The conference for peaceful
election organised by ex-President Goodluck Jonatahn has warned African
politicians against referring to their opponents in “unsubstantiated” names.
The conference, chaired by
Abubakar Abdulsalami, former head of state and chairman of the National Peace
Committee, was attended by over 500 participants, including former heads of state, members of
the diplomatic community, development partners, the police and civil society
organisations.
The participants, in a communique
issued at the end of the conference, said name-calling like “looters”, “liars”,
could trigger violence, especially in the election period.
According to the statement, the
participants observed at the end of the conference that “violent conflict
affects the psyche of people and the memory of it lingers for generations.
“There is an increasing use of politics, particularly, elections as
instruments for dividing the population on the basis of primordial sentiments,
such as ethnicity, religion and geography.
“Nigeria as a regional leader is
so strategic to Africa that its politics and governance should represent a
positive example.
“A significant number of the
elections on the continent have been marred by varying degrees of violence,
resulting in the preventable loss of lives and destruction of property.
“Politicians in Africa should
avoid actions that may trigger election-related power struggles similar to
those experienced in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Kenya and Cote d’Ivoire to prevent
the attendant consequences.”
The participants, after their
observation, recommended that African politicians settle conflicts amicably in
order to forestall violence.
It advised the Nigerian
stakeholders, particularly, to obey the rules during the lections, while
charging INEC to discharge non-partisanship and professionalism in its duties.
“Politicians in Africa should use
politics as a platform for building peace and strengthening cooperation across
cultures, religions, ethnicity and political alignment,” the statement read.
“Efforts towards strengthening
democracy should focus more on the delivery of good governance in the polity
and allow for people participation.
“Stakeholders in the 2019 general
elections in Nigeria should play by the rules and avoid utterances and actions
that may precipitate violence.
“The Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) and security agencies should be professional and non-partisan
in the performance of their duties.
“African leaders and politicians
should refrain from labelling opponents as liars, looters and enemies as such
unsubstantiated name-calling could trigger violent reactions.
“Efforts should be made by
national governments, civil society organisations and community leaders in
Africa to prevent post election crises.
“Regional and sub-regional
organisations like the African Union and ECOWAS should encourage and promote
good governance by establishing a reward system for exemplary leaders in
Africa.
“Inclusive and people-centred
leadership should be the focus of national governments in order to mainstream
peace-building in the course of governance.
“The government of Nigeria should
ensure the security of lives and property as enshrined in the nation’s 1999
Constitution before, during and after the 2019 general elections.”
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