2015 polls and security concerns

With the spate of insecurity in the country, particularly in the northeast, the concerns of the global community over the 2015 elections can no longer be ignored. Recently, Laurent Fabius, the French minister of foreign affairs, urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to defend Nigeria and Africa’s image by conducting a credible election in 2015. His German counterpart, Frank Seinmeir, equally implored the Federal Government to increase its efforts to end insurgency ahead of the 2015 polls. It is therefore clear that the security worries in the country need to be tackled frontally in order to have a conducive atmosphere for the conduct of the 2015 polls.

Unlike what many believe, insurgency is not the only source of security fears in the country. There is, for instance, the volatile issue of Fulani herdsmen who often attack their victims after their livestock have destroyed the latter’s farmlands. The increasing incidents of kidnapping in some parts of the country equally remain an immense source of security apprehensions. Kidnappers have continued to operate without borders, spreading the nets of their nefarious acts to hold both locals and foreigners captive. The aged, clerics, government officials, academics, professionals, women and children are not spared by those who engage in this despicable act. In some other parts of the country, armed robbery has become a major threat to national security. Activities of political thugs have also become a serious cause for concern.     

Without a doubt, the spate of kidnapping across the country, the wave of crime and armed robbery attacks and the incessant activities of terrorists are all pointers to the fact that insecurity is fast becoming a norm in Nigeria. The implication of this to the democratic health of the country and the heightened sense of insecurity among the populace cannot be quantified. If not quickly addressed, the effects of all these challenges could constitute a clog in the wheel of the democratic process come 2015.

According to John Plamentz, an English political philosopher, democracy is “government by persons freely chosen by and responsible to the governed”, while an election is a formal decision-making by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Election is universally used to select representatives of the people. They were used as early in history as ancient Greece and ancient Rome, and throughout the medieval period to select rulers. The modern “election”, which consists of public elections of government officials, didn’t emerge until the beginning of the 17th century when the idea of representative government took hold in North America and Europe.

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The basic principles of democracy are the requirements to organise regular, free and fair elections, freedom of individuals to nominate candidates, periodic revision of electoral register, independent judiciary and freedom of campaign, among others. But recent happenings in Nigeria negate these, as people live in fear, while some have been displaced outright from their homes and are now refugees in their fatherland. Consequently, some eligible voters in the north might be disenfranchised in the coming elections, no thanks to the criminal activities of the insurgents in that part of the country.

The insurgents have organised themselves into a pressure group that seeks to influence the political structure and the structuring of power in the country. This they have done by hoisting their flag not too long ago in some local government areas in the north, with the declaration of an Islamic state as being done in Syria. Despite on-going talks about a ceasefire agreement, people still live in fear. Those who were lucky to escape have had tales of woe to tell. Men and young boys are being forcibly recruited, while women and young girls are being enslaved, physically and psychologically.

Confirming the enormity of the effects of the country’s security challenge on the 2015 polls, INEC chairman, Attahiru Jega, recently expressed his fear by submitting that the commission cannot risk its human and material resources, particularly in the three north-eastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe. Similarly, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State has also expressed serious concerns over the spate of insecurity in the country, which, according to him, poses a threat to free, fair and credible elections. The governor made the disclosure while playing host to students from the Royal College of Defence Studies, United Kingdom, led by Rear Admiral Jonas Haggren, at the State House, Alausa Ikeja. According to Fashola, “Insecurity is a threat every time. It is not only to electoral process, even to human existence and business activities.”

However, in spite of the ugly security situation in the country, the 2105 polls could still be held in a peaceful atmosphere. But for this to happen, all stakeholders must be ready to work for peace. While it is true that government is a key player on security issues, the reality is that without the active participation of other members and groups in the society, government alone cannot ensure security. This is why it is important that those behind the insurgent activities in the country must embrace the peace offer from the Federal Government. There is no level of discontentment that cannot be talked over. Throwing the nation into needless crisis over any issue, no matter how important, would ultimately be counter-productive.

Therefore, every well meaning Nigerian, groups and agencies must partner with INEC to ensure free and fair elections. INEC alone cannot ensure a credible election. It is a joint venture. It is a Nigerian project. On a final note, no meaningful development can take place in an atmosphere of chaos. According to Martin Luther King, “Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek but a means by which we arrive at that goal.”

BILKIS BAKARE