We humbly wish to
dedicate the security and safety of Nigeria and Nigerians so far following the
conduct of the 28th March 2015 Presidential and NASS polls to
the gallantry of the armed forces of Nigeria including the National
Intelligence Agency and the Department of State Security Service. Our hope is
that triggers capable of causing post election violence will remain bottled
following the final announcement and declaration of results, their winners and
losers.
We particularly and
importantly thank and dedicate same to the people and voters of Southern
Nigeria and the outgoing President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria. It is important to observe that the way and manner the
referenced people conducted themselves is far opposite of that of their
northern counterparts. It is very correct to say that had the incumbent
President been declared winner or in a verge of victory, the northern people
and their political leaders would have started burning and destroying public
and private properties and engaged in wanton destruction of innocent lives
particularly those of other Nigerians. Their political leaders have already
poised for widespread violence in the event they lost the polls. This is a
clear demonstration of civility and tolerance on the part of the Southern
People and Voters of Nigeria. The North must borrow a leaf from their Southern
counterparts and shun group violence at all times no matter the circumstances.
The general conducts of
the Southern voters during the polls are therefore resoundingly commendable.
Despite the massive failure of card readers, late voter accreditation and
voting occasioned by INEC’s gross incompetence and partiality, the referenced
people still conducted themselves patiently and maturely and voted
conscientiously at the end. Though many of them left the polling units
following impatience and psycho-physical uncertainties, those that remained
waited patiently and voted at the end. Apart from massive card reader failure,
late voting accreditation and voting, the people of Southern Nigeria were also
threatened psychologically by killer citizens and entities with imagined and
real bomb blasts. There were instances of such in Abia, Anambra and Enugu
States. Combination of these scared away millions of registered voters with
PVCs. There are millions of others that INEC under Prof Attahiru Jega
deliberately or technically denied their voting rights on account of not issued
with PVCs.
The Southern people also
responded maturely to fraudulent and widespread under age voting by their
northern counterparts in the core north of at least seven States condoned by
INEC. This they did by refusing to resort to self help or offensive group
conducts, which would have been the order of the day in the north if it has
become the case in the latter. We particularly thank the voters in Lagos State
for voting conscientiously and courageously. With 792,000 and 632,000 vote
ratio between the APC and the PDP in the State, it would have swayed upside
down with wide margin if the over two million registered voters in the State
denied PVCs by INEC were armed with PVCs.
The clear message
expressly conveyed by the South-south and the Southeast voters with their
brothers and sisters in Lagos and other places is that they have formed a
resilient federal opposition bloc ready to contribute meaningfully in public
governance in Nigeria in the next four years while at the same time declaring
to the incoming North-Southwest bloc federal government that their social,
ethnic and religious identities are not for a price and must not be questioned,
threatened and undermined. After the expected mass defection of political
traders, lepers and jobbers to the incoming federal government, the ground for
formidable and forensic federal opposition will be laid by the referenced for
the purpose of good governance and socio-political assertiveness and
bargaining.
On the security roles
played by the armed forces of Nigeria in the referenced polls, they deserve
resounding commendation and are indeed commended. Interestingly, time has come
for the new APC incoming federal government to show Nigerians favourable and
alternative policies and actions over many public matters it vehemently opposed
under the outgoing federal government. One of such key policies is its stern
opposition to the use of armed forces in election security, which it caused
judiciary to interpret in its favour Nigerians live to see the
success or otherwise of its civilian poll securitization. At
this juncture we call upon the outgoing Federal Government to withdraw its
recent appeal against the referenced verdict of the Lagos division of the
Federal High Court. Nigerians will see in coming months or years its success or
otherwise of non-armed forces involvement in poll security. Others are also its
stern opposition to present security policies towards insurgency and violent
crimes. Another expected major policy change is the APC’s opposition
to present economic policies particularly its promise to make One Naira
exchanged for One US Dollar.
As the APC and its
cronies in Nigeria’s rights CSOs and media dominant in the Southwest; takes
over the federal government and shutting down its opposition advocacy industry
in the country, there is need for new strong opposition in the CSOs, media and
political circles in the country. This is because the fundamental implication
of the APC and its referenced cronies taking over the federal government is
that the Southwest media and the CSOs with their APC commanders have graduated
into pro establishment entities. At the level of Intersociety, we
have resolved to continue and improve our formidable rights CSO advocacy. As a
matter of fact, we have resolved to serve as a formidable opposing independent
rights group with forensic searchlight to be beamed towards the official and
unofficial policies and conducts of the incoming federal government under APC
with the purpose of making it sit up and collectively succeed for collective
advantage of Nigeria and Nigerians.
Signed:
Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board
Chairman
International Society
for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law, Southeast Nigeria
+2348174090052
Barr Uzochukwu
Oguejiofor, Head, Campaign & Publicity Department
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