New Kaduna and Gujarat from Kaduna State; Tiga and Ari from Kano; Kainji from Kebbi; Etiti and Orashi as the sixth states in the South-East; Adada from Enugu; and Orlu and Aba.
Others are Ogoja from Cross River, Warri from Delta, Ori and Obolo from Rivers, Torumbe from Ondo, Ibadan from Oyo, Lagoon from Lagos and Ogun, Ijebu from Ogun, and Oke Ogun/Ijesha from Oyo/Ogun/Osun states.
Some political stakeholders have, however, vehemently opposed the idea, describing it as unnecessary.
Reacting, Chief George said what was needed in the country at this time was not creation of additional states.
He argued that the fact that some existing states were not viable clearly showed that state creation would not solve the country’s deep structural problems.
Instead, Chief George called on the National Assembly to make efforts to ensure the country achieves true federalism, saying that it was a sure way to achieve accelerated development .
He stated, “Don”t tell me we should create more states. Forget about more states. We want to create more states and then everybody will be rushing to Abuja. This is not sustainable. Let us look at our federal structure first, the same federal system we run with America. Why are we not running it as they run their own?
“Go to New York City, the Mayor of New York controls the airport, the John Kennedy Airport, he controls the ports, the sea ports, the Mayor of New York, not the governor.
“Go to New Orleans, the Mayor there controls the ports. The same in Texas, all oil companies are not controlled by the President. That is federalism. Those people don’t run to Washington every hour to meet the President.
“In America, they have state police and even county police. Why can’t we have such here? Creation of more states is not sustainable. What we need now is to address the problems in our federal structure.”
Calling for devolution of power, Chief George said power devolution would catalyse the development of the country.
He, however, said the present constitution was not working and there was a need to have a new constitution to drive the country’s development.
The PDP chieftain said the current constitution put too much power in the centre, leaving the states and local governments helpless and incapacitated.
He noted: “There is no state in this country that the Almighty has not endowed. It is either agriculture or minerals or human resources. But the constitution of this country is not right. We need to revisit it and now allow all those states to manage themselves, manage their resources. That is the beginning of the cleansing of this country. Nothing is working because the foundation is faulty”.
Chief George called for the adoption of the recommendations of the 2014 Confab to achieve true federalism and address the country’s numerous challenges.
A former Organising Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, Elder Blessing Tiko, has urged the people of Port Harcourt City Local Government Area support the administration of Hon. Ezebunwo Ichemati.
Elder Tiko made this in an exclusive interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt.
The former party organising secretary, who is also the coordinator of Port Harcourt Environmental Sanitation Initiative, said Hon Ichemati has raised the bar as far as the administration of the capital city is concerned.
He particularly praised the Mayor for embarking on some people-oriented projects within his first one hundred days in office.
According to him, the Mayor has bought vehicles for all the councilors and principal aides of the council including the Deputy Mayor.
He also praised him for the construction of a two bedroom flat for 93 years old widow at Elekahia and purchase of land for Ogbunabali community as its play ground.
Elder Tiko also commended the Mayor the for construction of a road in Elekahia and installation of street lights and the ongoing reconstruction of a road and drainage system at Ekwe Street in Diobu.
According to him the ongoing construction of international educational centre at the council premises also deserves commendation.
He further said that the Mayor, during the end of year festivities, also visited the Port Harcourt Correctional Center and some homes for the less privileged to celebrate with them.
Elder Tiko urged the people to appreciate the gestures of the Mayor by supporting him to ensure that he succeeds, stressing that, if possible, the Mayor should be endorsed for a second term in office.
In addition, the elder statesman also commended Governor Siminalayi Fubara for his purposeful leadership in the state.
By: John Bibor
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