Tomorrow, Thursday 28th of April, the people of Kaduna and Bauchi States will vote in the Gubernatorial and State Assembly elections, as well as the Senate and Federal House of Representatives seats that are yet to be voted for. These elections had to be shifted from the 26th to 28th of April due to unfavorable security situations. The elections will hold on the second to the last day which the Constitution allows for elections, and any failure to conclude them successfully will pose serious constitutional and security challenges for citizens of the States and the nation.
Given the fact that the violence which followed the Presidential elections of the 16th of April was more pronounced, widespread and damaging in Kaduna State than in any other part of the country, the nation’s attention will be focused on this State tomorrow and beyond. The Federal and State Governments have made it known that there will be massive deployment of soldiers and policemen, as well as other security personnel in the State before, during and after the elections of tomorrow. The 6.am to 6.pm curfew is still in place in the State, and thousands of people are still living in makeshift camps across the State as refugees. Many people will not be able to vote either because they have lost everything, including their voters’ card, or because they have relocated too far away from their voting stations, or because they will be too afraid to go to their polling units to vote.
The specter of violence is still haunting people of the State, and they are daily reminded that only a few days ago, following the explosion of a bomb in Kaduna, the Police announced the discovery of an entire bomb factory in the City. Community relations and trust have largely broken down. Voters, who a few days ago would confidently go to vote in areas far away from their residences will not venture that far now, out of fear of attack or intimidation. The State has been garrisoned for the last eight days, and the curfew has created a siege mentality among most citizens.
The citizens of Kaduna State will therefore go out to vote under considerable stress and fear, in spite of the assurances of the State Government that adequate security will be provided for voters and polling officials. Reports of unprecedented low turn-out in many States in the North is likely to discourage many voters, who may not necessarily be intimidated by security concerns, to go out and vote. Voter apathy and concerns over security may therefore combine to create a very low turn-out in many parts of the State. This will be a most unfortunate situation, in part because the citizens of this State need to turn out in large numbers and elect a Governor who will command respect and genuine acceptance of the entire citizens.
Nowhere is the need to have credible elections involving as many voters as possible more pronounced than in Kaduna State. In this State every negative and divisive tendency has been brought to bear in the Governorship elections. Religion and region have been played to a most dangerous level. The post-election violence which engulfed many parts of the North had taken a distinctly ethno-religious dimension in Kaduna State. The relative peace and security for life and property enjoyed by citizens of this State was burnt down in less than three days by rioters and killing mobs. The biggest casualty in Kaduna State has been inter-community and inter-religious harmony, as well as trust and peaceful co-existence in many parts of the State where Muslims and Christians live.
Given the damaging campaigns in the build-up to the elections, and the most unfortunate riots which occurred just a few days ago, the transparency, credibility and turn-out at the elections for the next Governor of Kaduna State are central to assuring all citizens that peace and security can be regained. All parts of the State need to freely exercise their choices, and the candidate that wins must do so without any shred of doubt. The task of rebuilding trust and confidence among the communities in Kaduna state, and re-inventing unifying ties must start with the election of a Governor and members of the State Assembly which should not cause further rancour and division.
The elections tomorrow are therefore vital for the peace and security of the State, beyond electing a Chief Executive. It is vital that citizens turn out to vote, irrespective of what they feel about the previous elections, or the outcome of elections in other States. Security must be provided for voters and polling officials, and at all cost, people must not be intimidated or frightened away from performing their civic responsibilities. It will be useful for the State Government to consider relaxing the curfew sufficiently to allow the voters and polling officials to turn out early for accreditation and stay to conclude all the voting and counting processes. The State Government should either suspend the curfew, or relax it to commence from 6.am and end at 10.pm, the period which, on the basis of experience, will allow the full voting process to be concluded across the whole State. If the citizens of the State, INEC and the security agencies succeed in conducting a peaceful and credible elections in Kaduna state, the State Government should consider suspending the curfew altogether. It will make little sense to flood the State with soldiers and policemen, and then lock up the citizens of the State night after night. It should be clear by now to the State Government that while the curfew may restrict the activities of a tiny minority who may want to sustain this campaign of violence, for the vast majority of law-abiding citizens, all it does is to maintain the high levels of fear and insecurity.
The vast majority of citizens in Kaduna State want to elect their Governor, State Assembly representatives, One Senator and a few Members of the House of Representatives tomorrow. Many will turn out and vote. Those who intend to vote should encourage others to vote with them. The people we vote for tomorrow will lead us for the next four years. We have only tomorrow, one day, to choose who these people are. If for any reason we fail to decide who they are with our votes, we will live with the consequences of their levels of responsibility, competence and compassion. Those who want to vote but are afraid must be given all due assurances and protection by the government. Whoever emerges our Governor in particular should have the mandate of Christians and Muslims, and citizens from the north and south of the State. By all means, the citizens must resist the temptation to boycott tomorrow’s election, because they will not only be voting for the Governor and legislators, but they will be voting for peace and security in our State.
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