Convener & National Coordinator, Abia League Of Professional Initiatives(ALPI) has tasked all presidential candidates in the forthcoming general elections to embrace tenets of democracy and steer clear of things that could cause disharmony in the country.
Iroche who took to his official Twitter handle to make this call said it became imperative following increasing threats from some quarters in the country against some certain politicians.
The seasoned economist said despite the fact that the presidential election is still about six months from now, some certain persons and ethnic group have been going about campaigning for their candidates in a way that could affect the unity of the country.
According to him, each presidential candidates of the major political parties in the country should therefore take the responsibility of enlightening their supporters and to curb their excesses.
The tweet reads, “The recent increasing threats by different ethnic and religious groups in the country, against certain politicians, especially, presidential candidates from different regions of the country from campaigning in other regions of the country, portends serious danger, which could be fiercely inflammatory and further reinforces the tendencies of intolerance based on ethnic and divergent political views and disharmony in the country.
“This further negates the Constitutional rights of freedom of movement, freedom to campaign and the attempts at wooing the electorate on their party programmes, which are some of the tenets of democracy, which are being threatened by such ethnic jingoistic tendencies, by those who are intolerant of different political views and persuasions in such an ethnically and religiously pluralistic and diverse country like Nigeria.
“The presidential candidates of the major political parties in the country should therefore take the responsibility of enlightening their supporters and to curb their excesses.
“They should also let their followers realize, that in order to win the presidential election, that their candidates too need other regions in the country, as no one region or ethnic group can single handedly elect a Nigerian president without the other regions in fulfillment of the electoral requirements.
It is also incumbent on the candidates and the parties to emphasize that the quest for political office, demands decorum and call to service, which should be played without any form of rancor violence, or bitterness. For Africa to join the league of countries where elections are bereft of violence in the 21st century, this must become true and ingrained in our political culture.
“What should be of utmost importance is not to keep harping on the issues that divide us, rather than to emphasize those things which unite us, which ought to make Nigeria one of the greatest countries in the entire African continent.
“Essentially, at the nucleus of the organ that would ensure a harmonious coexistence of all the ethnic nationalities in the country, is JUSTICE. Without which, there shall be no enduring peace and democracy in the country.
“Furthermore, the issues that unite us, as a people, include but are not limited to the fact that Nigerians are, resourcefulness, resilience, energetic, hard working , huge youth population, industrious , rich in minerals and human resources and possess all those other attributes that ought to make any normal country great.
“So, rather than politicians, degenerating to personal attacks, name calling and irrelevances, those who aspire to lead Nigeria, and invariably the African continent, come 2023, should focus their electioneering campaigns on the critical issues that are paramount to the average Nigerians and potential foreign investors, who have now found other safer investment havens on the continent.
“The major challenges which pose an existential threat to our country include and are not limited to ineptitude at the governance level, lack of love and patriotism for Nigeria, which have manifested themselves in insecurity, electricity power supply, health, education, food security, unemployment, high inflation, high cost of living, depreciation of the Naira, due mainly to failed monetary and fiscal policies, and a plethora of other challenges, which are all traceable to a rudderless and selfish political leadership and class, at the expense of the working class citizens.
“It is therefore, important to state unequivocally, that those who wish to replace, the outgoing Buhari and the APC administration, should come up with a clear implementable and realistic roadmap, pointing the way out of this sad situation that we have snookered ourselves into. The candidates must also be ready to show Nigerians their credentials from past experiences, exposure and verifiable evidence of consistent capacity and character.
“Why should we further entrust our common patrimony in the hands of those whom had made unfulfilled promises at different times in the past and only to have failed woefully in delivering the often mouthed dividends of democracy.
“Nigerians must be more discerning about the choice that they would make in 2023
Nigerians should interrogate their leaders this time, beyond the mere prism of ethnicity and/or religion.
“Nigerians have lost many years in the wilderness, where mediocrity reigned supreme and therefore cannot afford any more years of stagnation and stagflation.
2023, shall be a defining year for Nigeria.
To Be or Not To Be. That is the Question.”
