After the Polls, Let Peace Reign

 IN THE ARENA

On the heels of rancorous electioneering campaigns by Nigerian politicians jostling for the presidential and National Assembly seats, the security agencies should ensure that peace reigns after yesterday’s polls, writes Louis Achi

In a compelling journey of faith and hope to berth a new country, Nigerians trouped out to voting centres across the country yesterday to elect their president and members of the National Assembly in the 24-year old Fourth Republic.

“This election is probably the most important election in the world because of Nigeria’s pivotal position in Africa,” Nina Shea, a Senior Fellow at the Hudson institute, had told Channelnewsasia.

The immediate issue of legitimate concern to many Nigerians is that of post-election violence, which had smeared the reputation of effective security management of polls and post-elections and become an unflattering feature of democratic elections in Nigeria. The emerging perception is that the politicians have scripted their own rules and are operating by a weird standard of justice and self-help.

According to Dede Laugesen, Executive Director of Save the Persecuted Christians, “This religiously and politically-divided, cash-poor, weary, and impoverished country is prime for post-election violence as has, unfortunately, been experienced many times before.”

Twenty-four hours earlier on Friday, two important bodies spoke on what many had viewed as Africa’s most consequential general elections. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) told Nigerians that it was ready for a credible presidential and National Assembly elections and that the results of the elections would be announced swiftly.

Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, spoke while briefing journalists on the Commission’s preparations for the general election on Friday in Abuja.

“Voter enthusiasm is high and so too is our determination to conduct credible elections. We are glad about the progress we are making with the movement of materials to the various locations around the country.

“Having deployed these materials to the Local Government Areas, we are today devolving the deployment to the Registration Area Centres (RACs) so that early morning tomorrow the polls will open as planned,” Yakubu reportedly said.

Providing further clarity on likely challenges, especially on INEC ICT facilities, particularly internet services, and cyber-attack on its facilities, Yakubu said INEC anticipated two challenges, which he identified as technical and malicious acts.

“On technical terms we are working with a mobile telecommunications company to take care of such challenges. We have taken sufficient steps to fortify our portal and systems. We are aware of the anticipated challenges and we are up to the task,” he added.

On their path, the European Union Observation Mission (EU EOM) to the 2023 General Election had condemned the recent acts of violence preceding the poll in parts of the country.

In a statement in Abuja on Friday, the EU EOM singled out the recent politically-linked assassination of the Labour Party (LP) senatorial candidate for Enugu East Senatorial zone of Enugu State, Oyibo Chukwu. The EU EOM Chief Observer, Barry Andrews, urged all electoral stakeholders to engage in a manner that reflects the spirit of the Peace Accord signed on February 22, 2023.

Andrews urged the candidates, political parties, their supporters and all Nigerians to act responsibly for peaceful, free, fair, transparent and credible elections.

 “The EU EOM condemns the recent acts of severe and coordinated incidents of violence, in particular the recent assassination, and urges authorities to hold those responsible to account.

“The EU EOM urges all electoral stakeholders to engage in a manner that reflects the spirit of the Peace Accord signed on 22 February – on election day and in the days that follow as votes are counted and tabulated, and results are announced.

“Furthermore, we urge security agencies to fulfil their responsibilities and ensure an enabling environment for peaceful elections. The EU EOM will continue to observe the electoral process, including the transparency of the election administration, the impartiality of security agencies, and the independence of the judiciary.

“The EU Election Observation Mission has been deployed by the European Union upon an invitation from the Independent National Electoral Commission.”

Also speaking at the same occasion, the Inspector General of Police (IG), Usman Baba, said that a total of 425,106 joint security operatives had been deployed for yesterday’s elections.

 “In the police we have 310,973; NSCDC 51,000; FRSC 21,000; Nigerian Correctional Service 11,336; NDLEA 9,447; EFCC 350 and Nigeria Immigration Service 21,000.”

According to the police boss, the orderlies attached to the Very Important Personalities (VIPs), and some politicians would be withdrawn during the polls.

Meanwhile, the suspected politically motivated assassination of LP’s senatorial candidate, Chukwu elicited a swift reaction from INEC, which postponed the senatorial poll in Enugu East to March 11.

Meanwhile, the presidential and National Assembly elections witnessed large turnout across the country on Saturday.

Given the scope of the preparations by the security agencies, and Buhari’s unwavering resolve to leave a free, fair and secure electoral legacy, many doomsday predictions may not see the light of the day.

 Largely, post-election peace depends on the readiness and sincerity of the security agencies, soldiers and policemen especially, to read the environment accurately and proactively respond to threats and similar untoward plots by unprincipled politicians to undermine the stability of society.