Campaign Violence And A Peace Accord

Nigeria’s media space is awash with reports of the purported attack on the campaign train of the Presidential candidate of the  Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, in Maiduguri, Borno state. In the wake of the alleged incident is a raging controversy that this newspaper considers disturbing.

The candidate claimed that his convoy was attacked by hoodlums carrying the flags of the All Progressives Congress (APC). His party distributed photographs of damaged vehicles to buttress the argument that there was a deliberate act to disrupt the political event by elements believed to be paid agents.  The Police, on their part, denied that any such incident took place and insisted that the campaign rally held peacefully. The Borno state government claimed that the alleged attack was stage-managed.

Our concern is that this is happening even with the peace accord signed by all the parties participating in the process that will culminate in the 2023 general election. In view of this development, we are persuaded to urge all the political parties and their candidates to rein in their supporters. In addition to what reportedly happened in Maiduguri, there have been other reports of violent attacks on persons of opposing camps.

There have been, also, reports in different parts of the country, on how party supporters were attacked, candidates harassed and rallies and marches invaded by hoodlums. In one instance, someone was reported to have been electrocuted while trying to destroy a party billboard. There are also evidences of harassment on social media.

We are not unmindful of the overzealousness of party supporters who, in a bid to prove their loyalty to their principals, indulge in acts that ultimately hurt the electioneering process. But candidates and other party officials need to be reminded that the electorate have no business with the street urchins who may be out to earn a living even at the expense of those who hired them.

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That these despicable actions fester even after the symbolic peace accord was signed by the presidential candidates makes it even more worrisome. Just in case the parties and their candidates choose to forget, the peace accord is a commitment to peaceful campaigns and elections. It came into practice before the 2015 general election which, at that time, was almost at chaotic levels.

We recall that the peace accord initiative helped douse tensions immeasurably. In our opinion, it was strategic in thawing the ice which had frozen politics ahead of that election. It has since become the bastion for peaceful elections in Nigeria. We hope it will remain so. But it requires emphasising that the peace accord is much more than the media blitz that it attracted. It is also more than the recognition accorded candidates.

This newspaper recalls the statesmanlike role former President Goodluck Jonathan played in ensuring that the 2015 election didn’t become a national disaster. His famous statement at the kick off of his second term ambition in Lagos State that “my political ambition, and indeed the ambition of anybody, is not worth the blood of any Nigerian,” has since remained a major reference.

It is pertinent that candidates and their supporters deem it appropriate to borrow a leaf from that stance and stop any plans on their part to discredit the election process by their own acts of commission or omission.

Without doubt, the stakes as 2023 approaches are high indeed. So, also, are the expectations of Nigerians who wish and hope that the election which will produce the leaders of their choice is free, fair and devoid of any form of violence likely to smear the credibility of the outcome.

In ensuring that the atmosphere is rancour-free as the electorate exercise their franchise, we expect security agencies, in particular the Police, to do what is expected of them.

We are enamoured by the fact that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is taking note of what is emerging as an ugly trend. The commission’s decision to meet with political parties, recently, on this issue, is commendable. But the workload of the commission will be eased if the candidates take it as part of their mandate to commit to peaceful campaigns.

Nigerians perceive the upcoming election as a watershed in the nation’s journey to an enduring democracy. Undermining it, in any way, could portend unimaginable consequences. Besides impeding the democratic gains made since 1999 and rubbishing the effort of those who paid huge prices to get the country thus far, it could blemish the international stature of Nigeria as a regional leader in the African continent.

The world expects a significant improvement on the last general election. Nigerians on their part are anticipating an election that will produce leaders who will deploy policies and programmes to assuage the sufferings they presently bear. This newspaper is convinced that only a commitment to peaceful election by the parties and their candidates will make this dream a reality.