Thestatement by former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, that the February2015 elections will make or mar Nigeria gives cause for concern. It is a call for vigilance by all Nigerians to shun anything that could result in the polls becoming a tragedy for the nation. Abdulsalami is no ordinary Nigerian. He played the unique and important role of hand over of government to the civilians in 1999. Thus, his views on the nation and its future deserve more than a passing comment.
It is instructive that General Abdulsalami is not the only Nigerian to voice apprehension and urge caution about next year’s election. Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar 111, and other eminent religious and traditional rulers have made similar comments and advised politicians and other stakeholders on the need for caution and restraint in their comments, preparations and actions before, during and after the polls.
In fact, the first warning on next year’s polls came from the US National Intelligence memo which revealed that controversy over disputed election results in 2015 could lead to Nigeria’s break-up. America has since tried to dissociate from the ominous forecast in the interest of a cordial diplomacy. That the same worry has continued to beset our leaders means that all hands should be on deck to ensure that the nation remains in one piece after the election.
There are a variety of reasons the 2015 poll is creating anxiety. One, the attitude of political stakeholders is deplorable -a do-or-die election. The drama of defections between the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) created tension while it lasted. It is believed that the gale ofdefections might be renewed once President Goodluck Jonathan declares his interest in the polls.
Second, there is pressure President Jonathannot to contest in the elections because he was party to a gentleman’s agreement to stay only for one term after completing the tenure of his late boss, President Umaru Yar’Adua, who died in office.
Prominent Nigerians have made this call including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who played a prominent role in Jonathan emergence. On the other hand, pressure is equally high on the President to damn the consequences and contest, failing which some of his supporters have threatened to drag him to court.
The pressure against Jonathan’s ambition, which is largely responsible for the crises in PDP,leading to several defections, is to allow the North, whose tenure was abridged by the sudden death of Yar’Adua, to take power again and restoring the principle of rotation of the Presidency on geo- political zones.
A third reason, is the fear of electoral manipulation and rigging by those who want to retain power by all means as against those who want to take power. There is the fear that both groups may revert to extreme behaviours to achieve their aims, going by their utterances. These utterances are putting people on edge.
We are of the view, however, that the concern expressed by General Abdulsalami Abubakar and others like him also imposes a lot of responsibility on him to take action. As a former Head of State with a stake in the well-being of the nation, one expects him and others in his class, to identify the threat to Nigeria’s stability based on the elections, and do something about it.
It will be on record, if General Abdulsalami can take the initiative to call on certain divisive contestants in the election to steer clear of the polls in the national interest.
