Now listen to me(AP Photo/Akintunde Akinleye)
This past Monday, President Obama made a video address
to the Nigerian people in the run-up to the March 28 elections, ask
them to shun violence. He said “all Nigerians must be able to cast their
votes without intimidation or fear”, and called on “all candidates to
make it clear to their supporters that violence has no place in
democratic elections”.
In
theory, the candidates president Goodluck Jonathan and challenger Gen
Muhammadu Buhari, are a step ahead of the US President. The purpose of
signing of a peace accord in Abuja on January 14, was to commit the major parties to a violence-free electoral season.
In
practice, however, the rhetoric from both major parties has reached
alarming levels. News reports are dominated daily by accusations and
counter accusations, and while many of them are standard campaign fare
in an election as close as this is billed to be, some of the talk
emanating from both camps can be deemed as incendiary.
It
is easy to see Obama’s intervention as condescending, in keeping with
the familiar theme of the West telling African nations how to conduct
their affairs. It would also be slightly ironic coming from Obama, who
has presided over what is the most divisive political climate in the US, for decades.
Misplaced
pride aside, there are real reasons for concern, from a historical and
even recent perspective. Memories of post-election violence after the 2011 polls are still very fresh.
It
is because of this history, and more recent events, that appeals for
peace from the US administration is timely, even though it should be
unnecessary. Africa’s largest economy and most populous nation should
conduct its affairs better.
As rumours of a postponement of Nigeria’s elections began to gain ground, US Secretary of State John Kerry met with both Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari
on January 25, and urged against a postponement, as well as any
violence. It was not heeded, however, and elections were postponed on
February 7.
On March 18, Vice President Joe Biden also called both Jonathan and Buhari,
supporting the use of card readers for the elections, the efforts of
INEC to ensure free, fair and credible elections, and assured Nigeria of
America’s support for its democracy.
A few days ago, the opposition APC sent in a petition to the International Criminal Court against
the first lady, Patience Jonathan, for a statement during one of her
rallies, where she asked to supporters to stone opposition members.
In
other states like Rivers, Gombe and Plateau, there have also been
incidents of politically related violence. Nigeria has a long history of
this, where politicians use unemployed youths as election thugs. In the
commercial capital of Lagos, there is a resurgence of violence
perpetrated by thugs linked to the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), a
group who have agitated for a Yoruba nation, but are now linked to the
ruling party.
With
the presence of Boko Haram, and their recent pledge of allegiance to
ISIS, the US can ill afford a divisive post-election scenario in Nigeria
that could further weaken its ability to fight off the insurgents,
worsening a security situation that could destabilize the region.
No matter what the tallies say after the elections, Nigeria must come out the winner.
A
quick and clean voting and counting process is in everyone’s best
interests. Hopefully, Nigeria’s political class do not need Barack
Obama, Joe Biden, or John Kerry to remind them of this.
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