A dark cloud is gathering over Nigeria. The violence of recent days demands an immediate response, but it is a symptom of a deeper crisis. Public confidence in the institutions that should help us settle our differences peacefully is eroding. Ethnic suspicion is increasingly being put to political use. What is at stake is the survival of our democracy and our ability to live together as one country.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has set aside the David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress and voided the presidential nomination of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. The ADC has announced its intention to appeal. That appeal deserves a fair, independent and timely hearing. The ruling also raises a question that concerns every Nigerian, whatever our party preference. Can we trust that the rules of political competition will be applied fairly, even when the outcome is inconvenient to those in power?
In Ado-Ekiti, Omoyele Sowore reported that he and members of his team were attacked. In Calabar, assailants smashed the windscreens of vehicles in Peter Obi’s convoy. In Kebbi, the ADC campaign says its convoy was attacked and cameras and other equipment belonging to its media crew were destroyed, cutting short live coverage. When those covering a campaign are attacked, the public’s right to see and judge for itself is also at risk.
The ruling party has also faced intimidation. In Lafia, Nasarawa State, the APC campaign visit was disrupted and Vice President Kashim Shettima’s convoy was reportedly obstructed during his visit to the Emir of Lafia. In Yankara, Katsina State, police confirmed that vehicles were set ablaze and political posters were burnt. These incidents deserve investigation wherever they occur and whoever is affected. A citizen has every right to call for a president to be voted out. Every party has an equal right to campaign peacefully. A democracy depends on our willingness to defend both rights at once.
We have seen how quickly a crisis of confidence can become a crisis of the republic. The disputed Western Region election of 1965 was followed by arson and killings. By January 1966, the First Republic had fallen. This will snowball into a three years civil and the loss of more than a million lives.
The disputed elections of 1983 brought bloodshed again, and by December the Second Republic was gone. Each crisis had its own causes, but both showed how vulnerable civilian government becomes when citizens lose faith in the means of correcting its abuses.
June 12, 1993, offers another lesson. Nigerians across regional and ethnic lines gave M.K.O. Abiola broad support. The annulment squandered a moment in which citizens had shown at the ballot box how much they could agree on across those divides. A credible election can strengthen the bonds of nationhood. When citizens believe their votes can be discarded, the damage reaches far beyond the candidate whose mandate is at stake.
There must still be a country for whoever wins in 2027 to govern. Every candidate seeking the presidency should tell Nigerians what they intend to do to restore confidence in our institutions and hold our country together. They can begin now by rejecting ethnic incitement, defending the right of their opponents to campaign and committing themselves to respect a credible result. President Bola Tinubu bears a special responsibility to ensure that the institutions of state serve all Nigerians impartially throughout this election.
I call on patriots in every part of Nigeria to organise now, peacefully and across party lines. Let labour unions, professional bodies, traditional and religious leaders, student organisations, journalists and civic groups convene public forums and demand clear commitments from those who seek power. Insist on a fair contest, equal protection for every lawful campaign, freedom for the press to cover it and timely resolution of electoral disputes. Ask candidates how they intend to govern people who did not vote for them. And when someone on your own side turns a fellow Nigerian’s ancestry into a reason to fear or despise them, challenge it there and then.
Our responsibility is to preserve a country in which we can lose an election and still belong, win an election and still answer to the law, and disagree with our neighbours without fearing one another. That work cannot wait until after the votes are counted. It must begin now.
– Senator Babafemi Ojudu, CON
Former Special Adviser to the Preisdent of Nigeria and converned citizen
