…as Oyetola, Adeleke, others sign peace accord
BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto and Co-convener of National Peace Accord, Most Rev Matthew Hassan Kukah has explained that the suffering and frustration inflicted on ordinary Nigerians by the political class has remained the reason why many Nigerians don’t vote during elections.
Kukah said this in Osogbo on Wednesday during the Signing of Peace Accord by political parties and candidates ahead of the Saturday governorship election in Osun State.
The candidates of Accord Party, Dr Akin Ogunbiyi; Labour Party, Hon Lasun Yusluff and Social Democratic Party, Arch. Goke Omigbodun, were absent at the peace accord signing ceremony.
Addressing attendants, Kukah said, “the rich harvest of deaths in Nigeria is a threat to democracy and preparatory to 2023 general elections” and called for urgent need by political actors in the country to curb growing violence and killings across the country.
The fiery cleric lamented that Nigerian’s democracy is gradually turning to plutocracy where only the rich would participate in political processes as a result of heavy monetisation of political processes including selling of political interest and nomination forms at exorbitant rates and over monetisation of campaigns.
According to him, the frustration and hardship Nigerians face daily make it difficult for them to vote. He said worsening voter apathy could be fixed once politicians and public office holders desist from neglecting the ordinary people who voted them into power.
He also decried the current shut down of universities owing to industrial action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) saying the idleness of undergraduates was unacceptable and inimical to democracy.
“We are not unaware of the fact that, as one of the campaign slogans says, you want to win from top to bottom, but the experience of ordinary Nigerians is that after winning from top to bottom, it is the top that seems to benefit and this speaks to the need and urgency of political actors to begin to focus on ensuring a much broader spectrum of opportunities available for our people. Because the persistence of violence in Nigeria is directly correlated to the tragic situations around which our people find themselves. The bottom of Nigeria is characterized by ordinary people who make up over 90 percent of the population.
“Our lives today are characterized by hunger, people are angry, people are dying, people are sick, children are out of school. The university students in Nigeria can be as well classified as out of school children, this is unacceptable, especially as I said that these things are happening in a democracy. Because democracy has always given us an opportunity for negotiations, consensus and so on. It’s tragic that the chairman of INEC is himself a professor, a lot of results are being announced by professors, it’s therefore not acceptable that after so many months, our universities are still closed.
“We must understand that without the universities giving opportunities for academic energy and analysis and horizons, it’s impossible for our democracy to grow. So, the most important thing is for political actors in Nigeria that it’s time for us to take our responsibilities sufficiently seriously. We must therefore try to make democracy work.”
Kukah called on political gladiators in the state to give peace a chance at the poll and also charged residents to come out and exercise their franchise.
Meanwhile, governorship candidates, including Governor Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party among other committed themselves to peaceful conduct before, during and after the poll by signing the peace accord.
Speaking, INEC Chairman, Prof Mahummud Yakubu, urged political parties and candidates to abide by the letter and spirit of the peace accord they signed.
He said, “The success of the Peace Accord depends on the continuous support and commitment of political parties and candidates, INEC and the security agencies. Speaking for INEC, I wish to reiterate our commitment to transparent and credible election. Without peace, our deployment plans, recent innovations in voter accreditation and reserve management, the safety of voters, election duty personnel, observers and journalists, logistics arrangements and ultimately, the credibility of the poll be undermined.
“I wish to appeal to all parties, candidates and other actors to play their parts in supporting the peace accord. It’s not enough t simply sign the peace accord, what is more important is to abide by its letter and spirit. This is the best way to show commitment to the implementation of peace accord and appreciation for the work of the National Peace Committee.”
Also, in his remarks, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, said traditional rulers in the state would ensure that their domains were peaceful and also charged political gladiators to allow peace reign and desist from instigating youths towards violence.
Ogunwusi said, “We want to continue to appeal to you to help us for us to help our dear state and in all, our dear country, Nigeria. You (political class) can’t love the state more than all of us. Why are we after violence? Why are we after instigating the youths of our dear state towards violence? As traditional rulers, we will ensure that we keep our community and every locality that we are ruling over, we will make sure that everything is set.”
