The Fear Of Buhari In Nigeria, By Joe Igbokwe

February 8, 2015

Like Abraham Lincoln who through power of consistent consistency rose to become the president of the United States after several attempts, General Muhammadu Buhari waded through pains and tears to get to where he is today.

The fear of candidate Buhari is now the beginning of wisdom in Nigeria today. Buhari was no serious contender in the eyes of ordinary Nigerians in the contest for the Presidency in 2003, 2007, 2011 but in 2015 Buhari has become a serious issue, a volcano, an avatar, a hurricane, a force and a thunder to reckon with. The event that changed everything was when General Buhari was nominated as the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC in a 48-hour non-stop event at Teslim Balogun stadium in Surulere. Few days after a cerebral scholar and Pastor in the finest tradition Professor Yemi Osinbajo was picked as his running mate, the momentum changed, permutations changed and calculations changed. The very stone which the builder rejected has become the head of the corner and all and sundry have come far and near to admire the edifice.

But Buhari’s rise to fame in Nigeria did not come so easy. Like Abraham Lincoln who through power of consistent consistency rose to become the president of the United States after several attempts, Buhari waded through pains and tears to get to where he is today. I have since learnt a lot through Buhari’s power of not losing his head when others are losing theirs in a country where politics of the stomach holds sway. Through Buhari’s life I have learnt that there is hope for a man who is not easily defeated even when the person seems to have lost everything. I have learnt that the world and everything that is in it belongs to those who try to drill the deepest well.

This is the reason why the thieves, the corrupt, the demons, jezebels and all the monsters in Nigeria will not sleep until Buhari is out of the way for them to continue the business as usual. Check the newspapers, the TV stations, radio stations etc and you will at once notice that the common project is to find everything that is bad under the sun and hang it on the neck of the retired general. They all have a thousand and one reasons to demonize and pull down candidate Buhari so that the business will continue as usual. They place adverts and documentaries that make no meaning to anybody except those placing them. When there are no lies to use against Buhari, they try to manufacture as many as possible and dish it out to to the political space. The more they do this the more it becomes obvious that Nigeria needs a Buhari to rise again. The more those who seek to destroy Buhari work, the more his popularity grows a million times. The more they throw mud at him the more cleaner the man becomes in the eyes of the ordinary Nigerians who desire change at all cost.

If you have listened to the audio and the transcript of how Ayo Fayose, Obanikoro, Omisore, Olubolade, Chris Ubah, Nigerian army, the police, DSS, the presidency etc conspired to steal Ekiti state from APC, you will then realize why Ayo Fayose wants Buhari dead by all means. If you know how much crude oil is stolen in Nigeria on a daily basis or how some importers of petroleum products have shortchanged the country, you will then realize why they are fighting tooth and nail to maintain the status quo. If you know the privileges Asari Dokubo, Edwin Clark, Tompolo and others enjoy today under President Jonathan you will at once understand why they are threatening fire and brimstone should Jonathan lose this election. If you are privileged to know the billions going to the pastors and the so called Men of God, you may not go too far to understand why they are falling over themselves to accuse Buhari of planning to Islamize Nigeria if elected president. If your eyes are wider enough to see the rot some government officials especially at the federal level have brought to the land, you will at once understand why they want the soft and weak Jonathan to continue in office. If you are clever enough to know the billions of dollars Jonathan’s administration has invested in the power sector without anything to show for it in sixteen years ,you will then realize why the fear of candidate Buhari is now the beginning of wisdom in Nigeria. If you know the level of corruption being condoned by this administration in Abuja, you will further understand why they want president Jonathan to continue forever.

But the thieves have stolen enough for the owners to take notice. They have taken enough for themselves, for their children, their grandchildren and great grandchildren and yet they cannot say enough is enough. Candidate Buhari is coming to put a stop to this endless corruption and impunity. Buhari is coming to build the battered and badly managed Nigerian Army which was once one of the best standing Armies in Africa. Buhari is coming to unite Nigerians, president Jonathan has divided along ethnic and religious lines. Candidate Buhari is coming to restore sanity in the land. He is coming to stop the oil thieves and the political traders in the seat of power. The retired general is coming to restore the dignity of Nigeria and Nigerians in the comity of nations. He is coming to rebuild our decayed infrastructure and democratic institutions. He is coming to restore hope to the hopeless. He is coming to secure the land.

