DESPERATION BREEDS ELECTORAL VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA — POLITICAL ANALYST
A Political Affairs Analyst, Chief Chidozie Ezeugwa, has attributed the recent spate of electoral violence in the country to desperation and inordinate ambition by politicians.
Fielding questions from Radio Nigeria in Awka, Chief Ezeugwa noted with dismay that the trend as witnessed in Bayelsa and Kogi gubernatorial elections recently, was fast reversing the gains the country had made in its electoral system.
“Politicians are desperate to remain in power. Others are desperate to grab power. People’s choices no longer matter anything to them. We have had such experience before after which we made some headway. It’s unfortunate the country is gradually relapsing into such dark era. If we allow this to thrive, all of us will suffer for it,” he stated.
Chief Ezeugwa expressed regret that the security agencies, which were expected to act in public interest, seemed to have been compromised as some of the officers demonstrated clear partisan alliances.
He dismissed the excuse by security chiefs that impostors were responsible for the
violent acts witnessed during the elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states.
“If you will always come out to say that the police, soldiers and other law enforcement agents, who violated the laws or assisted the civilans in doing so, are not your men, then, it’s an indictment of the system. It means the nation’s security system is so porous that anybody can easily penetrate. I didn’t expect such development given the huge deployment of police and other security agents to the two states, where governorship polls held recently. We should stop promoting the culture of impunity,” Ezeugwa said.
The Political Affairs Analyst lamented that the anticipated change had not come and called for sweeping electoral reforms.
He particularly appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to give the country an electoral system, that would be fraud-proof.
Chief Ezeugwa also urged the federal government to address other agitations across the country, which he remarked often fueled electoral violence.
He posited that “there are other issues that threaten the corporate existence of this country. I appeal to the Federal Government to address them squarely. We can’t continue to treat them with kids gloves, sweeping them under the carpet doesn’t help us. They are time bomb, we must diffuse them before they explode. The Government must be careful with the deployment of security. There must be room for dialogues. This helps to calm strained nerves. So, in the coming days, I expect the Government to do more of dialogue in tackling issues of concern across the nation.”
Chief Ezeugwa called on patriotic Nigerians not to keep silent when things went wrong.
He described Nigeria as a collective project, which all must join hands to execute successfully.
ALFRED AJAYI