2015: Jonathan, Buhari sign peace pact

President wants loser party accommodated in govt

…Annan, Anyaoku task FG on polls

History was made yesterday in Abuja, as the presidential can­didates for next month’s elec­tion and their party leaders committed themselves to a treaty to abide by the rule of safe, fair and non-violent election.

It was a large gathering of politicians, can­didates, national leaders, international per­sonalities and the diplomatic corps where the political players agreed in writing and bound themselves to a deed of good conduct for a peaceful election.

After the address by the chairman of the function, and former boss of the Common­wealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Kofi Annan, and others, the party leaders appended their signatures on the document.

At exactly 13.19pm, and shortly after his speech that was the last, President Goodluck Jonathan was the first to sign at the Ladi Kwali Hall of the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja venue.

After him, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Marty (PDP), Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu signed for the party. That was followed immediately by the All Pro­gressives Congress (APC) presidential can­didate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and the party Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun at 13.20pm.

The other 12 presidential candidates signed the agreement.

The five-point agreement was drafted and read out by Anyaoku. After he had read out the deed of four points, there arose a case for its amendment from the parties and candi­dates demanding for an additional clause to the document to strengthen its content and intention.

For the fifth clause that was adopted at the floor of the gathering, Anyaoku read out that: “Article 5: All the institutions of gov­ernment, including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies must act and be seen to act without impartiality and bias.”

At the addition of the clause, the parties and candidates adopted the accord in ap­plause before signing. The ceremony was a major landmark in strengthening peace in the electoral process, a kind of concrete ac­tion never taken before in the previous elec­tions.

In the speeches by all the presidential can­didates, they had all pointed out some grey areas in the electoral system as the factors that breed violence. They agreed that the utterances, dispositions and mindset of the parties, candidates and supporters are the major reasons most elections in Nigeria end in violence.

Another issue that dominated the stage were calls for reforms in the electoral laws. This was the mainstay of Jonathan’s speech, that of Buhari and most of the other can­didates, including the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega.

What they said:

Annan – Nigeria, don’t disappoint Af­rica

He challenged Nigeria not to disappoint Africa in the next month’s elections, urging the country to learn from Kenya, which he said, electoral violence took place.

“If Nigeria fails, the West Africa region which Nigeria holds half of its population, has failed, and Africa would have failed also because the nation holds the largest econom­ic pool of the continent and more than half of the economic volume of West Africa, there­fore, I call on Nigeria to make Africa proud because of its prime position and I am sure Nigeria can,” Annan challenged.

He said although elections remain flash­points in many countries, Nigeria should not toe the line of violence, but rather exercise caution and conduct itself with decorum.

Annan warned against “inflammatory statements by candidates and parties in their campaigns and should rather focus on devel­opmental issues. Some years ago, Kenya had its elections that ended in violence, and that took the nation backwards by some many generations, and they have not recovered. I would urge Nigeria to learn from Kenya and conduct violent-free elections. I call on you Nigeria not to disappoint Africa by your elections next month. I am sure you can do that if you want. So, Africa and the world are looking up to you. Don’t disappoint Africa because Nigeria has the future of the conti­nent on its hands,” he called.

Anyaoku

‘Unfortunately, violence is already here’, he says. Chief Anyaoku lamented that even now, prior to the elections, the violence has already commenced.

He said: “We have heard of incidents of violence already and if nothing is done, there would be more before the elections and after. So, the reason for this workshop is to arrest the situation before it becomes too late to control. Unfortunately, Nigeria has a his­tory of elections and post-elections violence, and the signs are already there that the same would be repeated if nothing is done about it.

“That is why we are here to task the par­ticipants to tackle the issues and also call on their supporters to adhere to the rules and make sure the elections don’t end in vio­lence. Your major task as politicians should be the pursuit of peaceful elections. So let us caution our supporters to avoid derogatory statements against opponents, not to incite violence and to ensure there is peace in the nation during and after the elections.”

Jega

The INEC boss stressed the need for peace at the polls, but noted that “it is mainly the parties and candidates that create violence in the elections. It is in their hands to say no to violence or encourage it. By their words, actions and dispositions, violence takes over the elections. Therefore, they are the ones that should take all necessary steps against violence in the coming elections.”

Jonathan

The incumbent president said the conduct of 2011 elections was much better than pre­vious ones. He wondered why there was still post-election violence in the country, while admitting that the candidates actually have much roles to play in stopping or encourag­ing electoral violence.

Jonathan said what leads to violence is not just malpractice, but rather provoca­tive statements made by politicians, and therefore, cautioned his colleagues to avoid threatening themselves through provocative utterances.

He also faulted the law that empowers parties to screen their members for candi­dacy, saying parties don’t have the capac­ity to screen aspirants, and because they do and with the interest of some individuals, a lot of compromises occur where people of questionable character are allowed to contest elections, thereby introducing desperation into the system.

According to him, the nation should, even if alone, find means of adopting a sharing formula in power by parties that have con­siderable representation or acceptance by the electorate.

“In a situation where a party scores 51 per cent of the votes to win and the one that lost because it had 49 percent would not be part of government in any form will not breed harmony. So, in the review of our electoral laws, we should find means of accommodat­ing the loser party in the running of govern­ment. That would help to reduce frustration and violence in the system.”

Jonathan called on fellow contestants and supporters to play down tension in the sys­tem. “In 2007, we won when I was vice pres­idential candidate. But the day the court gave its ruling that was just 4:3 justices of the Su­preme Court, I had reason to ponder on how narrow we were to losing and a big problem. I reasoned that if the ratio was the other way, then, apart from the elected president going, Nigeria would have been in crisis. I saw it beyond my candidacy, but the fate of the nation. That is why I promised that some­thing different has to happen. When I came to power and supervised the 2011 elections, though I was a candidate, I ensured that it would be better, and it was. So, I strongly advocate that we should through legislation and others means strengthen the system for better election.”

Buhari

‘Law reforms is paramount’, he says. The APC flagbearer dwelled mostly on the past errors against his candidacy, recalling a long list of litigations initiated by him that lasted almost endlessly in courts.

“In 2003, the suit I filed to challenge the result of the presidential election lasted for 30 months and at last, I lost. The one I filed in 2007 lasted for 18 months, and at last, it was the same outcome.”

He challenged that the judicial system should also be sanitized to handle elections petitions better.

Buhari also noted that during the past elections, there were reviews of the elec­toral law to correct some anomalies and plug loopholes. While they assisted in amending some errors, he lamented that this time, there was no such review or reform prior to the elections that will come up next month.

He emphasized the continued need to up­grade and amend the laws to make the sys­tem better, while also admitting that there is need for caution among political players to do away with violence.