The defiance is tied to some existential reality which is the involvement of the high and mighty. We all know that the high and mighty in our society are above the law. They are major stakeholders in every election. So, they often engage the thugs and the umpires to disrupt the process and to doctor the figures to their own advantage. One of their strategies is violence. How can they use the law to cub a menace that benefits them?
The weaker opponents never goes to sleep. They also do find some crude ways to counter and the result is always chaos.
The elections in Nigeria are never devoid of bloodshed. It is seen as a do or die affair.
On the 21 of September , the People of Edo state will decide who their next governor will be. The stakes are high. The incubent Governor Godwin Obaseki of the People Democratic party(PDP) wants to retain the state while the ruling party at the center All Progressive Congress (APC) wants to return the state to the league of ApC governed states.
You’d recall that the incubent governor Godwin Obaseki was a member of ApC and was voted by the party as Edo state governor. He only decamped to his current party after he clashed with his predecessor and godfather Adams Oshomole.
The drums of war have been beating loudly in Edo. Even the deafs have been complaining about the loudness. The gladiators are spewing fire and threatening almagedon. Many believe that they’ve massively armed their supporters for the d-day which is barely a week away. The questions on the lips of the pacifists in the state and Nigeria at large now is; “Will guns be gone or be used freely? Will the winner swim in blood to Osadebe Avenue where the government house is located? Will signing the Peace accord be the silver bullet?”
Well, the ruling party and governor of the state have refused to sign. What are the implications? The incubent Governor Godwin Obaseki and his party (People Democratic party) believe that the pen that was presented as the instrument of signage has polluted ink. They’re are of the opinion that it is a trap. His reasons shall be xtrayed presently.
There are too many lose ends in view. Edo state, also known as “The Heart Beat of Nigeria” is a boisterous state with a high youths population. The rate of crime is all time high. Same as the rate of unemployment and under employment. The aforementioned two , we know are fertile grounds for hooliganism and other forms of criminality. These unemployed youths are low hanging fruits for Wheeler-dealers and notorious politicians who see nothing wrong in exploring the Machiavellian principle of the end justifies the means.
About three months ago, a police inspector was shot dead in the heart of Benin city the state capital. The slain cop was the orderly of the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressive Congress Senator Monday Okpebholo. He was riding into Benin city with the restated deputy Governor Philip shaibu who is a known foe of governor Godwin Obaseki. The shooting incident happened and the police man died in his boots. It’s been from one crisis to another. Both camps have been accusing each other of sponsoring the assassination.
The state government recently cried out and accused the police in the state of bias. The Governor himself brazenly accused the police of massive arrest of the members of his party the PDP. “How can anyone be so mean to a peace loving people? You engage in massive arrest of innocent people, our supporters on the eve of an election and whisked them to Abuja. Is that not oppression? Is that not a display of bias? If you think they’ve committed any offense, why not try them in Edo state? Why whisk them to Abuja and lock them up incommunicado?”
The Governor also complained about being sidelined and disregarded by the Police Commissioner. “As the chief security officer of the state, I deserve to be carried along. I deserve some respect. Even when I called him, he would promise to return the calls. He never did” says the fuming governor. He says the party and himself refused to sign the peace accord because they do not trust the police and the process .
That’s not all. For days now, there’s been hue and cry over the relationship between the newly deployed Commissioner of Police of the state and the resident electorial commissioner. The ruling party in the state (PDP) says the duo have age long relationships with former Rivers State governor Ezenwo Nyesome Wike the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. Wike, though a PDP member is seen as an unapologetic apologist of the ruling party at the center. His relationship with president Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his party and his fractured relationship with governor Obaseki are among the reasons why the governor and his party are scared. They see the appointment and deployment as a well orchestrated move to manipulate the process in favor of Senator Monday Okpebholo the ApC candidate.
“Of what use is a peace accord that has no legal backing?” This is what many Nigerians are asking. This question on the lips of a legion is hinged on the country’s recent history of election violence even after signing of peace accords by the major gladiators.
Birthed before the 2015 general elections, the National Peace Committee, as headed by rtd Head of State Gen. Abdul Salam Abubakar and co-chaired by renown pacifist and Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese Hassan Kukah and the Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, the mandate was to ensure the sustenance of peace before, during and after the generation elections. President Goodluck Jonathan emphasized on the need to keep the country in peace inrespective of who won or lost.
The committee has been operational. Whenever an election (federal or state) approaches, the major stakeholders are called to sign a Peace pact on camera. The success of the committee didn’t not go beyond the 2015 polls. Many Nigerians are of the opinion that the glory should actually go to then incubent president Goodluck Jonathan who was known for calmness and peaceful disposition. He’s the one that said; “My ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian” By that statement, the Bayelsa born politician sent a loud message to his supporters and the umpire that he wasn’t desperate to win. He further demonstrated it when he conceded victory and called Mr. Mohammadu Buhari while the votes were still being counted.
Alas! Other politicians are not like him. The elections after 2015 have been marred in manipulations and violence in spite of the signing of peace accords. The 2019 elections, the 2023 elections were all marred in violence despite the signing of peace accord by the stakeholders. What about the off seasons ones in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states? Did they not sign in full glare of the cameras? Did that stop the massive rigging and violence against peaceful Nigerians who came out to vote?
The most unfortunate reality is that the perpetrators of violence are always known. Before, during and after the polls, they vend hate on social media and carry out violence in full glare of the public. Those who ought to bring them to book stays aloof while they molest innocent Nigerians.
The urchins are embodied by those who swore to maintain law and order. This Chequerd anticident is the reason behind the aparthy and the questioning of the necessity of the Peace accord. Those who wield the instruments of coersion can always get away with election violence. Otherwise , why is anyone not on trial? So, what’s the need of signing if signing won’t actually guarantee anything noble?
The bottomline is, the peace accords that have been signed over the years before national and state elections haven’t been able to stymie violence and rigging.
Edo people want peace. It is the responsibility of all lover of peace to keep preaching peace. The gladiators should appreciate that Power taken with power cannot be used to power the people. It can’t also be tied to the divine because, God is not a progenitor of violence and unfairness. The gladiators should please play it cool. Election should be a do or die affair. Let guns be gone from the system and process. Let the process the fair. Security agencies should be neutral. Those who will perpetrate violence should be arrested and prosecuted. When the violators of peace are punished, intending violators will think twice because they know that there is a system that can bring them to justice.