As preparations for the November 6, 2021 governorship election in Anambra State gathers momentum, the various political parties and their candidates are not resting in trying to beat the Independent National Electoral Commission) deadline in their campaigns amid bumpy roads, security concerns, and other challenges. Cajetan Mmuta takes a look at some of the issues
Exactly 13 days from today (Monday), an estimated 2, 525, 471 eligible voters who invariably constitute the electorate and by extension residents and people of Anambra State, the Light of the Nation, will on November 6th file out, to cast their votes to choose who becomes the next governor of the state. Expectedly, the incumbent Governor, Chief Willie Obiano will now be out of office in March 2023 on completion of his two terms of eight years on the saddle.
Interestingly, the epic battle for the soul of Agu Awka Government House is between 18 registered political parties and their candidates. Most heart-warming however is the assurance by the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), about its readiness to deliver on the mandate to deliver a free, fair, and credible election process.
The electoral umpire said it’s poised to make another milestone with the introduction of bimodal technological advancement towards ensuring that the votes of the electorate and people of the state count.
The National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Mr. Festus Okoye who gave the assurance during a workshop for journalists on election processes and procedures held in Awka the state capital, said the governorship election in Anambra State was important given emerging issues in the country vis-a-vis the year 2023 elections which allow the people to elect their leaders.
He stressed that it was also imperative for the people of the state to make an informed choice through the ballot boxes in electing who governs the state. Okoye who was represented by the Director, Voter Education and Publicity (VEP), INEC headquarters in Abuja, Mr. Victor Aluko, about 26, 000 Ad hoc staff are to conduct the exercise across 326 wards; 5, 720 polling units across the 21 local government areas and three Senatorial districts of the state.
He explained that as part of the commission’s efforts to ensure one man, one vote, it would deploy a bimodal technology system aimed at achieving a hitch-free outcome and which would also caterer for all the observable challenges during past polls in the country. However, the assurances by the INEC to meet the expectations of over four million people of Anambra state notwithstanding, there still lies glaring issues that cast doubt about the challenge of insecurity in the state.
A few weeks ago, the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, had approved the deployment of three helicopters and 34,587 police officers to Anambra for the state’s November 6 governorship election. Out of the number, about 30,000 officers would consist of conventional police officers, Police Mobile Force, the Counter-Terrorism Unit, Special Forces, Explosive Ordnance Unit, Force Intelligence Bureau, INTERPOL, Special Protection Unit, and a medical team.
The helicopters would be deployed for aerial surveillance while detachments of Marine Police operatives would also be deployed for an itch-free election in the state. No doubt, an unspecified number of soldiers, naval officers, operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and those of Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) as well as other plain cloth operatives are expected to make an inroad into the state for the same exercise.
These figures of security personnel with arms to be deployed for a day’s election raises serious concerns about the security challenge in the state. It is on record that for months going, the five states in the Southeast geo-political zone of the country has witnessed an irreconcilable spate of attacks and killings that led to gruesome deaths of innocent lives and destruction of properties by unknown gunmen.
Sadly, high-profile individuals had been mowed down while several others were not spared. The killers of the renowned medical practitioner, Dr. Chike Akunyili, husband of fiery ex-Director General of the National Drugs and Food Administration and Control (NAFDAC), late Professor Dora Akunyili who also died in 2014, and that of the former traditional ruler of Mkpu-Nando Aguleri in Anambra East Local Government Area, Alex Edozieuno, are still at large.
A good number of communities, families, and groups in the recent past have been visited with blood, tears, and sorrow, with no one to console. Buildings and vehicles have gone up in flames in reckless abandon because of wanton killings and other criminal activities across the state.
Disturbing too is the unwholesome activities of members of secret cult members whose rival bloody clashes have left many homes in mourning.
Worse still, personnel of the state police command appears helpless in the face of the stalemate. Three weeks ago, the command witnessed a dramatic change of guards; Commissioner of Police Echeng Eworo Echeng, the 32nd police commissioner, took over from Tony Olofu who had been transferred to the Force Headquarters, Abuja.
Before Olofu’s posting on September 10, Chris Owolabi took charge of the State Command from April 30. However, Monday Bala Kuryas was deployed on February 19 after he oversaw the state’s internal security for barely six weeks. Although it is not clear why the police authorities have constantly changed the police commissioners, the IGP asked residents of the state to support CP Echeng in his task of protecting the lives and property of all.
Added to the sore point, are cries and lamentations of residents of the state over what they see as a worsening socio-economic situation due to repeated sit-at-home directives by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) led by Nnamdi Kanu.
According to reports, businesses and other socio-economic engagements by the people have suffered attendant losses. Although, the blame for this is heaped at the doorsteps of governors of the Southeast region due to their docile stance on the IPOB/federal government face-off.
However, the November 6th election seems a journey of uncertainty given the staccato of echoes trailing the process. Aside from the readiness by the INEC for the exercise despite the initial challenge when its facilities in Awka capital town were destroyed by fire during a violent attack by gunmen, there are rough and rough bumps along the road to the smooth conduct of the poll.
