AACS Fortnightly
(Mondays)
13th February 2023

From the Chairman’s Desk,

The Imperative for Peace

In twelve days, the Nigerian nation will march to the polls to elect a new set of leaders to marshall the affairs of the nation. The elections has been hailed as the most consequential in the history of the nation, but very importantly, it has been fierce, and has raised a lot of uproar. Over 90 million Nigerians are eligible to vote, with three front runners for the first time. However, in comparison to other elections in the last 24 years, it has not witnessed extreme violence and loss of lives. The US and other Western observers have called for peaceful exercise of the democratic process, and announced steps to impose visa restrictions on those that undermine the exercise.

The issues that ail the nation are so deep that there must be calm nerves and a common front to deal with them. There also seems to be a reasonable level of consensus from the leading candidates on some critical decisions that must be taken, and a lot of them are in tandem with positions highlighted by AACS in the last two years. These include opinions on a way forward for the nation on issues like restructuring and fiscal federalism, removal of petroleum subsidy, state police & attention to security, which all seem like a consensus by all the leading candidates.

In all, AACS canvass for all leaders to ensure that the peace and calm continue to reign. One nation bound in freedom, peace & unity. A most critical element of democracy is a peaceful transition of power from one government to another and this is key for the continuous growth of our democracy. The Presidency has taken a good first step by inaugurating the transition committee, which in unambiguous terms, shows the interest in holding elections as scheduled and a peaceful march to handing over. Security forces must be prepared to protect the electoral commission units countrywide, and the courts must punish those that encourage election violence. Hopefully, a free and fair election will ensue to usher in fresh mandates, allowing the more onerous and critical task of rebuilding to start.

Falil Ayo Abina

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