Today, the money changers, the money doublers, the wheel dealers, marabouts, sorcerers, foolish constituencies, foolish gerontocrats, merciless and unconscionable oil dealers ritualists,who thrives under President Jonathan have become desperate, hysterical, confused, dumbfounded, and in total disarray about the coming of candidate Buhari. They are looking for time to regroup but cannot find the time. They want their Jonathan to be re-elected and yet they do not want an election. They have placed confused Advertorials to fight Buhari but they end up fighting themselves. They created a thousand lies to cover a lie and yet the truth stands out like the rock of Gibraltar.

There is a finger of God in this fourth coming of candidate Buhari in 2015. Students of the Bible know that Cyrus in Isaiah 45 did not know God and yet God blessed him and used him. God is not man. God’s ways are not man’s ways. He sees beyond all of us in the world put together. I want Buhari to win this election so that these scavengers, contractors, ritualists, kidnappers, armed robbers, and oil dealers who call themselves Bishops, Pastors, Men of Gof will return to the scriptures. You cannot serve God and mammon. When the ordinary Nigerians call Buhari Mai Gaskiya, do we understand the meaning? A good man can be found in the church, in the mosque and in other religions. One honest man is worth more to the society than all ruffians that ever existed. Buhari is the next President of Nigeria. Case rested!

Igbokwe wrote in from Lagos, Nigeria. [myad]

Election Postponement: Shame Of A Nation

Greenbarge Reporters

February 8, 2015

Whatever anyone would say, the postponement of general elections from February 14, 28 to March 28, April 11, 2015 is not only a draw-back in the nation’s march to perfect the 16 year-old unbroken democracy but a shame on the nation in general and the nation’s security forces in particular..
The INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega confirmed to a group of over 60 Civil Society Organizations, (CSOs), under the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, while announcing the postponement last night, that it was the military that caused the postponement via a letter it addressed to him. In the letter, the military leadership indicated that troops would have to concentrate on fighting Boko Haram insurgents in the North East and therefore, would not be available for security duties during the elections at the earlier scheduled dates. The military, in the letter, advised INEC to reschedule the elections by “at least six weeks in the first instance.”
The military made it clear in the letter that its men and officers will begin their full operations against Boko Haram on February 14, the date originally set for the Presidential election.
The Nigeria military, apart from showing that it has gone deep into partisan politicking, doing the bidding of the ruling political party, has also obviously, thrown the country into a big shame by coming out as the single factor that has sought to threaten the survival of the 16-year-old democracy on such flimsy excuse.
It is obviously a shame for the military to tie its “morbid desire” for the postponement of the elections to the battle with Boko Haram, the Boko Haram its men and officers have been fighting since 2009. And that, co-incidentally, they would launch the new offensive on the recalcitrant Boko Haram on the same day the election was originally fixed. Why that day?
What the Nigeria military has succeeded in doing is throw dirty sand into its integrity, respect and reputation, because apart from indicating that Boko Haram has been winning the battle all these while, it has also succeeded in putting smiles into the members of Boko Haram for being so powerful as to be able to put a stop to the democratic movement of the nation. Boko Haram now has cause to laugh that one of its aims, of disrupting the major national political activities, has been achieved.
The Situation Room, made up of Civil Society Organizations working in support of credible and transparent elections in Nigeria, expressed disappointment with the letter from the security agencies pointing out that this amounted to the military’s abdication of its constitutional duties to provide security to citizens and to the Electoral Commission to enable it conduct elections. The group accused the military of an act that appears to show contrivance to truncate the democratic process in Nigeria.
The group is made up of Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), CLEEN Foundation, Action Aid Nigeria, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Enough is Enough Nigeria and Wangonet, Partners for Electoral Reform and Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth & Advancement (YIAGA), Development Dynamics, Human Rights Monitor, Election Monitor, Reclaim Naija, Institute for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law and several others.
Situation Room expressed worry that “the military’s position also aims to blackmail and arm-twist the Election Management Body (EMB) away from its constitutional guaranteed function of conducting elections.
“Situation Room also condemns this advisory by security agents that they cannot guarantee the security of citizens, election officials and materials during the election.”
It also called for the resignation of military chiefs and security heads, including the Police, on account of their inability to exercise their constitutional responsibility to secure lives and property at all times, including during the elections.
Indeed, the military and the masters it is fronting for, may not have taken into consideration the provision of the electoral Act which makes it abundantly clear that except where (Nigeria) federation is at war, there can be no blanket shift of all elections across the whole federation.
Section 26(1) of the Electoral Act 2010 (amended) states: “Where a date has been appointed for the holding of an election, and there is reason to believe that a serious breach of the peace is likely to occur if the election is proceeded with on that date or it is impossible to conduct the elections as a result of natural disasters or other emergencies, the commission may postpone the election and shall in respect of the area, or areas concerned, appoint another date for the holding of the postponed election provided that such reason for the postponement is cogent and verifiable.”
The Act, for emphasis, does not envisage where elections would be postponed all at the same time across the country as if it is the whole country that is at war.
And, in any case, what the military is implying by its “first instance” in its letter to Professor Jega is that if it cannot defeat Boko Haram in six weeks it asked for (and there is no likelihood that it will), Nigeria should wait for it until it is able to do so.
And, that of course means that Nigeria should forget about elections for now, until the military defeats Boko Haram, for only God knows how long. [myad]

