Anambra Guber Poll: How Prepared are Security Agencies?

Despite the unprecedented militarisation and over-policing of their space with the secessionist tweak ahead of the November 6 governorship poll, citizens of Anambra State are still uncertain of their safety, Louis Achi writes

Clearly, what is unfolding in the nation’s socio-political space is comparable to an Athenian tragedy but lacking the majesty of a Greek drama. This poetic verdict delivered over two decades ago by the late erudite economist and scholar, Dr. Pius Okigbo, incidentally from Ojoto, in Idemili South LGA of Anambra State, also holds true for his undeniably illustrious home turf.

Cut to the bone? Okigbo’s position simply captures the damming failure of the national, regional and Anambra State political leaderships. And despite the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu’s assurance and confirmation of his agency’s readiness for the November 6, 2021 governorship election in Anambra State, significant uncertainty pervades the air.

“We have recovered from the series of attacks on our facilities and I am happy to say that we have deployed all the non-sensitive materials to all the local government areas. As far as INEC is concerned, we are good to go on November 6. We have trained the requisite number of ad-hoc staff for the election and mobilised members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) for efficient distribution of materials on Election Day,” Yakubu reportedly added

The INEC boss spoke mid last week, at a meeting with the Joint National Assembly Committee on INEC and Electoral Matters. The meeting was aimed at engaging with the commission over the forthcoming governorship election in Anambra State..

Almost a month before Yakubu’s speech, on Monday, October 4 2021, Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Faruk Yahaya, flagged off a new military operation codenamed Exercise Golden Dawn, in the country’s South-eastern region which, according to him, will curb rising cases of insecurity. He said the operation would tackle insurgency, kidnapping and rising banditry in the South-East, which had led to wanton killings and burning of government facilities. Previous such exercises evoke a bad memory for the region.

Meanwhile, still on the same governorship poll, the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba mid last week also ordered an unprecedented overhauling of the security landscape in the state ahead of the election scheduled for this weekend.

According to a statement signed by the Force spokesperson, CP Frank Mba, the overhauling includes the deployment of selected, and seasoned Strategic Commanders from the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police and above to the state for effective supervision of security personnel and operations in the election.

In the new security scenario, the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Joseph Egbunike, was deployed to Anambra State as the Coordinator of the security component for the election. “DIG Egbunike is saddled with the responsibility of overseeing the implementation of the Operation Order evolved from the Election Security Threat Assessment, to ensure a peaceful environment devoid of violence and conducive enough to guarantee that law-abiding citizens freely perform their civic responsibilities without molestation or intimidation,” the statement clarified.

It further added that, “DIG Egbunike will be assisted by the DIG in-charge of Operations, Acting DIG Zaki Ahmed. Other strategic commanders deployed to Anambra State include five (5) Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs), fourteen (14) Commissioners of Police (CPs), thirty-one (31) Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) and forty-eight (48) Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACPs). The Senior Officers are to coordinate human and other operational deployments in the three (3) Senatorial Districts, twenty-one (21) Local Government Areas and the 5720 polling units in Anambra State.

“The IG reassures the nation that the Force is adequately prepared for the gubernatorial election in Anambra State come November 6th, 2021….and will do everything within its powers to work with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and all stakeholders to protect democratic values, provide level playing field for all political actors, ensure adequate protection of voters, INEC personnel and equipment, accredited observers and other key players in Anambra State.”

The unprecedented security preparations ahead of the poll, among other imperatives have linkages to threats issued by Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to the effect that the election would not hold if its leader, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu was not unconditionally released by November 4.

IPOB vowed they would put the entire South-East on a weeklong lock-down, starting from November 5, that is, a day before the election. For good measure, they have warned the people of Anambra State, that for the safety of their lives, they should remain indoors for the duration of the sit-at-home order! Kanu has been detained by the Department of State Services (DSS) after he was renditioned from Kenya to Nigeria by the federal government.

According to Professor Chidi Odinkalu, former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, “The IPOB command-and-control structure – if it existed – is broken down. So there isn’t one IPOB. There are multiple IPOBs. And you’ve got political IPOB.”

X-raying this weekend’s governorship election during a recent interview on ARISE NEWS Channel, Odinkalu observed that, “In Anambra State for instance, I think one of the challenges in the election is knowing which IPOB you are talking about. There are political IPOB owned by partisan political actors in Anambra State. There is a faction in Anambra Central who are masquerading as IPOB. You’ve got a set of cults that are from somewhere in Ebonyi State and parts of Abia State as part of the political IPOB in Anambra State for instance. And then, you’ve got the Nnamdi Kanu’s IPOB. All of them are competing for space.”

In navigating this quirky haze, it could be recalled that former President Goodluck Jonathan experienced a similar challenge in 2015 and had to delay the presidential election by six weeks to enable the military secure the North-east region from Boko Haram and guarantee the safety of voters in that region! Is Jonathan’s intervention a viable option or applicable model here? In the South-east region, the fundamental variables and underlying philosophy driving dissent are different from the North-eastern scenario.

It is against the backdrop of this tumultuous canvas that governorship aspirants are seeking to succeed Governor Willie Obiano and occupy Agu-Awka. Meanwhile, for the stressed out citizens of Anambra, it’s morning yet on creation day!