A vote for peace and progress

As practical development workers, we know that the work will start when the team is sworn in and it is a lot of work. As for when the hope drenched and elated citizens will start seeing results, none of us could set a timeline. There is just so much to do and little time and […]

As practical development workers, we know that the work will start when the team is sworn in and it is a lot of work. As for when the hope drenched and elated citizens will start seeing results, none of us could set a timeline. There is just so much to do and little time and scarce resources with which to begin the enormous assignment of reformation and changing mind set. As our discussion was going on, a member drew our attention to a programme on the television which we were not watching.
A gentleman was talking about the elections. He had a glint of hope in his eyes. He is one of the leaders of the People’s Democratic Party PDP which lost the presidential election. The politician however seemed to be speaking from his heart. For him, the election represents a victory for democracy and the right of the people of Nigeria to determine who rules them. He drew attention of the audience to the PDP’s official reaction to the presidential elections of March 28 2015 in which APC’s General Muhammadu Buhari emerged as the winner. He said the PDP’s statement signed by its national chairman, Ahmed Adamu Mu’azu, hailed President Goodluck Jonathan for ‘his heroic act in conceding to the voice of the people, an action that stands him out as a true democrat and a statesman.’ He congratulated General Muhammadu Buhari, the president elect. He said “what is paramount to us is the survival of our democracy, the unity, peace and progress of our dear nation and the happiness of all our people. Nigeria is bigger than any political party, individual or group and her overall interest must be our priority at all times.’ It was an elevating response to a defining moment in our country.
One of our members also said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has received tons of commendation for conducting a credible election despite the challenges encountered. INEC did a lot to ensure that Nigerian people exercise their democratic right despite several logistical challenges particularly with the newly introduced card readers.
Within the civil society network, we engaged in online discussion of the election outcome. The civil society activists reviewed the outcome of the election and the role played by its various members. Mr Jaye Gaskia, the Chairman of one of our network on combating violent extremism and Chief Executive of PRAXIS Centre for Strategic Reflection Planning and Alternative Action contributed to the discourse. He underscored the fact that CSOs collectively took up the task of engaging with all stakeholders to ensure a free, fair and credible electoral process. Most of us trained and deployed election observers in various states and embarked on voter education activities while some organised debates to ensure issue based electioneering campaigns.
 Concerned about the foul language and mudslinging that fill the air waves during political campaigns and a trigger for violence that they constitute, an equally important component of CSO election related activities was monitoring speeches made by politicians to identify hate speeches and generated awareness on these and took concrete steps to stem the slide towards violence and prevent election violence.
At community level, CSOs organized political debates, and sensitized ordinary citizens. They raised their voices and took collective action to promote and protect the positive reforms being introduced by INEC, defend the integrity of the electoral umpire, while also pointing out the inadequacies of INEC and demanding prompt action.
More importantly, we took the issue of electoral violence quite seriously; we raised awareness and we were responsible for the intervention of not only the International Criminal Court (ICC), but also of the international community.  This proved to be a strategic move because the fear of the ICC became a deterrent. Our recent experiences prove that our work is significant, and that we should redouble our efforts. Speaking for the CSOs, Mr Gaskia commended the major contenders, not only for signing but for also abiding by the Abuja Peace Accord stressing that it is important to note that without our collective work, there wouldn’t have been a peace accord nor would there have been commitment to it. The CSOs also gave INEC a pat on the back, underscoring the patriotic role played by its Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega’s and his staff.
We also benefited from sharing our experiences as we organised our election related activities. We hope to document these to draw the appropriate lessons for the future.
As INEC prepares to conduct the April 11 Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections, we urge the Commission will promptly address the logistic challenges that were encountered during the presidential elections. The use of PVCs and card readers deserve special attention. As for the candidates and their supporters, we expect them to continue to be restrained and ensure violence free elections. There were isolated case of violence in some states but the security agencies played a commendable role in the last election. We urge them to demonstrate professionalism by working in a non-partisan manner to ensure the peaceful conduct of the elections. All roads lead to the polling booth next Saturday.