Finally, INEC Postpones Nigeria General Elections To March 28, April 11

Greenbarge Reporters

February 7, 2015

Nigeria Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has finally bowed to pressure on it to postpone the nation’s general elections that are supposed to be held on February 14 and 28 respectively.

After a series of consultative meetings with all the stakeholders which dovetailed far into the night today, the Chairman of the INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega announced the postponement to March 28 and April 11, following advice from security chiefs in the country.

Professor Jega said the electoral body is ready to go ahead with the polls but the Boko Haram insurgency in the country necessitated the postponement. He said, the Presidential and National Assembly elections billed for February 14 will now hold on March 28 while governorship and State House of Assembly elections will hold on April 11.

He said that the six weeks window will also help the electoral body to perfect the strategies towards a peaceful, free and fair elections. [myad]

Why We Chose Sanusi As Emir Of Kano, Governor Kwankwaso Says At Coronation

Greenbarge Reporters

February 7, 2015

Kano state Governor, Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has once more given reasons why the Kano Emirate council and the state government chose Muhammadu Sanusi II (formerly known as Sanusi Lamido Sanusi) as the Emir of Kano.

Speaking today at the formal coronation of the Emir, governor Kwankwaso said his decision to appoint Sanusi out of the names presented to him was born out of the conviction that he was equal to the task, saying his vast experience was enough to propel Kano to greater heights.

The governor said the selection process that led to the appointment was rigorous and painstaking, stressing that the kingmakers had gone the extra mile in executing their job with circumspection.

He said Emir Sanusi was an embodiment of excellent scholarship and a seasoned technocrat who could remarkably turn the fortune of Kano around, expressing confidence that the people of the emirate stand to regret nothing.

Kwankwaso stated that Sunusi’s stewardship as the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria was a good omen to the people of Kano as a result of the effort he made in the establishment of micro-finance banks within the nooks and crannies of the state.

The governor emphasized that the appointment of Sanusi ll as the Emir of Kano was a collective judgment of the people and that he was appointed to ascend the exalted throne on merit.

He paid glowing tribute to the late Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, saying that the late emir stood against all forms of injustice and persecution.

Present at the coronation were mainly the leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) among them included the presidential candidate of the party, General Muhammadu Buhari, Chief Bola Tinubu, Governor Rotimi Ameachi, Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwa, Governor Ibrahim Geidam of Yobe state.

The Chief Imam of Kano, Professor Sani Zaharadeen administered the oath of office by presenting him with the Holy Quran to the new emir who was accompanied by the kingmakers. [myad]

Kano Pillars Defeats Ghana Olympic Team 1-0

Greenbarge Reporters

February 7, 2015

Glo Premier League champions, Kano Pillars, finished their pre-season tour of Ghana with a 1-0 win over that country’s Under-23 national team in Accra today.

Only on Thursday, Kano Pillars were forced to a 2-2 draw by Hearts of Oak in a thrilling game which saw Christian Obiozor and Gambo Muhammed give the Nigerians a two-goal lead before the Accra club clawed back to even the score.

But today, Kano Pillars claimed a win to round off their tour of Ghana.

Kano Pillars coach named a strong squad that included captain and goalkeeper Theophilus Afelokhai, Reuben Ogbonnaya, Isaac Loute, Rabiu Ali as well as Gambo and Obiozor.

