Peace in the season of goodwill
December the 25th is a special day every year. It’s the day that Christians celebrate the birth of their savior. Xmas as it has become known is commonly referred to as the season of goodwill towards all mankind. It’s the largest religious holiday mostly because it coincides with end of year activities. Adherents to practically […]
December the 25th is a special day every year. It’s the day that Christians celebrate the birth of their savior. Xmas as it has become known is commonly referred to as the season of goodwill towards all mankind. It’s the largest religious holiday mostly because it coincides with end of year activities. Adherents to practically every religion use the occasion to wish their Christian friends a happy Xmas and prosperous new year. Bearing this in mind it is ironic that during this season political leaders have been corralled into signing a peace accord with respect to the upcoming 2019 elections. It’s doubtful whether the leading contenders have sent Xmas cards or best wishes for a “prosperous new year” to their opponents. The Collins English dictionary defines a Peace Accord as an official agreement to come to peace or end conflict.
In Nigeria it is inappropriate to call the agreement between political leaders a “peace accord” because the nation isn’t at war except with the “technically defeated” Boko Haram who continue to wreak havoc and operate freely at will. Former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke who was the Presidential candidate for the Social Democratic Party pointed out that there was really no need for an accord because the country has existing electoral laws aimed at dealing with both electoral offenders and others who don’t want to respect the norms of society. He believes that unless INEC lives up to its responsibility of sanctioning candidates involved in vote buying people will continue to do what they like. Two other candidates, Oby Ezekwesili and Atiku Abubakar also stated their belief that peace cannot be attained without justice. Much is being made of the South African Peace Accord which was critical in reducing the violence and providing a safety net for the negotiation process during the dismantling of the apartheid regime. But the accord was about much more than the conduct of elections. Many Nigerians are questioning the rationale behind a peace accord in a nation whose electoral history is one of loss of life and destruction of property. More importantly these actions have never been caried out by the contestants themselves.
The Nigerian political system thrives on injustice which is in itself inimical to peace. The Peace Accord mandates that the candidates agree to run issue-based campaigns and refrain from religious incitement, ethnic or tribal profiling and speeches that have the capacity to incite violence before during and after the elections. urthermore, candidates are advised to forcefully and publicly speak out against provocative utterances and oppose all acts of electoral violence. It’s difficult to see why anyone believes the accord will be relevant to anything. The previous 2015 peace the accord meant nothing to the contestants. It was Goodluck Jonathan’s decision that his re-election was not worth the blood of a single Nigerian, that saved the day. If he had been declared winner the opposition parties would have gladly pointed out all the irregularities and rigging which took place. Back then in 2015 the Assistant Inspector-General of Police Zone 6, Mr Tunde Ogunsakin accused political leaders in Rivers State of breaking the peace accord facilitated by the police. Nothing happened to any of them. The truth is that the candidates are incapable of stopping political violence. No one can stop hooligans from doing what they want, not even the police. Political hooliganism is a profession in Nigeria.
The recent APC primary elections illustrated that political violence is a way of life even amongst those within the same party. Despite the accord political tension is already in the air. Oby Ezekwesili complained that she wasn’t allowed to speak at the venue after signing the peace accord, and described the process as “discriminatory”. The Nigerian Election Debate Group (NEDG) has been heavily criticized over the selection of political parties for the presidential and vice-presidential debates. How do they expect leaders of those parties which were ignored to tell their supporters to keep the peace? The United States Diplomatic Mission to Nigeria Public Affairs Section has advised that it is of utmost importance in maintaining peace that the elections should be free, fair, transparent and credible. It’s important that supporters of various politicians don’t tear their opponents’ posters and engage in violent clashes, unhealthy rivalry, hate speeches, public disturbances and other vices inimical to good democracy. Even as the peace accord was being signed APC spokespersons said that PDP candidate was on a “face saving mission” after basing his campaign on propaganda rather than people oriented policies. PDP spokespersons replied that the APC flagbearers have “nothing to show” or tell Nigerians about successes since 2015. Most opposition candidates said that instead of signing a peace accord the President should sign the Electoral Amendment Bill. Does any of this sound like a recipe for a peaceful election and aftermath in this season of goodwill?