The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III and Archbishop Daniel Okoh have expressed their concerns over the conduct of the 2023 general elections.
The President of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and the National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) respectively urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be impartial in the conduct of the forthcoming polls and allow the interest of the people to prevail.
In the same vein, they charged Nigerians to avoid violence before, during and after the elections to promote peace and tolerance.
The religious leaders gave the advisory in Abuja on Monday at the Inclusive Security Dialogue (ISD) facilitated by the Global Peace Foundation (Nigeria), Vison Africa and ADF International.
They urged the security agencies and other stakeholders to act collectively to forestall the consequences of the dangers of rigging, hate speech and other forms of electoral violence and malpractices.
The Sultan of Sokoto, represented by Dr Hussaini Zakariyya of the Sultan Foundation, urged religious heads across denominations to use their platforms to discourage youths from participating in election violence.
He said: “Religious leaders are the most important and influential block in every society, especially in Nigeria by their nature and space, very religious people.
“Every Muslim, every Christian is proud to be what he is and what he believes. And not only that, he is willing to protect that live with all that he has life, belongings and everything he owns.
“Therefore, unless and until religious leaders are involved directly into the peace-building process to bring about peaceful coexistence of Nigerians, there will be no peace. Nobody has actually the power and the influence like just religious leaders.”
Ensure Peace Accord Signing Wasn’t Just To Fulfil All Righteousness
Speaking on behalf of the Christian body, Archbishop Okoh urged significant stakeholders to ensure that the Peace Accord they signed was not just a mere tradition.
He warned against election violence, saying the consequences can truncate the country’s democratic process and national development.
“While curbing pre- and post-electoral violence in Nigeria is a herculean task, well-meaning Nigerians and other development partners who want to depart from the orgies of electoral violence and its attendant consequences should not be discouraged,” the CAN President said.
He also charged security agencies to be active and enforce the law against perpetrators of election violence.
“It is clear that the intention of the National Peace Committee is not just to fulfil all righteousness. The signing of the Peace Accord should be followed up diligently by law enforcement agents in order to ensure compliance by all parties with severe consequences for breaching the agreement,” Okoh said.
While expressing hope for a better Nigeria, the Christian leader urged the state and the federal governments to make genuine efforts to create employment opportunities for the teeming youth or provide entrepreneurship training and funding opportunities for their small-scale businesses.
This according to him will prevent the citizens from being used as instruments for electoral violence.
He equally noted that incidences of drug and substance abuse by youths is an enablers of electoral violence as those involved in drug abuse only know the consequences of their actions after the effect of the drugs may have subsided in them.
Okoh added: “INEC must be seen to give a level playing ground to all the candidates and their political parties. The allegations of connivance of the electoral officers with party agents to frustrate voters on the day of election or to tamper with the election results should not be allowed to resurface in the forth-coming elections.
“Sometimes post-election violence is triggered by alleged unfairness and injustice demonstrated by the officers of the electoral body. The election of 2023 holds the key to our progress as a nation or our designation as a failed or a failing state.”