For Rabiu Ali, it was the second time in three months he would come face-to-face with Ghana’s Olympic team coached by a former Kano Pillars trainer, Malik Jabir. The first was when the Super Eagles featuring mostly players from the Glo Premier League defeated the Ghana Under-23 team 1-0 during the official opening of the Akwa Ibom Stadium, Uyo.

It was, however, Rabiu Ali, who scored the winning goal for Kano Pillars in the 63rd minute after Kwasi Quansah handled the ball in his area.

The Ghanaian defender was sent off for his offence and Rabiu Ali comfortably made the spot kick count by scoring to give Kano Pillars the lead.

The Kano-based club could not capitalise on their numerical advantage to score a second goal as the match ended 1-0.

Kano Pillars, who finished third at the Super-4 Invitational Tournament in Abuja recently, used the tour of Ghana to fine-tune their preparation for their first leg, preliminary round game against Al-Malakia FC of South Sudan. The match will hold in Juba on the weekend of February 13, 14 and 15 while the second leg will be on March 1.

Kano Pillars line-up: Theophilus Afelokhai; Samuel Tswanya, Isaac Loute, Reuben Ogbonnaya, Murtala Adamu; Eneji Otekpa, Tony Edjomariegwe, Ezekiel Mbah, Rabiu Ali; Christian Obiozor, Gambo Muhammed. [myad]

It’s Military That Request For Election Postponement, Jega Tells Civil Societies

Greenbarge Reporters

February 7, 2015

Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega has opened up to the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room (Situation Room), saying that he received a letter from the military requesting for the reschedule of the nation’s general elections by at least six weeks in the first instance.

Professor Jega said that the letter from the military advised that he postpones the general elections on the grounds that the security agencies were engaged in a renewed battle against insurgency in the North-East that would require their full concentration.

However, the Situation Room conveyed to INEC its disappointment with the letter from the security agencies, pointing out that this amounted to the military’s abdication of its constitutional duties to provide security to citizens and to the Commission to enable it conduct elections and appeared contrived to truncate the democratic process in Nigeria.

“Situation Room is further worried that the military’s position also aims to blackmail and arm-twist the election management body away from its constitutionally guaranteed function of conducting elections. Situation Room also condemns this advisory by security agents that they cannot guarantee the security of citizens, election officials and materials during the election.

“The Situation Room calls for the resignation of military chiefs and security heads, including the Police, on account of their inability to exercise their constitutional responsibility to secure lives and property at all times, including during the elections.

“Situation Room also calls on Nigerians to be vigilant and be ready to protect this hard won democracy,” the civil society organisations said.

Meanwhile, at the meeting INEC held with all the registered political parties today, some parties favoured the re-scheduling of the elections while others kicked against it.

Those in favour are: 1. Action Alliance (AA ) 2. Action Congress of Democrats ACD 3. Alliance for Democracy AD 4. African Democratic Congress, ADC 5. Citizens popular Party, (CPP) 6. Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) 7. Labour Party (LP) 8. Mega Peoples Party MPP 9. New Nigeria Peoples Party NNPP 10. United Democratic Party UDP. 11. Peoples popular Movement PPM 12. Progressives People Alliance (PPA). 13.Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). And 14.Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN).

Parties against the re-scheduling of the elections are: 1.Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) 2. All Progressives Congress (APC) 3.United Peoples Party (UPP) 4. ACPN 5. Social Democratic Party (SDP). 6. KOWA 7. Indepednet Democrats (ID) 8. Hope Democratic Party 9 Africans Democratic Alliance (APA) 10. Accord Party.

On its part, All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) abstained and National Conscience Party (NCP) was indifferent. [myad]

Buhari, Osinbajo Set To Interact With Nigeria Youths Through Digital Technology, Augmented Reality

Greenbarge Reporters

February 7, 2015

APC Presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari and his running mate, Yemi Osibajo,

Presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari and Vice Presidential running-mate Professor Yemi Osinbajo are set to launch a personal, interactive message to young voters using the latest in digital technology known as Augmented Reality.
The new technology, according to a statement issued today by the Director of media and publicity of the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation, Garba Shehu is an election campaign method that will allow the candidates to speak directly to young voters on their smartphones.
Garba Shehu said that Augmented Reality is a cutting edge technology that brings “magic” to android smartphones and tabs.
According to him, the “Next for Nigeria” app is the first time this technology will be used in an election in Africa.
He explained that the candidates will record a special message to young voters after being processed into Augmented Reality, using graphics and animation. He said that it can be shared through a downloadable app.
“The technology provides a channel of expression for the young people of Nigeria, through which they can also voice their aspirations and hopes.
“The young peoples’ expression and voice regarding their decision for Nigeria’s future will be shared through these apps and distributed through popular social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others.”
Garba Shehu said that the candidates had asked the campaign to find a way for them to speak directly to youth in a personal setting that also allowed feedback.
“They felt that speaking through rallies and TV, while standard campaign practice, does not show their seriousness in reaching out to the youth of Nigeria. This new technology was the perfect answer. We hope that young people will find this new technology an exciting and enjoyable experience.”
The “Next for Nigeria” app can be downloaded for smartphones athttps:play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nigeria.nextnigeria The message is then activated by focusing the smartphone on a party logo, which will then trigger the technology. [myad]

PDP, APC At War Over Railway Rehabilitation

Greenbarge Reporters

February 7, 2015

The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Organisation and the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Organisation are engaged in a war over President Goodluck Jonathan’s achievements in Nigeria’s railway sector of the Nigeria economy.
While the spokesman of the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation, Garba Shehu described the claim achievements as hoax, his PDP counterpart, Femi Fani-Kayode described the APC assessment as laughable.
Fani-Kayode, in his response to Garba Shehu said that for APC to resort to attacking a verifiable achievement that is on the ground and being enjoyed by millions of Nigerians is not only laughable, but also a clear indication that President Jonathan has completely overwhelmed the APC with the sheer quantum and quality of his achievements in rail and other sectors of the economy.
Fani-Kayode added: “the charge of the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation is mind-boggling considering the contradictions therein. In the same statement where they alleged that the railway sector achievements are a hoax, they themselves on their own readily admit, and I quote, ‘only about 2,000km have so far been rehabilitated.’
“Where then is the hoax, if by the APC’s own admission ‘only about 2,000km have so far been rehabilitated?'”
The PDP Presidential campaign organisation spokesman asked: “is it not a verifiable fact that the railways were completely comatose since the 1980s? Is it also not a fact that it is President Jonathan’s administration that has resuscitated the railways?
“Even the APC informed Nigerians in their statement that tickets for the Lagos-Kano service costs N1,930 per passenger, which is far cheaper than travelling by road or by air. And concerning the dubious allegation that ‘it costs about N10, 000 per passenger to produce that Lagos-Kano service,’ the APC may wish to engage the services of more experienced railway experts who will surely explain that the initial outlay cost of a rail system always repays itself several times over due to the exceedingly long period of usage.
“Talking of purported derailments, that is a grievous insult on the intelligence of Nigerians and, indeed, an evil wish on the part of the APC as derailments often result in loss of lives. In this day and age, the derailment of even a cargo coach on a train line anywhere in the world attracts instant international attention. So the APC can quit spreading devious lies all in the name of politics.
“The fact that the railway achievements of President Jonathan has drawn such a bitter and untruthful attack from the APC, when millions of Nigerians have enjoyed and are still enjoying the railway service, shows that the APC is very afraid that this is another area where Mr President has touched the lives of the people to which the APC has no answer. And how can they have an answer when the rail projects embarked upon by both Lagos and Rivers states under APC governors are yet to carry a single passenger even after billions of naira have been sunk into both projects?
“Rather than attempt to diminish the verifiable achievements of President Jonathan in the rail sector with untruthful, outlandish claims and devious wishes, the APC needs to tell Nigerians how come the billions of naira sunk into both the Lagos and Rivers states rail projects have yet to result in a single passenger travelling from point A to B.
“Indeed, the only railway hoax in present-day Nigeria was perpetrated by Rotimi Amaechi, the governor of Rivers State who unveiled a purportedly finished monorail project that was soon after discredited to be a photographic scam. That is the railway hoax the APC should be talking about if its imagination has been fired to talk about railway hoaxes; or the multi-million dollars-Lagos Metroline project, which General Buhari cancelled when he took over government by the barrel of the gun in 1983.” [myad]

21 INEC Resident Commissioners Reject Postponement Of Elections

Greenbarge Reporters

February 7, 2015

Twenty one Resident Electoral Commissioners, RECs, of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, have rejected a proposal to postpone Nigeria’s general elections billed for February 14 and 28.

