Nigeria Content Online

A former military
head of state, Yakubu Gowon has asked political leaders whose supporters
are engaged in violence over the results of last Saturday’s
presidential election to call them to order.

Mr Gowon, who
described the eruption of violence in some parts of the country as
unfortunate, said it was capable of truncating the process of
transparent polls, which the country has witnessed in the last two
weeks.

“It is most
unfortunate and regrettable,” the former head of state said in a
telephone interview with NEXT yesterday. “Any true Nigerian with good
conscience will not allow that. This is happening even when the entire
result has not been fully announced and probably because they gathered
some information.

“It is regrettable
and uncalled for and I hope the leadership of those involved will do
something that will really curtail the madness that comes from the
reports that we are hearing. It is regrettable that this is happening
after such a very good election we have had in the last two weeks.”

Mr. Gowon said
although the entire result of the presidential poll has not been
announced, it is clear that “Nigerians have decided democratically what
they want.”

He said that he
had expected those that are losing to accept the outcome of the poll,
but “unfortunately there has been violence which marred the celebration
and joy that we are having free and fair election.”

No suspension

The former
military ruler argued that it would have been wrong for the Independent
National Election Commission (INEC) to suspend the announcement of the
result of the election because of the violence, warning that it might
create the unfortunate situation witnessed in 1993 when the announcement
of that year’s presidential election was suspended.

He said: “I don’t
see any reason why the announcement should be suspended as a result of
the action. But let us not prejudge what INEC will do. Those in INEC
know what to do but we should be careful so that what happened during
the 1993 presidential election is not repeated.”

Also speaking on
the uprising, former Senate President, Ken Nnamani asked the leaders of
those involved to quickly address them because their actions will not
benefit anybody.

“The political
leaders of such areas should quickly address their followers and tell
them that nobody stands to gain anything from any uprising,” Mr Nnamani
told us in a telephone interview.

“The profile of
Nigeria is rising as a result of the two elections so far and anybody
who tampers with this enthusiasm is not doing the country any favour.

“They should immediately address their supporters.

“People are happy with the progress and if there are errors in one or two places, violence will not make it to be better.”

He noted that
Nigerians are now aware that development starts from the ballot box,
adding that if the country must actualize the Vision 2020, emphasis must
be placed on educating the people.

Mr Nnamani, who
commended the corps members used for the elections for doing a good job,
warned that postponing the announcement of the entire result of the
election could fuel the crisis at hand.

“I don’t think it
is necessary, it will be postponing the evil’s day because most people,
by now, have known the result, but we want it to be official.

“Political leaders
should come forward and show the spirit of sportsmanship. The errors
some parties are complaining about are not substantial. I am not saying
it is perfect but we can build on this,” the former senate president
said.

On his part, the
chairman of the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency
(PPPRA), Ahmadu Ali described the uprising trailing the presidential
polls as “primitive.” “What is happening is primitive. Just because a
party loses election people are going on rampage,” Mr Ali said in a
telephone interview.

The former
national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) called on the
presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) to
refrain his supporters from unleashing violence in the country if he
truly loves it.

“Buhari should
come out and make a statement if he truly loves this country. And I know
that he loves this country. I know Buhari. He should call his people to
order immediately. He has full responsibility on his head because to
take to violence is primitive,” Mr Ali said.

He also called for proper education of voters and supporters of political leaders, saying no religion believes in violence.

Ogun State Governor, Gbenga Daniel yesterday in his Sagamu residence predicted a tough governorship election in the state on Tuesday, April 26, 2011 and called on the electorate to be vigilant.While speaking to labour leaders, he said the governorship contest in the state would be between the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Adetunji Olurin; the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Ibikunle Amosun and Gboyega isiaka of the Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN).

The out-going governor declared that the PDP has lost its grip of the Southwest as a result of inconsistent ideologies.Mr Daniel asked leaders of industrial unions in the state to assess all the three candidates very well and make an informed choice in the interest of socio-economic and political development of the state. ” Labour friendlyOf all the three candidates, the only person that can speak the language of the workers that can understand the language of the minimum wage is Gboyega Isiaka of the Peoples Party of Nigeria.” Mr Daniel said.

In his comment, the Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the state, Akeem Ambali said the labour unions in the state desire continuity adding that this remained the only way to preserve the interest of the workers in the state.Similarly, the Chairman of the Trade Union Congress in the state, Seyi Adebanjo urged the governor to ensure that the demands of the state workforce are fulfilled.Some labour leaders who spoke at the meeting lauded the labour friendly policy of the governor describing him as a leader that has respect for the interest of the workers.

A former national
publicity secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change has asked the
party supporters to look inward and direct their anger on those he
called “internal saboteurs.”

Aghanya Dennis
claimed that the party’s woes in last Saturday’s presidential elections
resulted from “sabotage within”, asking the party’s presidential
candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, to resist the temptation of being dragged
in the mud.

“The elections have been lost and won, but we must move ahead,” Mr. Aghanya said.