Already, with jaundiced preparations by the various participating political parties, it Cal’s for an extraordinary technical and laboratory expertise to carry an effective surgical analysis to midwife the process. More worrisome however is the task of routing out the impending doom that may consume the entire exercise. No doubt, the political parties, and actors are running against the time set by the INEC in meeting with needed grassroots campaigns, sensitizations, and awareness about their campaign manifestoes and other programmes due to dangerous threats of insecurity across the state.
Presently, there is unsettled political firmament that has eclipsed the atmosphere due to escalating hatred, greed, propaganda, trumped-up accusations, and other misgivings in addition to decades of unresolved political differences amongst the actors.
In addition, the State police command recently ordered all the participating political parties to submit the schedule of their campaign rallies to the command following the worrisome state of insecurity that led to bloody attacks and deaths.
According to a statement by the spokesperson for the command, Toochukwu Ikenga, it “alluded to the fact that campaigns are a critical part of the electioneering process. This therefore will enable the police high command to provide adequate security for the safety of participants at such events.”
He added that the order would “help the command deploy other tactical and operational units as well as traffic control policemen to strategic points to ensure that the existing public safety and order in the state is sustained.”
Coincidentally, the police directive was countered by reported threats from unknown gunmen that all the government officials and institutions should remove all the Nigerian flags, a development that further injected fear and tension within the camps of various political parties and their members.
Consequently, all branded vehicles with images of parties and their candidates, campaign slogans and messages, party logo, and billboards were generally dismantled while party secretariats were stripped of all flags and symbols of authorities across the state.
Campaigns have been carried out in hushed tones while the glamour of politicking and long convoys announcing the identities of high-profile party bigwigs have disappeared. The state is in messy odium with a requiem of self-pity and defeats that the aura and glamour that that makes the election and electioneering campaigns exciting have been taken to foreign lands.
Home secrets and decisions meant for the locals have been revealed to the deaf and dumb in far Lagos State and others. Again, the grassroots have been robbed and kept aloof from real massages of hope about what is to come, not truly knowing and identifying with whom amongst the candidates they are to choose and cast their votes for on the D-Day of the election. Pity is the word and charity has failed to begin at home.
In his reaction, Mr. Chuks J. Chinwuba, Director, (Strategy and Planning) Senator Andy Uba Governorship Campaign Organization (SAUGCO), in reaction said “First of all I will disagree with you when you say that political parties are not connecting with the grassroots.
Human beings are dynamic; when time changes, they change with time. One very sure thing is that there is an obvious security threat on the Southeast and that of Anambra because there is an election it’s obvious but then human beings have adapted to house campaign.”
“So, campaigns are going on, people are holding on the ground but you don’t have that fun fare type of campaign like before but people are connecting now. As a matter of fact, for me this is the right thing to do; forget the fun fare, go out and talk to the people one-on-one; go to the wards and polling units, go to the Umunna (kinsmen), and campaign. You go knocking door to door that’s how it’s done in developed countries. That’s what Insecurity has pushed to.”
Chinwuba noted that “the implication is that politicians should go and work. Perfectly, APC has run an effective campaign and is ready for the election now. That’s the strategy of all these decampees because these are people who hold old opinions on their various places. They already have their existing structures of communication and contacts. This is the magic of Senator Andy Uba and it’s working.”
The Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the state, Mr Tony Ifeanyi disclosed that the party’s campaign train has been very successful across the 21 local government areas where mammoth crowd welcomed the candidate for the November 6th election Professor Charles Soludo and his team.
He said, “The campaign has been beautiful; as you can see it’s only APGA that’s on local government campaign tours. We have been touring all the 21 local government areas and anywhere we went there was a mammoth crowd which shows that APGA is on the ground and that Anambra is APGA and APGA in Anambra state. It’s only APGA that’s doing a campaign, other ones are looking for shortcuts and engage in lies, fabrications, and cheap propaganda.”
On the threat to security, Ifeanya said, “The security issue is not as if it’s peculiar to Anambra state because people have been asking. Even President Muhammadu Buhari spoke a few days ago shortly after Nnamdi Kanu went to court. I read him online when he said that the election must be on even if it means all the security apparatus coming to Anambra state. And the election must go on and go peacefully, that was from the President’s mouth.
Insecurity is everywhere and not only in Anambra State. There are security threats in Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, and Borno states. This one (in Anambra) is politics induced because I know some people are doing it to create an atmosphere of fear in the minds of the people so that they can rig the election but we know where they are coming from and it cannot work.”
However, President Muhammadu Buhari a few days ago reassured the Anambra people and indeed Nigerians of his poise to make sure that there is peaceful conduct of the Governorship poll on the state and restoration of peace in the South-eastern part of the country. He had mandated the deployment of adequate military personnel to the zone for effective security and restoration of sanity.
It is instructive that the ground is set for a peaceful election process and it behoves therefore that the electorate should come out, vote for a candidate of their choice, and ensure they protect their votes until the electoral umpire on whose shoulder the exercise rests upon, delivers the brand new elected governor on November 7, 2021 when the results must have been fully declared without any breach or hindrance.
