Hostilities And Seamless Democratic Transition (1)

Nigeria is in the thresh old of another General Elections that will produce set of leaders for the State Houses of Assembly, Governors for the 36 States of the federation, 109 Senators for the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly and 360 Representatives for the Lower Chambers, in her 24th year of uninterrupted democratic governance. Nigeria’s civil rule has been replete with military interventions. In fact, of the 62 years of the country’s independence from British tutelage and domination, the Military whose statutory obligation is to protect the territorial integrity of the country from external aggression, has made several incursions in the political space of Nigeria.
However, some analysts of social and political events have blamed the intervention of the military in politics on the flagrant misrule and abuse of office by those who were elected or purportedly elected to be servant leaders and hold the resources of the people in trust. Every Government derives its legitimacy from the people and ought to be accountable to thr people. Though the military who have tagged their interventions as “corrective”, are not better either. The non-interference of the military in politics in the last 24 years, shows their maturity and resolve to adhere to professionalism and statutory duties because there are several excesses of some political leaders and their followers that are not only an affront on the sensibility of the people but are capable of truncating democracy through civil disobedience and military interventions.
Be that as it may, Nigeria needs a pat on the back for achieving 24 years of unbroken democracy without commitment to learn from the ugly past. The burning of offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), destruction of Permanent Voter Cards, killing of INEC staff and security agents in 15 States of Nigeria are strong evidences of  a deaf and blind political process tottering on the brink of failure. Already, the INEC is threatening to postpone the General Elections slated for this year because of the incessant attacks on her personnel and facilities. According to a national media outlet, Tribune Online, on November 10, 2022, suspected hoodlums razed the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abeokuta South Local Government Area of Ogun State, destroying critical election materials. The initial impression was that there had been a fire outbreak, but it soon emerged that it was outlaws that had in fact set fire to the facility in the early hours of the day. According to the INEC commissioner for information and voter education, Festus Okoye, over 65,000 uncollected PVCs were destroyed in the fire. Okoye said that the attackers overpowered the security personnel on duty and set the entire building ablaze.”The main building and all the commission’s movable assets in the office were destroyed. They include 904 ballot boxes, 29 voting cubicles, 30 megaphones, 57 election bags, eight electric power generators and 65,699 uncollected permanent voters cards (PVCs).” This is unacceptable in a nation whose democracy is precarious and fledgling.
Ogun State in the South-West geopolitical region of Nigeria also recorded incidents of hostilities on INEC facility and materials.Speaking to Journalists on the dastardly act, Okoye said that one of the commission’s offices in Ede South Local Government Area of Osun State was attacked and set ablaze, although the damage was limited to a section of the building and only some furniture items were destroyed.  According to reports, miscreants have attacked INEC offices and staff over 42 times in the last three years. “To be sure, the attacks on INEC offices are a cause for concern. Apart from creating unnecessary tension in the polity, such attacks give the impression that certain persons, probably political actors, are interested in undermining the electoral process and thus undermining the process of recruiting the new set of leaders that will pilot the affairs of the country.  It is disheartening that in a country that espouses law and order, the lives of INEC staff have been, and continue to be, exposed to danger, thus impeding their mental readiness for the onerous task with which they have been saddled. Arsonists targeting offices, especially in the run up to the 2023 general elections, apparently do not mean well for the country. It is not difficult to suggest that the attacks are deliberate and perhaps designed to send messages which ought to be deconstructed by the security agencies as part of the investigation into them”, says a concerned analyst. It cannot be a thing of joy that in just 33 months, more than 40 INEC offices have been attacked and vandalised with the commission reporting loss of critical property. Such property will evidently cost a fortune to replace and unfortunately, the burden is transferred to the same long-suffering Nigerians rendered economically impotent by political actors.
The development should be curbed; it would not thrive if there were consequences for the perpetrators. Clearly, the government and security agencies have to increase and improve security around the commission’s offices and make them less pregnable and susceptible to vicious attacks by arsonists and vandals. In this regard, installing CCTV cameras in the offices would not be out of place. It is important for the attacks to be unravelled, not just to punish the criminals behind them according to the laws of the land, but to expose them as a deterrent to would-be criminals planning such attacks.The government and the security agencies must up their ante and ensure that INEC is saved from the disruption that further attacks will create. This is in the interest of the country and its desire to have a well organised and hitch-free general election. Another two states in the South South region where INEC suffered losses was Ogun and Osun. Reacting to the unprovoked attacks on INEC facilities and personnel, the Obi-Datti Media Organisation described the recent attacks on the offices in Ogun and Osun states respectively as sabotage by losers.   The group also condemned the destruction of 65,699 uncollected Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) “losers” who attacked two of the offices. In a statement the group said the act was a pure sabotage against the Nigerian nation, her people and her future. The group urged the Federal Government to back its promise to conduct free and credible election in 2023 by protecting INEC staff, facilities and materials from destruction.  In a release captioned: Burning INEC Offices A Great Threat To 2023 General Elections
, The Obi-Datti Media Organisation said it received the very disturbing news of the burning down of the Ogun State Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office with utter shock. Similar incident had occurred in Osun State earlier.It has been confirmed that many materials needed for the next (this) year’s elections were destroyed by the inferno especially permanent voters’ cards yet to be collected by their owners. We condemn this arson in the strongest term possible because of the serious danger and threat it poses to the conduct of free, fair and credible elections next year. On December 12 last year there was outrage and bitter protest over the attack on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, office in Imo State, which left no fewer than five persons dead, including two policemen, the third attack in 12 days on the commission offices in the state. INEC; Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State; Peoples Democratic Party, PDP; Labour Party, LP; and Accord were among those who condemned the attack, which was the 53rd across 29 states that the electoral commission had suffered since 2019. According to reports, “the attack was likened to warfare with booming explosive devices and a massive exchange of gunfire between the hoodlums and security agencies, came on a day the INEC started the distribution of Permanent Voters Cards, PVCs, to people, who registered, recently. “The INEC raised the alarm over what it described as systematic and targeted attacks on its facilities nationwide, ahead of the 2023 general elections. “A policeman was killed in the attack, while another suffered a severe injury in the gun duel during the gunmen’s attack at the Imo State Headquarters of the INEC, Port Harcourt Road, Owerri. “This brings to three, the number of INEC offices in the state, attacked by the hoodlums since December I, 2022. The incident followed the earlier attacks on INEC’s Orlu LGA office on December 1, 2022, and the Oru West LGA office on December 4, 2022.
“Part of the INEC office was razed by the hoodlums, who used IEDs to completely burn the Election and Party Monitoring, EPM, building”. Addressing newsmen at the State Police Command’s Headquarters, Owerri, where the lifeless bodies of the hoodlums were displayed, the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. Michael Abattam, said: “The gunmen killed one policeman and injured another one in the gun duel that lasted for about an hour. “Five riffles, two vehicles, charms, locally made bombs, phones and money were recovered from the slain gunmen.” Governor Uzodimma, of Imo State who visited the scene blamed desperate politicians for the attack, saying that security would be adequately provided for the INEC for the distribution of the PVCs in the state. Uzodimma said: “You can see why INEC is the target.
To be completed in the next edition.

By: Igbiki Benibo