The former party
leader said in a statement issued in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital,
that “the election was adjudged very free and fair by the international
and local observers. I want to advise aggrieved CPC sympathisers over
the outcome of the presidential election to direct their anger towards
those within the CPC who sabotaged General Buhari before and during the
elections.”

He added that despite CPC’s petition to INEC, the party lost the presidential elections.

“We lost the election, not because we did not deserve victory, but
because we failed to appreciate the magnitude of the task ahead,
deliberately refused to put in place all that was required or refused to
harness all the privileges that came our way,” he said.

Former commanders of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) yesterday during a news conference in Abuja, said, “The outbreak of violence in the northern states and the Federal Capital Territory following President Jonathan’s victory in the presidential election is an invitation to chaos.” It specifically warned that incitement of youths to violence by some northern leaders was an attempt to provoke them to return to hostilities.The group, which spoke through its national cordinator, Sobomabo Jackrich, aka General Egbere Papa, wondered why the North “which had always received the support of the South-South and indeed southern Nigeria in previous elections should be wasting innocent lives and property because President Jonathan of South-South extraction has won an election.”The North thinks it will remain in power perpetually. From the inception of this country, the South-South region had given the North all the necessary support in previous elections in spite of the fact that we produce the wealth of the nation.Why will the North not reciprocate even in the face of what is now known as the freest and fairest election? We all queued up to vote and we know the election was free and fair. INEC is still announcing election results and people are on rampage killing and maiming,” the group noted.

The group, therefore, warned: “We will not fold our hands and watch. We know how to defend ourselves and our resources. By this violence, the North is clearly pushing us and we have a way with violence. Even when we were in the struggle, we never wasted innocent lives. President Jonathan’s victory at the polls must remain sacrosanct. General Buhari should call his supporters off the streets before it is too late.”

Three house owners
in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, have sued the MTN Nigeria
Communications Limited and one Sangotokun Banji for erecting a mast in
their neighbourhood without caring about the implication on the
residents’ health.

The applicants, Messrs. Oluwadare James, Ogundipe Kamoru and Mrs. M.A. Ogundipe, have houses at Idi-Isin, in Ibadan.

They alleged, in
their separate statements on oath, that Mr. Banji sold his half plot of
land to the telecommunication firm for the purpose of erecting a GSM
mast in the predominantly residential area without minding what becomes
of the health situation of those who live within the place.

According to them,
they had earlier reported the matter at the Akobo Divisional
Headquarters of the Nigeria Police where they were advised to go to
court to seek appropriate redress.

They further claimed
that the Landlords and Residents Association of the area also wrote the
state commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, whose
ministry is responsible for the erection of masts across the state, for
necessary actions to stop the impending environmental disaster.

The claimants added
that their lawyer, F.A.Bello and Co., had written on their behalf to MTN
through her Chief Liaison Officer at Bodija, Ibadan, to suspend the
construction of the mast due to proximity to their houses.

But in spite of the effort, the defendants went on with the construction, violating their right to decent living.

The claimants said
they were well aware of the danger posed to the residents when mast is
erected in their area, which, they said, included loss of memory, sleep
disorders, tiredness, and cancer. They further claimed that the health
crises are associated with radiation effects from telecommunication
masts like the one under contention.

They said they were
sure that the MTN Nigeria Communications Limited did not acquire the
requisite approval before embarking on the construction of the mast.

Mistura Oladeinde, a
judge of the Oyo State High Court has been assigned to adjudicate in
the matter, and has adjourned till May 4 to allow the telecommunication
firm file its defence.

A correspondent of
Vanguard newspapers in Kano State, Abdulsalam Muhammad, and his family
escaped death by their whiskers when they ran into hundreds of rioters
along eastern by pass in Kano yesterday.

Mr. Muhammad was
travelling on the highway with his entire family to his residence in
Naibawa quarters of the municipality when they ran into hundreds of
hoodlums.

The hoodlums who
were mainly teenagers were being supervised by a man in his early 40s,
and without provocation descended on them and in the ensuing melee, his
wife Safiya Lawal was attacked with weapons.

Others who sustained
injury in the attack include Umi Zabaida Muhammad( 6) and his younger
brother Muhammad Naziru Muhammad (3) sustained various degree of injury.

His personal car was vandalised while trying to escape the furry of the rioters.

Several other
motorists travelling on the highways suffered the same fate as no fewer
than 8 burnt vehicles littered the entire stretch of the strategic
highways.

Some election
observers have accused the special assistant to the Kwara State governor
on Electoral Matters, Musa Abdullahi, of maltreating them and have
resolved to go to court for justice.

According to the
leader of the Committee for Democracy and Right of the People, Abdul
Ganiyu Saheed Olaide, their attackers had approached them at the Ajikobi
Ward where the governor, Bukola Saraki, had also voted asking for their
identification and later ordered that they be beaten up.

Mr Abdullahi,
however, denied the allegation, saying “I cannot do such a thing. Not
me.” He refused to make comment further on the issue.

The President of
the Observer group claimed that four of them: Abdulsalam Abdulfatai,
Ibrahim Lukman Bukola, and Akaje Ibrahim were beaten up and had their
clothes torn. “All our cameras, laptops and money were also looted.”

