Political party candidates in the 2023 general elections need to be called to order, and fast. Reports of violent attacks on persons of opposing camps in recent weeks are disconcerting, worrisome and a threat to the election proper.
There have been reports in different parts of the country on how party supporters were attacked, candidates harassed and rallies and marches invaded by hoodlums. Also the harassment on social media has also become a major cause for concern.
Other forms of subtle violent instigations like destroying an opponent’s party flag, party symbol, billboards and other campaign tools have also come to the fore.
We are not unmindful of the overzealousness of party supporters. Some can go way off tangent, dangerously so, in trying to prove loyalty to their principals.
We nonetheless believe that candidates should have a rein on the activities of their supporters. We think they should be more mindful of what their supporters do.
That these despicable actions continue even after the symbolic peace accord was signed by the presidential candidates makes it more worrisome .
Just in case they choose to forget, the peace accord is a commitment to peaceful campaigns and elections. It came into practice before the 2015 general election which was at utter chaotic levels.
The peace accord initiative helped douse tension immeasurably. 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. The peace accord is much more than the media blitz that it attracts. It is also more than the recognition accorded candidates.
The world has since come to realise and appreciate the statesmanly 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: “my political ambition, and indeed the ambition of anybody, is not worth the blood of any Nigerian,” has since remained a major reference.
For Jonathan, as events showed, it was more than mere words. He lived it up by conceding defeat even before the election was concluded.
He committed beyond words to ensuring that the electoral process went smoothly. He didn’t tamper with it despite the pressure from his political allies.
Of course, the election was not perfect. But he chose the higher purpose and has since become a global icon of peace and a symbol of political maturity.
This newspaper hopes that such is the mindset each candidate must have as we go into this election. After all, they all should have one goal of providing leadership to the living.
Clearly, the security agencies seem to have been caught napping so far. The perennial challenge in addressing political crime has been the lack of deterrence largely due to interference.
We expect that the civil security agencies, led by the Police, which also participated in the peace accord process, must live up to expectation.
They cannot afford to be cowed or be lured into inertia while criminal political actors destabilise the polity. We expect to see timely arrests and prosecutions.
It is a good thing that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has taken note of this ugly trend. The commission’s decision to meet with political parties on this issue is highly commendable. Such proactiveness is what we would expect from other stakeholders in the electoral process.
Going forward, we believe candidates should take it as a mandate to repeatedly commit to peaceful campaigns whenever and wherever they go on campaigns.
They should promptly and constantly condemn violent actions anywhere and anytime they occur.
Undermining this election, in any way, has immense consequences. Besides impeding the hard-earned democratic gains made since 1999 and rubbishing the effort of those who paid huge prices to get us where we are democratically, the instability it would cause the country, region and the continent . All eyes are already on Nigeria. The expectation is for us to do better. We can do better.
A significant improvement on the last general elections is the base expectation. But it starts with commitment to peaceful election by the candidates.
