Ambassador begins sensitisation visit to parties
The United States has warned Nigeria that it risked been enmeshed in violence if the Federal Government fails to ensure that 2015 polls are free, fair and credible.
The US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James F. Entwistle, said during a visit to the National Headquarters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja, at the weekend the embassy was engaging political parties, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Nigerians to ensure the conduct of credible elections in 2015.
He also stated that Washington would not back any candidate for the February presidential election. According to him, America is not interested in backing any candidate but in ensuring that elections in Nigeria and other countries are credible.
He said: “I am coming round to talk to political parties because of the deep commitment my country has to democracy and elections not just in the US or Nigeria but all over the world. “Democracy is much more than elections, but without elections, there is no democracy because election is the cornerstone.
“I have frequently been asked who the United States is supporting for the February 2015 elections and my answer has always been that the United States supports the Nigerian people in their quest for a credible, transparent election that they want and deserve.
“So, we are not here to support anybody or any candidate, but to support a credible process in which the Nigerian people can freely express their wishes. That is why we provide support to INEC and civil societies as we do to get ready for this election. “As I travel round this country, I talk about the importance of non-violence elections, especially before, during and after elections.
What I am telling you now, I say to everybody across the spectrum. We should all agree that there is no place for it and I encourage all candidates and parties to commit themselves now not to participate in violence in any way. “Let me tell you a story. When I was a small boy, my father was in the air force, and we move a lot.
In 1960, we lived in Montgomery in Alabama. I remember Dr. Martin Luther King flying in for his famous march. When you see something when you are young, you never forget it. I remember seeing African-American on the streets demonstrating because they wanted to exercise the right to vote. I remember seeing the police attack them on the streets with dogs. Fifty years later, we have an African- American president.
The lesson from that story is how credible an election is and unless the people go to exercise their votes, they will meet violence; they will meet depression and I have seen that around the world, people queuing up for hours to vote. “The other thing I take away from it is that it is very easy to lose trust in democracy and say, my vote doesn’t matter. One election doesn’t change anything, but I can tell you that in my life time, I have seen things change in my country. It does not happen overnight. It happens as a result of dedication, patience.
“So, genuine change in the democratic process is absolutely possible and it takes men and women of courage and steadfastness.” Entwistle also called on security agencies to be impartial so as not to jeopardise democracy in the country. He said: “I have always told Nigerians to be careful about their right to vote because it is the most precious thing in the world.
The other thing is the role that the security agencies have to play. They have a very huge responsibility in any country to maintain security and peaceful atmosphere during elections. That is their job and we support them in that. But they have to maintain absolute neutrality so that they are not seen as favouring either side. That is one of the many things we look at when we work as election observers.”
The ambassador urged INEC and political parties to engage in a campaign to sensitise voters on how to conduct themselves in the 2015 elections. “INEC has a huge responsibility and the political parties too have a huge responsibility to educate the people as well as underline the commitment of the United States to the democratic process and the role that everybody has to play.
Let me be clear and say that what I am saying to you now, I say to the PDP and all others who are involved in the democratic process in Nigeria,” he added. Responding, APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, decried the deployment of heavy security to conduct elections. He also faulted the belief that once there is no violence during an election, it was was credible.
According to him, elections are rigged before the voting day. He commended the American democracy that Nigeria copied from, saying “We are glad to say that we have a predecessor in the democratic process with very deep roots over the years. We happened to have borrowed heavily from your constitution. So, we have a lot to benefit from you.” He also thanked the US for its commitment to the survival of democracy in Nigeria.
“As a national party, the fastest growing, the most dynamic in the nation today, we thank you for the assistance the United States has been given to this nation, especially the assistance the various institutions from the USA have been given both to INEC and civil societies in our efforts to deepen democracy; the assistance you are giving to our poor children, especially the Chibok girls and the assistance you are giving generally to help us cope with the insurgency in the north eastern part of the country. That is what friends are for and we are very appreciative.
“I am sure that as very good friends, you would want to see very stable Nigeria nation and a stable Nigerian nation can only be possible when there is fairness, equity, justice and the right to choose is respected and guaranteed and we hope that you will talk to all of us, particularly the powers that be to help us ensure that elections in Nigeria are truly free, fair and democratic and that a proper level playing field is guaranteed.
“The truth is that we are often blamed for being bad losers, not just the APC, but Nigerians. But losers find it difficult to accept because there is no demonstrable level playing field.
“The kind of thing we are having is that weeks to elections, the might, militarisation and the rest of it and monetary inducement are deployed in such a way that it places the opposition clearly at a disadvantage. In a situation like that, quite frankly, it becomes very difficult to say that there was a free and fair election just because there was no violence on the day of the election itself.
“The so-called famous observers will tell you that nobody snatched a box or nobody got killed. The run-off to elections is as important as the days of the election itself. We want you as a good friend of this nation to talk to those that you normally talk to nurture this nation and the people of this country should be given a truly fair, a truly free opportunity to express their preferences. But where extraordinary events intervene such as the military, police or otherwise are introduced into the process way before, you are already sowing the seed of discord,” the APC chair added.