Set for the court

“They should know
that this cannot be swept under the carpet. The commissioner of police
invited me this morning and was pleading with us to forget it. But, to
forget what? I was treated like an animal and treated like a thief. Even
if a thief had been caught, would they treat him like that?

“Someone came to
tell us that they were thumb printing for PDP and that we should come
and catch them. We told the person that we were just observers but that
we can see what the situation is. So we went there, only to be turned
into a fake observer, despite that ID cards on us and we were
mercilessly beaten up,” Mr Abdullahi said.

According to Mr
Abdulfatai, who is also a student leader in a university, “We are
talking with our lawyers and we are going to see to the end of this. We
are just observers and do not have anything to do with any of the
political parties. So we don’t know why we were beaten up and if not for
God who saved us, the government thug could have killed us.” Dabo
Ezekiel, the Police Command spokesperson, however, told NEXT that he was
not aware of any meeting between the group and the police commissioner
and asked them to be calm and follow the path of justice.

Commonwealth observers, currently
monitoring the general elections in the country have attributed what
they dub “Nigeria’s credible elections and creditable elections” to the
resilience and doggedness of Nigerian citizens.

At a media briefing in Abuja, the Chair
of the Commonwealth Observer Group, former Botswana President Festus
Mogae said “We noted the deep-seated public frustration at the history
of deficient elections and the desire to make a new beginning. Across
the length and breadth of the country, the people of Nigeria
demonstrated exemplary dignity, responsibility and forbearance, waiting
the entire day peacefully and patiently under the hot sun, or in heavy
rain, to exercise their franchise.” They also commended the efforts of
security agents and the National Youth Service Corps Ad hoc staff saying
that their concerted efforts contributed to the success of the
elections.

“The April 2011 elections marked a
genuine celebration of democracy in Africa’s most populous country and a
key member of the Commonwealth” Mr Mogae said.

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International
observers have applauded the conduct of Saturday’s presidential election
but have cited several areas that need to be improved upon ahead of the
governorship polls next week.

The Commonwealth,
National Democratic Institute (NDI), European Union (EU) and the
International Republican Institute issued separate post-election
assessments yesterday amid reports of violent protest against the
outcome of the election in Kano, Kaduna and Bauchi states.

The Commonwealth
mission said the April 2011 elections marked a “genuine celebration of
democracy” in Nigeria saying that previous notions that the nation can
only hold flawed elections be discarded.

Mr Mogae admitted
that the parliamentary polls had procedural problems although there were
improvements. Asked whether he would advise Nigerians to accept the
outcome of the polls, he said: “I say yes,” adding that the
imperfections noticed do not point to deliberate “mischief.” The NDI
said its observation unveiled the inadequacies of the “complicated and
multi-tiered” collation process which the mission said was vulnerable to
human error and manipulation as tabulation proceeds from the polling
unit to the electoral office.

As the statements
were read on Monday in Abuja, fears mounted about the breakdown of law
and order in the Federal Capital Territory as clashes erupted in Dutse,
Mararaba areas of the Federal Capital Territory with no certain number
of casualties.

Already, the NDI led
by the former Canadian Prime Minister, Joe Clark, said its coverage of
the pre-election and the election days, showed there have been 135
politically-motivated deaths.

The election
monitoring teams condemned the renewed unrest yesterday urging aggrieved
candidates in the polls to seek judicial redress.

“Any post election
violence will be regrettable,” said Festus Mogae, the chief observer of
the Commonwealth team and former president of Botswana. “If it is
happening, it is regrettable.”

Assessment

The monitors praised
the poll on the one hand and on the other, criticised series of
processes from the accreditation to counting of results although they
agree the setbacks were minimal to affect the wider result for the
entire nation.

The teams complained
about overcrowded polling stations despite claims by the Independent
National Electoral Commission that sub voting units will be established
for centres beyond 300 voters.

The EU team observed
that for 633 random polling units it monitored across the 36 states,
only 14% were split as INEC directed with the rest having an average 860
voters.

Attempts to induce
voters were noticed in 17 percent, while party agents interfered in 26%.
In spite of these, counting was overall evaluated positively in 91%, it
said.

Aminu Kofar-Soro, the Sokoto State Commandant, Nigeria Security and
Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), on Monday warned the people to steer clear
of any political violence and thuggery. He told the News Agency of
Nigeria (NAN) that already, detectives had been deployed to identified
“black spots” to gather intelligence information to enhance the security
situation in the state.”We will do all that it takes to sustain the
peaceful environment in the state,” he said. Mr Kofar-Soro also warned
politicians to desist from encouraging any form of violence, saying: “We
will not tolerate any form of violence during and after the polls. We
are out to ensure the safety of lives and property.” He advised parents
not to allow politicians to use their children as political thugs,
warning that security officers had been ordered to arrest and prosecute
any person or group of persons found breaching the peace. MR Kofar-Soro
appealed to the public to assist security agencies with useful
information on criminal activities in their areas for prompt action.
“Security matters should not be left in the hands of security officers
alone,” he said.