Nigeria’s former external affairs minister, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, is requesting the two major gladiators in the 2015 presidential poll, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his challenger, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), to meet and sign a memorandum of understanding that they would restrain their supporters from engaging in violent conduct after the exercise.
In a recent letter addressed to the duo, Prof. Akinyemi recalled the advice he gave to the late national security adviser to the president, Gen. Andrew Azazi, at the latter’s request to preempt the violence that eventually characterized the 2011 polls which, he said, was ignored.
He said: “The certainty of violence after the 2015 elections is higher than it was in 2011. If President Jonathan wins, the North would erupt into violence as it did in 2011. If General Buhari wins, the Niger Delta will erupt into violence. I don’t believe that we need a rocket science to make this prediction.”
Prof. Akinyemi warned that the country was returning to the cyclical year of violence and expressed the apprehension that with the notorious prediction from some sources in the United States, “the world is expecting a cataclysmic meltdown of the Nigerian nation come 2015. The impending 2015 post election violence would be more dangerous than the last time.”
He then called on prominent Nigerian leaders, royal fathers and religious heads in the country to assist in facilitating the post-election MoU between the two major contenders.
A couple of months ago, Sheikh Ahmed Mahmud Gumi, son to the late former Grand Khadi and renowned scholar, Mahmud Gumi, wrote a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan and General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) advising them not to contest in the 2015 presidential election. The young scholar premised his admonition on the violence that trailed the 2011 general elections in some northern states.
In the letter entitled, “The Second Round of Goodluck vs Buhari: A Source of Apprehension, the Gumi had said: “… Jonathan vs Buhari is going to be a war of two extreme poles. This polarized situation is what should be avoided at all costs…. what disqualifies the two is their recalcitrance. It’s a popular view that nobody can approach them with what they don’t want to hear. If the two will mutually step down for completely different people, then please spread the good tidings for a peaceful Nigeria. Otherwise we pray for God’s indulgence.”
Gumi’s letter was quite relevant but the belief in some quarters was that it come a little too late. However, if Gumi’s call was too late, Prof. Akinyemi’s advice is very timely. He is not only a patriotic elder statesman but also well grounded in international politics. His concern should serve as yet another wake-up call to all stakeholders in the nation’s democracy to take the issues of security more seriously before and after the 2015 general elections.
Presently, the nation is grappling with serious security challenges. The fear of another Jonathan-Buhari political war and the obvious groundswells would only exacerbate the already volatile situation. There are threats of war from different camps ahead of the polls and many Nigerians are quietly relocating their families to safer places ahead of the exercise. This is the normal scenario that heralds the election year in Nigeria.
Nigerians may not be able to stop both Jonathan and Buhari from actualizing their ambitions, but they can resolve not to be used as cannon fodders for their political war. The present generation of Nigerians owes it a duty to ensure that Nigeria remains not only as a united country but also secure and safe for everyone. Come 2015, they should vote right and ensure that their votes count. Politicians are known to jump ship in the midst of crisis they author, leaving the masses to bear the brunt. A free, fair and transparent poll is an antidote to violence that has come to define our electoral process. We should listen to Prof. Akinyemi. As it is said, a stitch in time saves nine.
