EditorialTHEWILL EDITORIAL: Season of Vitriolic Attacks

THEWILL EDITORIAL: Season of Vitriolic Attacks

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In the last few weeks, the Nigerian political space has reverberated with vitriolic attacks among the leading contenders in the forthcoming 2023 general election. Unguarded utterances by some of the major presidential candidates and their supporters have taken turns to heat up the polity, causing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to squirm in discomfort and millions of peace-loving Nigerians to look on in trepidation.

Addressing a gathering of northern groups in an interactive meeting organised under the aegis of the Arewa Joint Committee in Kaduna recently, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar reportedly urged all northerners not to vote Igbo and Yoruba candidates in the 2023 presidential election. Reports quoted him as saying that “northerners do not need the Igbo and Yoruba candidates,”that they should vote for him instead.

Of course, Atiku’s slip did not go unnoticed by rival political parties. Reacting, the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) decided lashed out at him, describing his request to the northern people as evidence of a mindless “desperation” for power.

Glo

Rising in defence of his boss in a statement circulated in the media, Atiku’s Special Adviser on Media, Paul Ibe, in what read clearly as a counter-attack, not only made an effort, in the face of mounting public outrage against the former Vice President, to clear him of blame, but also to knock the APC and its presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Apart from accusing the party and Tinubu of engaging in “irritating scavenging” rather than a genuine electioneering campaign, Ibe wrote, “It is even more repugnant that a man who is not honourable enough to make a full disclosure about his elementary education records would ask to be elected a president of the most populous Black nation in the world.

“The very ambition of former governor Tinubu to aspire to become the Nigerian leader is a rude attack on the integrity of every Black country and certainly an act of disgrace to all Nigerians.”

The exchanges had sent shock waves rippling across the country, warning of a possible return to the dark days of the First and Second Republics.

The din raised by the unnecessary altercation had hardly died down than a PDP presidential campaign rally in Kaduna State was last Monday attacked by suspected thugs alleged to be on the payroll of unnamed persons in the APC.

Worried that the development had to a large extent diminished the essence of the Peace Accord signed by the political parties, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed the need to summon the leaders of the political parties to a meeting next week.

The Chairman of the Commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, earlier described the constant mudslinging and recourse to violence as worrisome. He said that violent acts, such as witnessed during the recent attack by hired thugs in Kaduna, were not only violations of the Electoral Act 2022, but also ran contrary to the commitment expressed by all political parties and their candidates in the spirit of the Peace Accord.

Yakubu had said: “As the Commission is working hard to ensure a credible process, reports of clashes among parties and their supporters are worrisome. So too is the reported denial of access to public facilities for parties and candidates in some states. Let me caution parties and their supporters to focus on issues and steer clear of attacks on each other.

“Parties, candidates and their supporters should not by acts of commission or omission further complicate the prevailing security situation in the country. A peaceful electioneering campaign is critical to the conduct of peaceful and credible elections.

“The Commission will continue to monitor the situation closely and will convene a meeting with leaders of political parties next week to discuss, among other issues, the imperative of peaceful campaigns and equal access to public facilities.

“In same vein, the Commission will also meet with the security agencies under the auspices of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) next week.”

At this juncture, it is necessary to point out that the development is an indication that things have actually gone from bad to worse with the democratic process in the country.

In a country that is urgently seeking a way out of the economic and socio-political doldrums that it has found itself, one would expect those aspiring to be at the helm to go about their business in a most honorable and acceptable manner. But most Nigerian politicians will not. Generally they have not done enough, especially in their actions and conduct, to earn the confidence of the people.

The likes of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe and Sir Ahmadu Bello would be turning in their graves now. We believe that the legacies bequeathed to future generations of Nigerians by these founding fathers are about to be rubbished by today’s politicians.

Election campaigns should not be about mudslinging and violent attacks. On the contrary, politicians worth their onions should be concerned about topical issues and finding lasting solutions to the many problems plaguing the country.

We call on INEC to do everything possible within its power to ensure that nothing derails its agenda to conduct a free and fair general election in 2023.

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