Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, yesterday raised the alarm of an imminent danger ahead of the 2019 general elections, if the rate of hate speeches and violence witnessed during the just concluded primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in some states persist.
The former INEC boss has urged the Federal Government to take proactive measures while security agencies display professionalism, neutrality and impartiality in carrying out their constituted responsibilities.
Jega, who stated this while delivering a paper at the 2018 Democracy Day Lecture which held in Abuja, also accused members of the National Assembly of demanding bribes from Vice Chancellors of Nigerian universities and other heads of government agencies during oversight functions.
He said the situation where some chairmen of committees in both the Senate and House of Representatives have become so notorious in the act of demanding bribes, was not healthy for the growth and development of the country. Speaking at the event, the former INEC chair explained that the relative success experienced during the 2015 general elections was because of the active engagement of inter-agency consultative committee and the commitment of the security agencies.
Jega admitted that security agencies, during the 2015 general elections, operated under very difficult circumstances. He said: “I’m not saying there were no bridges, in fact with benefit of hindsight, there were many bridges. But there were professionalism and neutrality in the 2015 general elections.
But the most important thing is that when you compare the work of the security agencies in 2015 elections to what happened in 2007 elections, it was marginally much more better.” According to him, INEC presently was confronted with various challenges. He noted that party violence witnessed in the just-concluded congresses portend great danger for Nigeria.
Jega wondered that if political parties cannot observe internal democracy and conduct peaceful congresses, it was a dangerous sign which the government and all stakeholders must take seriously. He specifically decried the increasing hate speeches by the political actors, opinion and religious leaders which, he said, were capable of sparking violence.
His words: “If political parties cannot organize their internal elections peacefully, how can they engage the other parties with civility in the general elections? It is very, very important that this is addressed because if there is crisis in the elections, some of these issues are outside the scope of the electoral commission. But in the end, it is the electoral commission that gets the blame.
“It is very important that we improve our systemic mechanisms of addressing violence and conflicts related to elections and, in particular, improving the score of internal democracy within political parties. We may be running out of time, we must try harder and do everything possible within the shortest time.
“The second thing that needs to be addressed is the recent spate of hate speeches by political actors, religious leaders; it is these unbridled utterances by opinion leaders, religious leaders, political leaders that facilitate electoral violence in general elections. So, these have to be tamed.
“Again, we must ensure that the rule of law is complied with, o effective prosecution is very important to mitigate against this challenge. Otherwise, with the intensity this is going right now, it will undermine the integrity of the 2019 elections.” Jega also called persons he described as “more patriotic, democratic, and well-meaning Nigerians” to speak against hate speech. Government, he noted, must put in place mechanism to identify and prosecute those who constitute nuisance during and after elections.
While lamenting the delay in the passage of the Electoral Amendment Act, he stressed the need for “a much better electoral legal framework in the 2019 general elections at least, better than what obtained in the 2015 general elections.”
On accusations against members of the National Assembly, Jega alleged that the lawmakers demand bribes from government ministries, departments and agencies. The former INEC boss further lamented the deficit of good governance in the country and advised Muhammadu Buhari-led administration not to concentrate only on theft and embezzlement in its fight against corruption, but should also seek to tackle the menace of bribe taking at all strata of government. He said the situation was worse in government, especially at the National Assembly.
He explained that Chief Executives like Vice Chancellors have horrible experience from committee heads during oversight functions. In his remarks at the event, Buhari took a swipe at the former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe who had attempted to foil the announcement of the results of the 2015 presidential election at INEC Collation Centre in Abuja.
Orubebe, who was former President Goodluck Jonathan’s party agent, had accused the then INEC Chairman of being tribalistic, selective and partial in the process leading to the conduct and collation of the election results.
The former minister had also called for a rejection of the outcome which, he said, had been compromised by the electoral umpire. Buhari, who digressed towards the end of his speech, mocked Orubebe, wondering why the former minister was not invited by the programme organizers to “come and listen” to Jega’s lecture at the International Conference Centre, venue of the lecture.
“Here, I must digress to raise an observation by the programme organizers because I did not see Mr. Orubebe who ought to have come and listen to Professor Jega deliver his lecture. This is a major observation.
“That instance for those of us who were lucky that there was light and we had the television to see the confrontation between Orubebe and Prof. Jega, it will remain a life impression to many of us.
Buhari told the gathering that his administration will not succumb to criticisms in his government’s quest to eliminate corruption, which he said manifests itself in several forms in the country. “Good governance is the polar opposite to corruption. Accordingly, we will not relent in our efforts to eliminate it regardless of the opposition. It manifests itself in several forms, including accelerating poverty, conflicts and civil disturbances, as those who feel shortchanged, resort to violence and destruction,” the President said.
He noted that the security in the country today has considerably improved against the background of what his administration met in May 2015. “Incidences of bombings in towns and villages have been drastically curtailed, series of plots have been averted and stopped and culprits arrested through the vigilance, patriotism and professionalism of our security agencies. The entire country has been freed from occupation of any of its parts by insurgents.
“While we grieve with our compatriots who have lost relatives and properties, we are unrelenting in equipping and preparing our troops to confront the agents of violence, who have been engaging in banditry and reckless killings in various parts of the country under whatever guise, until total victory is achieved.
“Again, it is pertinent to note that insurgency and terrorism are worldwide phenomena affecting even the best policed nations,” Buhari said. Also speaking, President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki said that the framers of the Nigerian constitution recognized checks and balances. He said that where such exists, there would be friction and conflict.
