Towards violence-free LG poll in Bauchi

Governor Isa YugudaIshola Michael writes on the activities of the Bauchi State government to ensure that next Saturday’s local government election in the state is peaceful.

COME next Saturday, Bauchi State Independent Electoral Commission (BASIEC) will put to test its over one year preparations for the conduct of local government election which will usher in democratic administration in all the 20 local government areas of the state. This is in line with the constitutional provision which recognises three tiers of governance in the country. The commission, at a recent press conference, announced that the date of the election had been shifted backwards from May 17 to May 10, following what it said was complaints from secondary school candidates who would write the 2008 Joint Admissions and Matriculation Examinations Board (JAMB) examination scheduled to hold on May 17.

The Acting Chairman of the Commission, Isa Yakubu Toro, explained that if allowed to go on, the conduct of the local government election on May 17 would adversely affect most of the candidates writing the university entrance examination because, according to him, they were registered voters who might be denied their voting rights in the process. The commission chairman added that the election had to be brought forward following pressures from JAMB that the restriction of movement on that day would affect the conduct of the examination in the state. Besides, Toro said that his commission also reasoned that some of the ad-hoc staff it would use would equally invigilate at the examination. He said this, therefore, left it with no choice other than to bow to pressures despite that it had earlier vowed never to shift the election date no matter what happened.

When asked whether the change in date would negatively affect the conduct of the election, Toro said: “No, we have almost completed all arrangements for the election. All that remain are a few logistics which can be put in place in a matter of days. We are ready for the election and the political parties have told us that they are also ready.” However, a few opposition parties have criticised the shift in the election date backward, noting that the excuse given by the commission was inconsequential as only a few people within the voting age bracket would actually participate in the examination. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Action Congress (AC) had earlier rejected any move by the commission to extend the council elections for whatever reasons. The duo had, at a joint press conference held at the secretariat of the PDP, opposed the plan by the commission to extend the election because, according to them, the shift was not only illegal, but uncalled for.

However, one disturbing fact about elections in Nigeria, whether conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) or the various states electoral commissions, is that it is always accompanied by violence which oftentimes results in loss of lives and properties. This is because politicians have a win-by-all-means mentality and in their failure to capture power, they resort to using idle hands to foment trouble. The outcome of local government elections in some states is so scaring that one can conclude that there is no state where local government election has been conducted peacefully, not to talk of the acceptability of the results as in most cases, the outcome has often left a sad development in the area. Properties either belonging to government or perceived opponents had been subjected to attack by ramping youths who felt aggrieved after the elections. It was based on this disturbing trend of widespread political violence in some of the neighboring states where local government polls were held that Bauchi State government decided to educate the electorate on the need for violence-free council election in the state. The state governor, Mallam Isa Yuguda, kick-started the campaign.

His first port of call was Kirfi Local Government Area where he emphasised the need for peaceful local government election. According to him, “winning election is not a product of popularity, but by divine will of the Almighty. If God destines one to win election, he does not need any godfather for him to accomplish his mission. On the other hand, if one forges his way to the throne, he might not be long enough on it to execute his electoral promises.” Yuguda declared that his administration had sent a bill to the State House of Assembly seeking to outlaw violence and asking that those involved in any act of political violence should be barred from contesting in future elections. He explained that his administration had no intention to victimise any candidate or political party. He gave the assurance that his administration would provide a level playing ground for all aspirants to freely contest any post in their respective areas, declaring that his administration would allow the electorate to determine those to rule them. He advised the aspirants to go about their campaigns freely and not to depend on anybody to secure them party tickets.

“Under this dispensation, it is only the electorate and not political connection that has the key to secure party mandate. Dependence on godfathers no longer holds water as every candidate has equal rights to the position,” he said. Yuguda reiterated the determination of his administration to ensure that any party that won in any local government area would be given its mandate. “Let me assure you that any political party and candidate that win chairmanship or councilor ship election will be given their mandate as my administration will not deny anybody because of party affiliation,” he said. The governor appealed to all the aspirants to abide by the rule of the game, especially during campaign. He also appealed to them that in soliciting for support from the electorate, their campaign slogan should centre on issues, policies and programmes and should not tarnish the reputation of their opponents because, according to him, doing so would be indirectly inviting the reaction of the opponent being attacked. This, he explained, often resulted in clash of interest of opposing political parties.

He said further that his administration was doing everything possible to see that the state set another example of violence-free election, noting that the delay in conducting the local government election was to ensure that various stakeholders were involved and educated on the need for peaceful conduct. Yuguda said it would be wrong to rush and conduct an election only for it to result in violence and or political crisis which could lead to loss of lives and destruction of properties. He said killing one another was barbaric and should not be allowed to happen on the basis of political differences. Also speaking, the Special Adviser on Political, Inter-Party and Traditional Institutions, Abdulmumeen Kundak, explained that the idea behind the voters’ education on violence-free election was deployed “after a careful survey of the situation in the state and assessment of the conduct of local government elections in some states in the country. The state government convened a meeting of major political stakeholders in the state where this sensitisation committee was set up. This is one of the approaches by the state government to ensure that Bauchi State’s local government election is the best in the country.”

The idea behind this concept, Kundak further explained, was to reach out to all voters, aspirants, political parties and electorate in the state and sensitise them on the need to shun violence, thuggery and all forms of negative politicking during political campaigns and on election day, adding that political violence took democracy backward, promoted ill-will and bred suspicion, fear and uncertainty among the political forces and even the electorate. In his opinion, pockets of political crisis could jeopardise the smooth conduct of local government election in the state, hence, the need for the electorate, particularly parents and guardians, who he said were often used by desperate politicians to actualise their selfish aims, not to allow their children and wards to be willing tools in the hands of desperate politicians.

It is expected that the people of Bauchi State will allow free and fair election at the local level in the process of ensuring that only those who the people want and elect are made to rule them.