A Nigerian lawyer, Mr Adekunle Ojo, has asked the government to make deliberate policies that will check electoral violence and desperation of politicians to win an election.
He decried the use of young Nigerian by politicians in chasing political ambitions at the expense of the lives of the future leaders.
Mr Ojo, who was a former second Vice President of the Nigerian Bar Association, said the leaders had kept things at a certain level to make people willing tools on days like this.
“I cannot imagine seeing the children of the gladiators in the trenches fighting the other political party.
“We use to talk about militancy some years ago and there was a policy of the government to reform them and end their activities. Each time we talk about elections in the region we hear of former militants and it will seem as if the dog has gone back to its vomit.
“The government should look deeper and see how to bring us out of this level,” he said while giving his opinion on the Rivers election re-run on Channels Television’s programme, Sunrise Daily.
The lawyer expressed dissatisfaction with the current situation in Rivers State, emphasising that violence had become a recurrent issue in the region.
“My expectation is that by now, some necessary authorities should have put some of these things in check.
“The so called politicians are in peace but the young ones that are supposed to be the future leaders are the ones dying,” he lamented.
Military Involvement In Election
On a judgement of a court on military involvement in the election, Mr Ojo said that the court’s verdict was in line with the constitution.
“The military is not supposed to conduct or monitor elections in the first place. Their role is to protect the nation’s territories.
“If things were to work the way it should, you do not need the involvement of the army during election.
“If you look at the build-up of this election, I am an advocate of army exclusion in election security, but then, if there is violence, there is no way you can stop the army from being part of the election.
“Certain areas are prone to violence and without some measure of security applied, we might not have a violence-free election in Rivers State.
“If the police are not on top of the situation, you can bring out the army to secure. If it is to ensure that there is peace, given what has happened in the last few days, security should be beefed up,” he told Channels Television.
He also advocated punishment for perpetrators of violence and those that incited violence with their campaign statements.
“If a man says things that he ought not to say and the end of the day incite innocent Nigerians to do what they are not supposed to do, then the person should be tried as part of the violence perpetrator,” he stressed.
The lawyer also pointed out that there was a need for more voter education by the electoral commission while suggesting that the lawmakers should consider amendment of the Electoral Act to accommodate the use of the card reader and even electronic voting.
He is confident that the use of technology would also reduce manipulation of the electoral process.
