The feasibility of the peace pact signed by the presidential candidates of various political parties for the February general elections and issue-based campaign promised by the parties have been questioned by Nigerians, SAMUEL OGIDAN writes
When 14 presidential candidates of various political parties and their leaders assemble in Abuja on the 15th of January, 2015 to sign peace accord for February general elections, some Nigerians were happy but sceptical because of the nature of the nation’s political system
Nigerian political system has been characterised by violent, thuggery, snatching of ballot boxes and otherwise. These have made some political analysts to draw conclusion that it would take a while before Nigeria get it right in politics.
Signing of the peace accord was described as a welcome development because of apprehension and palpable fear of the repeat of 2011 post election violent where many Nigerians lost their lives.
But recent happenings during the campaigns have shown that the peace accord may not work as expected because violent attacks recorded so far during the campaigns and especially the attacks on the convoy of President Goodluck Jonathan during his campaigns, burning of PDP campaign vehicles in some parts of the North and bombing of All Progressives Congress (APC) office in Rivers state have begun to put question mark on the sincerity of some persons towards the peace deal.
Although various accusation and counter-accusation have been trailing the attacks, but some Nigerians living in other parts of the country it was reported have been moving in drove to their states of origin for fear of been caught in the web of violent during or after the election that is less than three weeks to go.
Aside the peace pact, utterances of some politicians, which some eminent Nigerians have warned against may likely cause some damages and overheat the polity if not nip in the bud before the election.
The reactions trailing the advert against the presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress, Muhammadu Buhari by Ekiti state governor, Ayo Fayose, the insult by members of opposition party against President Goodluck Jonathan and other inciting statements and utterances by those, who described themselves as politicians that have the interest of this country at heart would not do the country good, rather it would help to fuel the ember of disunity and by extension cause disaffection among ethnic tribes.
The attack on President Jonathan in Katsina by irate youths suspected to be supporters of the opposition APC, which has degenerated to blame game by PDP and APC has further exposed the hypocrisy of Nigeria politicians and the extent they can go to put the nation’s nascent democracy at risk, all in the name of “if I don’t have it, let destroy it.”
PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, said the attack was “a clear indication that the APC is not ready to dial back on its rabid desire to attain power through violence despite signing a peace pact a week ago in Abuja.”
It added that “this brazen attack on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and our presidential candidate clearly shows that the APC was never committed to the spirit and letters of the Abuja peace accord which they signed in the presence of prominent Nigerians and international personalities.
“It is unfortunate that while the PDP and other parties are busy ensuring that their members and supporters remain committed to a peaceful electioneering, the APC has been hatching plots to unleash violence on our candidates and members.”
But following the interview granted by Bauchi state governor, Isa Yuguda that the stoning of the President was masterminded by PDP members in Abuja, the spokesman of APC, Lai Mohammed said that APC, which was initially accused of being the brain behind the stoning of President Jonathan has been vindicated.
Meanwhile, shortly after the stoning of the President campaign convoy in Katsina state, the leadership of the opposition condemned in strong term the dastard act, saying “violence of any kind is totally unacceptable to the party.”
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Mohammed, the party had said that Jonathan should be free to campaign anywhere in the country without hindrance.
“Even though the attack on the President’s convoy took place a day after the provocative death-wish newspaper advertorial that was put out in the name of the President, nothing justifies the stoning of the President’s convoy anywhere in the country,” Mohammed said.
The violation of the peace deal through pockets of violence, has also been put at the door step of the ruling party by the opposition APC, following the advert of Gov. Fayose and other related development.
APC had recently accused President Jonathan of violating the non-violence pact which he signed with other presidential candidates in Abuja, with the recent Fayose advert, saying the advert was “incendiary, insensitive, reckless and provocative and betrayed the pact.”
APC, in a statement by its National Publicity, Lai Mohammed said, “but for our party’s ceaseless enlightenment of our members and supporters to shun violence of any kind even when provoked, and the peaceful disposition of the APC as a party, one can only imagine what could have happened in the wake of this demonic advert, laced with ethnic put down and a morally-repugnant death wish for a fellow being.”
The party further said, “we are, therefore, calling on all those who witnessed the signing of the pact, especially a former United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, and a former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Emeka Anyaoku, to take note of this very serious breach of the agreement and urgently call President Jonathan and his party to order.”
APC warned that it would hold Jonathan and his party responsible if anything untoward happened to the APC presidential candidate.
The opposition party noted that the provocative advert was not the first time that the President and his supporters broke the Abuja Peace Accord.
“Two days after the pact was signed, our party’s office at Ngo community in Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State was bombed, the second of such incident in the state, by PDP thugs. Then our party members were attacked severally in Sokoto by PDP thugs aided and abetted by the police, while the PDP Governor of Kaduna State, Mukhtar Yero, has been inciting violence against the opposition in his state,” it said.
The implication of violent and inciting statements during campaign, only help politicians to lose focus and derail them from issue based politics.
The leadership of PDP had recently reiterated its commitment to issue-based campaign devoid of statements capable of inflaming passions and overheating the system.
PDP said that it commitment to issue based campaign stemmed from the Party’s “irrevocable stand on the unity and stability of the nation as well as to protect its fragile democracy and ensure that a conducive atmosphere is maintained for national development and well-being of all citizens in keeping with its manifesto and visions of the founding fathers.”
It added that “as a highly responsible and foremost democratic political organization in the country founded on strong ideological background and principle of social justice, commanding the largest following in the country, we cannot afford to allow a drift to politics of propaganda, insults and incendiary statements that threaten our democracy and corporate existence as a nation.
“Our national interest and welfare of our citizens irrespective of religious, ethnic and political affiliations remain paramount in our overall agenda and must be upheld at all times.
“We must therefore strive to bring down the tension in the land by redirecting the nation’s political discourse to productive issues that reinforce our unity, promote understanding and peaceful co-existence, creating the enabling environment not only for peaceful general elections in 2015 but also for the overall survival of our democracy and stability of our dear nation.”
PDP had “directed all officials and members of the party at all levels to continue to focus on the numerous visible achievements of PDP-led administrations at the federal, state and local government levels, the successes recorded through the meticulous implementation of the Transformation Agenda of the present administration and the well-thought out road map for the future, for which a majority of Nigerians have continued to express confidence in the PDP”.
But going by what is happening in the nation’s political clime, the two prominent parties, who promised Nigerians to focus on issue-based campaign, have derailed from their focus because their utterances, actions and otherwise are no longer in consonance with their promises. How peaceful would 2015 post elections be?