2023:Youths Raise Awareness against Killing, Vote-Selling

Fidelis David in Akure

As the 2023 general elections approaches, youth members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at Nigeria (AMJN), under the aegis of Majlis Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya Nigeria,  yesterday took sport (bicycle riding) as a means to create awareness and sensitise youths and residents of Ondo State against thuggery, ballot box snatching, rigging, vote-buying and selling.

Adorned with banners bearing inscriptions such as “election, not war,” “say no to killings,” “say no to banditry,” and “say yes to peace” amongst others, as the youths in customized shirts with inscription “Ride for Peace” rode from Ondo Road in Akure, through Isikan Market to MKO Democracy Park.

The National President of the AMJN, Mr. Abdur Rogib Akinyemi, said that the theme of the awareness was “Attaining Peaceful Election,” and explained that Nigerian youths must be regarded as important stakeholders in Nigeria’s development and must be actively involved in such endeavours.

Akinyemi, who was represented by the Assistant General Secretary AMJN, Mr. Abdurrofeeq Alaka, said: “Today’s event is tagged ‘Ride for Peace.’ It is an annual programme that started in 2016. We choose topics that centre on peace each year to sensitise youths and the general public on the need to leave peacefully and encourage peaceful coexistence.

“As you know the 2023 elections are around the corner. We set out today to sensitise our people on the need to make sure that we carry out the electoral processes peacefully and shun every act of vice that could lead to social unrest in our society.

“We’ve seen in the previous years that ballot boxes were snatched, people were maimed and killed all in the name of election. We are also worried by the rate of vote buying in recent elections. When people sell their votes, they are actually selling their voices, so, whatever comes as a result of that vote buying they will also have a taste of that.

“So, it part of what we are doing to sensitise our people to exercise their civic right wholeheartedly and sincerely without being influenced monetarily.” 

According to him, “elections in Nigeria are increasingly marred by violence and intimidation at both the federal and state levels. There are records of problems such as thuggery, ballot box snatching, rigging, and vote-buying which affect the integrity of elections and the peace of the country.”

Akinyemi noted that recently the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd), at an emergency meeting of the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) that was organised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja, said that Nigeria recorded 52 political violence across 22 states from October 8 to November 9, 2022 and that the Coalition Observer Group (COG), reported that 626 people were killed between October 2018 and March 2019 in the last presidential election, while the European Union Election Observation Mission in its 2019 election report said that about 150 people were killed in election-related violence.”

The state president of the association, Mr. Shittu Yusuf, explained that the group, which is dominated by men between 15 and 40 years, would be holding the awareness campaign across 25 states of the federation to promote the exercise at every nook and cranny of the country.

Yusuf encouraged the young people not to easily forget their past heritage like bicycle riding, which is indeed very popular in western countries and very safe for the environment and physical exercise.