The 2019 general election kicked off successfully in Nigeria on Saturday last week with the conduct of the Presidential and National Assembly elections. Election affords individuals, through political parties, the opportunity to contest with others for political elective positions. The next lap of the election is rescheduled to hold on March 9, 2019 for Governorship and House of Assembly contestants across the country.

However, as the processes of the elections are on-going, Nigerians are requested never to indulge in anything that will truncate the democratic process or generate heat, tension and conflict. This is to ensure peaceful co-existence as no political position is worth the head or blood any human.

Notably, Nigeria was characterized by all forms of conflicts during the campaigns. Thus, looting, hostility, kidnapping, arson, maiming and killing, insurgency and other forms of crime and violence should not be allowed to resurface now that the first lap of the elections has been conducted. Any form of brigandage, violence or hate speech will endanger the democratic process and undermine the integrity of the electoral process and the free will of the electorate.

Few days ago, Governor Willie Obiano, though not contesting, had appealed to all stakeholders in the project not to truncate the process. This, they can do by not allowing their followers, head or tail, to take the law into their hands. No doubt, many Nigerian politicians are known to equip some of their young followers with illicit drugs, arms and ammunition, especially during elections. This is a major factor that causes problems in the society. 

When politicians provide drugs and guns to their thugs, the tendency is that these miscreants will lose their sense of judgment, create a rowdy and violent environment, harass and intimidate the system, thereby making the atmosphere not conducive for everyone. Politicians must therefore guard against these for peaceful conclusion of the election process.

Our value system must also change.  Lack of moral values in the Nigerian society constitutes a serious threat to the sustainability of democracy in the country.  There is need to re-orientate Nigerians, especially the youth, to imbibe the right values in order to bring about positive social change.  The youth must therefore abstain from drugs so that they will not be used as agents of violence. Those using them as thugs can never use their children. In fact, their children are not even in the country. Worse still, the life of any thug is dicey and once he is killed, his paymaster will continue to enjoy his life, unperturbed.

Again, social media practitioners should guard against unprofessional and unethical conducts. They should be guided by the provisions of the law. This is not the best time for hate speeches to avoid heating the polity. Media men must therefore avoid helping to generate chaos, bitterness and rancor.  They are expected to give accurate and unbiased information without fear or favour.

In every electoral contest, there must be a winner and losers. We must, however, learn that a winner must not take it all. Nigerians should be magnanimous in victory and gracious in defeat. In fact, in principle, there should be no victor, no vanquished. Everyone is a winner as far as there is life. It pains though to lose, but everyone cannot be a winner at the same time; there is tomorrow.

The umpires must, on the other hand, search their conscience to make sure that they have not mortgaged it.  No matter whose ox is gored, nobody should occupy a position by all means. INEC must be seen to be transparent, the security agencies must be eagle eyed to forestall the outbreak of violence before, during and after the elections.  The Judiciary should endeavour to dispose election petitions early enough so as to stabilize the government. Election tribunals’ proceedings must be time bound and upright.

Nigerians have prayed so much for these elections and no one should do anything to jeopardize it. No matter who wins, we should all know that we do not have any other country to call our own and that Nigeria belongs to all of us.

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