The forthcoming general elections scheduled to hold in February 2023 means a lot to many people especially the international community. Already many tongues are presently wagging creating a fearful and contentious atmosphere around the country.
Truely, elections in Nigeria is a do or die exercise, that had over the years witnessed the death of hundreds of innocent people including the massive destruction of properties across the country.
To the ordinary Nigerian, it would mark the end of suffering and insecurity and the appropriate time to elect the right candidate. To the politician, it is another opportunity to skillfully manipulate with sweet- tongue the unsuspecting electorate to either forment trouble through thuggery and other criminal tendencies or being expectant of election free money. While on the other hand, the governments at all levels that over the years have inadvertently interfered in the electoral processes by arm twisting the electoral body and security agencies to favor the political party in office. This glaring facts have attracted much insults from the global community debasing the integrity of the 62years old independently democratic country.
Just as some officials of the lndependent National Electoral Commission (lNEC ) were alledgedly fingered severally as election manipulators, so were some police officers roundly accused of looking the other way while riggings are being perpetrated. It was therefore a good omen when senior police officers were welcomed to Owerri, lmo State for a three days retreat by both the convener, the lnspector General of Police, Mr Usman Baba Alkali and his host, Governor of Imo State, Mr Hope Uzodimma while President Muhammad Buhari seized the opportunity to once again pour encomium on his government over what he described as rescue effort of an already battered police that largely lacked many things, like, increase in remuneration package, recruitment of ten thousand police constables annually, to address the wide manpower gap in the Force and other police reforms by his administration.
Even at that, police institution is not known for organizing retreat like religious organizations which truely understand the main import of what retreat is all about. According to Webster dictionary, retreat simply means “place of privacy; a place affording peace and quiet”. Such atmosphere affords the group the unique space to carry out an internal accesment of their operational activities over the years. The retreat was able to restore temporary peace in Owerri capital as the intimidating number of police scared vicious members of criminal groups.
However, the President capitalised on the occasion to carefully panel beat his administrations failed security outing by listing what he approved to fund the community policing project by carefully omitting the actual amount approved for the controversial project without supervision as his success story. According to the President, “I approved the adoption of the Community Policing Model as the internal security strategy of the country with requisite funds released to implement the initiative.
What is worrisome, is that, the President carefully ommitted the actual amount approved for the community policimg project.
Indeed, the former The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has spoken about how the force planned to spend the N13 billion President Muhammadu Buhari approved to strengthen community policing. The question is, how was such a huge amount dispensed without commensurate impact on the security of the country, yet, insecurity pervades every nook and cranny of the country. Community policing cannot replace State police system which simply is a a police force under state authority rather than under the authority of a city or county in the state. Countries with large population operating the State police system include, Germany, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, lndia, Argentina, Britain and America where we love copying and pasting their ideas on the country.
Interestingly, apart from other definite reform approvals by the President, his farewell disclosure at the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on 21st September, 2022, ,” He said,
“I re-affirmed on the global stage that ‘as President, I have set the goal that one of the enduring legacies I would like to leave is to entrench a process of free, fair, transparent and credible elections through which Nigerians elect leaders of their choice.”
Such gratifying statement coming from the a third world country leader of a country known for rough riding Political campaign and elections, may not be regarded seriously, but when juxtaposing the recent past recorded credible gubernatorial elections in operations and during the recent off-season electoral outings in Edo, Anambra, Ekiti, and Osun State, then the renewed hope that the electoral body have started towing the path of internationally acclaimed credible electoral proves . Infact building on the already attested elections, observers can then draw a convincing believe that President Buhari’s affirmation of a transparently credible elections are evidently achieveable. A close and careful analysis of President Buhari address at the United Nation and at the police retreat in lmo, are full of democratic hope when placed in open assessment of his political body language after the election that gave him the second term bid. He had completely distance himself from anointing or favoring any particular candidate, neither has he. muscled the electoral body to the knowledge of the public. This is why his speech at the UN where he said, “In reinforcing my unwavering commitment to democratic values and strong democratic institutions to govern the process, during my farewell speech at the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on 21st September, 2022, I noted that ‘we have invested heavily to strengthen our framework for free and fair elections’ and hence, I re-affirmed on the global stage that ‘as President, I have set the goal that one of the enduring legacies I would like to leave is to entrench a process of free, fair, transparent and credible elections through which Nigerians elect leaders of their choice” unfortunately, despite these open commitments by the President, the Presidential aspirant of the People Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was not impressed neither did he accept to believe President Buhari, and so, according to media report, he headed to America, to personally extract a convincing commitment from the government authority to assist in ensuring a transparently credible, free and fair election.
(To be continued)
SECURITY FILE wishes to comisirate with one of our ardent reader retired Assistant lnspector General of Police, lbrahim Magu former Chairman of Economic and financial crime Commission (EFCC), over the loss of his 92 years old mother, Yaya Bintu , Jamarema of Gamye Shidda Maiduguri, Borno State. May her soul Rest In Peace.