Brigadier-General Ayodele Ojo (retd.)
Some
retired senior military officers have warned against the postponement
of the February general elections to avoid military takeover of the
administration of the country.
They warned that the postponement might
lead to anarchy in the country, which, according to them, may lead to
military intervention.
A former Director of Procurement in the
Defence Headquarters, Brigadier-General Ayodele Ojo (retd.), in an
interview with SUNDAY PUNCH, described the recent call made by the
National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki, for the general elections
to be postponed as a step towards military rule.
According to Ojo, the suggestion by the
NSA for the deferment of the polls is capable of creating a
constitutional crisis that can abort the nation’s democracy.
On Thursday, Dasuki stated that the
postponement of next month’s elections would give the Independent
National Electoral Commission more time to distribute over 30 million
outstanding Permanent Voter Cards to registered voters.
The NSA said rescheduling the elections would cost INEC and the Federal Government nothing, adding, “It’s still within the law.”
However, Ojo told SUNDAY PUNCH that INEC and the Federal Government should not entertain such a suggestion.
He said, “It is a backward step to the
dark days of military rule when anti-democratic forces, on the eve of
the June 12, 1993 presidential poll, were able to secure a dubious
injunction from an Abuja High Court restricting the National Electoral
Commission from conducting the election.
“This
singular act was instrumental to the annulment of the election. It is
worrisome that the call, this time around, is coming from a highly
placed security official of the Nigerian government. Moreover, the
reason given for the postponement is untenable, to say the least.”
The former director at the DHQ added that
if the call for a postponement was based on allowing would-be voters to
collect their PVCs, the Federal Government could consider declaring a
public holiday.
Ojo added, “What I think is required is
for the Federal Government to declare Friday, February 6, 2015 as a
work-free day to enable affected voters the last opportunity to collect
their PVCs.
“INEC could also use that weekend before
the presidential election as a dress rehearsal. This will require INEC
to deploy its entire staff on that Friday and Saturday for the voters to
collect their PVCs from the polling units, where they are expected to
vote the following Saturday of the presidential election.
“This, I believe, will take care of this
problem without resort to postponing the election, thereby creating
unnecessary and avoidable crises. This suggestion by the NSA is uncalled
for and must be resisted by all Nigerians in order to avoid plunging
the country into self-inflicted crisis.”
Another military General who pleaded
anonymity told one of our correspondents that INEC should not be stopped
from going ahead with next month’s election.
He warned that politicians must be extremely careful not to trigger crisis that they may not be capable of handling.
He said, “I think we have to be very
careful in this case. It may be the beginning of untoward things. We
have to be extremely careful. Let the elections go on as scheduled. Let
us avert any strife that may spring up. The military has taken over in
this country before and we have to be careful that it doesn’t happen
again.”
Also, a former Commandant, Nigerian Army
School of Infantry, Brig.-Gen. Williams Obene (retd.), warned against
heating up the polity with the postponement.
He said, “I think the polity is really
fired up; there are so many reactions, interpretations and
misunderstandings. And if we say we are a democratic country practising
civilian democracy, then we have to work by the rule of law. If that is
not done through the constitution, then it can attract anarchy.”
In the same vein, a former Minister for
Police Affairs, Maj.-Gen. David Jemibewon (retd.), warned that
postponement of the elections could cause confusion in the country.
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