Sheikh Nuru Khalid is an Islamic preacher who, during the last Ramadan, angrily admonished Nigerians not to participate in the forthcoming general elections unless the rising insecurity is tackled by the government. In his usual manner of presentation that is characterized by, depending on the circumstance, fury and humour, he strongly opined that the resolution of the security crisis to which the lives, health and wealth of the citizens are perennially and inestimably lost should be the pre-condition on which the elections would take place.
His statement to which some busy bodies in the country took exception and on account of which he was therefore immediately removed as the Chief Imam of the Legislators’ Quarters Apo-Abuja Jumu’at Mosque expectedly generated huge concerns over the possibility of the conduct of the elections. The government-inspired decision of the Management Committee of the mosque to sack him, more than anything else, became a basis of the diverse reactions to the loud complaint of the preacher over the prevalent insecurity in several parts of the country.
All the effort by the Chairman of the Management Committee of the mosque, Senator Sa’idu Mohammed Dansadau, to provide justification for the sack of Sheikh Khalid only further aggravated the controversy that it had already generated. Even with the condemnation of the Imam for a perceived insensitivity and the allegation that he was or still working for the opposition political party (ies), the points he made about the inseparability of security from elections which have therefore continued to clearly indicate the compelling need for adequate security in order to have credible elections became major issues of discussion.
Long before or, more precisely, between the time Sheikh Khalid made all those statements and now a lot of assurances for the restoration of security were given by the government with even President Muhammadu Buhari being most emphatic as a result of which Nigerians had become reasonably confident that the elections would be conducted in all parts of the country. As justifiable as the complaints by Sheikh Khalid and his likes were, particularly if analyzed in the context of the rise in the number and severity of violent attacks on the citizens by various groups of criminals, the call on the people to boycott the elections on account of the existence of such an ugly reality was widely dismissed as an unpatriotic act.
In other words, the assurances for the conduct of the elections as well as the denials about the existence of threats to the exercise by the government and its relevant establishments and agencies like the military, police and even the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had raised the hope that the situation would be brought under control. The manner in which, for example, the Minister of Interior, Mr Abdur-Rauf Aregbesola, boastfully spoke about the commitment of the government to deal with the insecurity by the end of last year, 2022, was really a further re-enforcement of the belief of the people in the capacity and readiness of the government to ensure the conduct of the elections.
Therefore, the alarm by INEC, through the Chairman of the Board of its Electoral Institute, Professor Abdullahi Abdu Zuru who represented the Commission’s Chairman, Professor Mahmud Yakubu, at a Validation of Election Security Training in Abuja that postponement of the elections because of insecurity is a possibility has come as a rude shock to most Nigerians. By warning at that particular event that “if the insecurity is not monitored and dealt with decisively, it could ultimately culminate in the cancellation and/or postponement of elections in sufficient constituencies to hinder the declaration of election results”, the INEC has terribly weakened the confidence of most of those who had hoped that the guarantee repeatedly given by the government in respect of the conduct of the exercise at the stipulated times would stand.
This particular warning by the electoral body is a clear validation of the concerns once expressed by Sheikh Khalid and over which he was vilified in the name of patriotism or love for democracy. The Islamic preacher and all those who have ever had reservation over the conduct of the election because of the prevailing violence must have now felt vindicated.
Even with the swift response of the federal government through the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, that the elections would take place as planned, considerable amount of the citizens’ confidence in this regard has understandably been eroded. It will therefore take more than the usual assurances or some kind of niceties from the government to restore the impression that the conduct of the elections according to the schedule is a possibility.
Having at some points in the past insisted, in concurrence with the position of President Buhari, that it would definitely carry out the exercise, the Commission must have now objectively reviewed the situation before it raised the red flag. It must have really come to terms with the fact that a conduct of elections in an atmosphere of insecurity such as the one that currently exists in various parts of the country is, even in the wildest of imaginations, impossible.
Nigerians are not unaware of the mandate of INEC and the limit of its role in the conduct of violence-free elections and can therefore always understand when the Commission openly complains about the problems it can not solve. The prevailing or even worsening insecurity is not something that INEC can handle, which therefore makes it absolutely necessary for the Commission to boldly express its fears so that proper measures towards the resolution of the crisis can be taken by the right organs of government.
While there is a considerable amount of public satisfaction over the level of INEC’s preparedness, especially considering the introduction of some technology-based measures, the high intensity and continuous escalation of violent attacks and counter-attacks have obviously presented a challenge that is too terrible for the Commission to ignore. It is completely impossible for the Commission to deploy equipment and personnel to all those several places where killers, bandits, kidnappers and arsonists are in absolute control.
Postponement of elections, for whichever reason, is not INEC’s wish, which means that the alarm it has raised is meant to spur the government to quickly take the necessary actions so that the elections can take place. In this regard, its demand has perfectly rhymed with the kind of condition given by Sheikh Nuru Khalid and all those who have been expressing reservation over the possibility of the conduct of the elections in an atmosphere of absolute insecurity. Wherever they are now, such people must have been encouraged by the INEC’s warning to continue to make the valid demand for the provision of security.
The basic expectation now is that President Muhammadu Buhari will appear a lot more serious and sincere about the fulfilment of his promise for the resolution of those crises that are real threats to the forthcoming elections and, by extension, democracy. Anything less or different from this required action can be justifiably interpreted as a deliberate attempt to subvert the electoral process in order to achieve some objectives that are far less than noble.
We’ve got the edge. Get real-time reports, breaking scoops, and exclusive angles delivered straight to your phone. Don’t settle for stale news. Join LEADERSHIP NEWS on WhatsApp for 24/7 updates →
Join Our WhatsApp Channel