In a vote conducted today by the INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, after he met with political parties and the civil society, 21 RECs said the elections should continue as planned while 16 others voted in support of a reschedule. Nigeria has 37 RECs, each for a state and the Federal Capital, Abuja.

The outcome of the vote came as Nigerians await INEC’s decision on whether the elections are moved or not.

This was after 17 political parties had earlier voted for a postponement as against 11 that argued for INEC to remain faithful to its time table, the mood across the land suggested that INEC will capitulate to a demand by military and security chiefs asking for a six weeks postponement on the presumed grounds that they have a special operations to we against the six year insurgency which appears to be spreading on a daily basis.

Civil society leaders, organized in support of credible and transparent elections in Nigeria, otherwise called the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, reacted sharply blasting the security chiefs accusing them of fomenting a surreptitious coup against democracy.

In their own consultative meeting with the INEC top brass, the Situation Room called for the resignation of military chiefs and security heads including the Police “on account of their inability to exercise their constitutional responsibility to secure lives and property at all times including during the elections.”

Speaking for the group in its statement, Agianpe Ashang, a senior programme officer at the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, PLAC, said the action of the security chiefs “amounted to blackmail [to] arm-twist the Election Management Body away from its constitutional guaranteed function of conducting elections.” The group them asked Nigerians to defend their hard won struggle to entrench democracy in the country.

Jibrin Ibrahim, a senior fellow at the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), in Abuja, who was at the meeting, said Mr. Jega told the meeting that security operatives informed INEC that they were commencing a six weeks special operations against Boko Haram insurgents in the north eastern corridors of the country and would rather not be distracted by the elections.

The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected any plan to postpone the election saying such calls are sponsored by President Goodluck Jonathan and the ruling party to stave their imminent defeat at the polls.

The reasoning among civil society members align with popular enthusiasm for the election even in the north eastern regions where the insurgency is active.

According to a political survey recently conducted by the NOI polls, analysis by geo-political zones revealed that the North-West (89%) and South-East (87%) regions accounted for the largest proportions of Nigerians who expressed optimism for voting in the 2015 general elections when compared to other regions, although a majority of residents in all the geo-political zones expressed optimism in voting in the 2015 general elections, with a minimum 76% (North Central). Also, respondents aged 46-60 and 18-21 years showed more optimism for voting in the 2015 elections than other age-groups. [myad]

Professor Jega And INEC In Dilemma!!! By Comrade Kassim A. Gamawa

Greenbarge Reporters

February 7, 2015

From all available indications the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and its chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega may cave in and postpone the scheduled elections of 14th February.
Going by my prediction, we should expect this announcement after their marathon meetings of today. Once this is done, Jega and his team should forget about ever conducting any elections in Nigeria again, because the chaotic situation and uncertainty in the country maybe worst than what it is now.
Next, like the former Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido, Professor Jega will be ordered to proceed on early retirement. That would give them breathing space to shop for a more “amendable” umpire to orchestrate their rigging.
If INEC has common sense, it should NOT postpone the elections. But it seems too late! They have taken a decision because they are scared to the marrows! This is a battle of facing two monsters: one is the Presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari and the other is the electorates. The ruling class is in disarray and is facing a clear uncertainty. What happen to them after the elections is what they hate to think about because of fear of the unknown. But what will happen to the country after shifting the elections is something they think can be handled by their partisan security agencies.
They are talking of security issues and less collections of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs). No where in the world has 100 percent of registered voters ever voted even in the best and safest democracy known to man, and in Nigeria,we have never recorded a turn out of more than 40 million voters in any previous elections to the best of my knowledge. Therefore, with over 50 million permanent voters cards in the hands of Nigerian voters, it is just crass expectation that all the over 50 million will vote much less the near 70million registered voters.
Professor Jega and his INEC should do the right thing and allow Nigerians to vote come 14th February so that we get this over our heads once and for all. Enough of all these threats, chest beating and high-tension as well as the air of “Nigeria to-be or not-to-be gimmicks and nonsense!!!
Postponing the elections may create more insecurity than the present insecurity situation as it may engulf the whole country not only a section of it. Only if this is what the government wants to create. No matter what, we say NO to elections postponement and Nigeria must remain one. The interest of few individuals must not be allowed to override the interest of the entire nation.

Comrade Kassim A. Gamawa (Concerned Citizen & Sardaunan Gamji) wrote from Gamawa Local Government Areas of Bauchi State. [myad]

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