Agenda For Peace With Hamzat: 2015 Election - Is Your Candidate The Best For Nigeria?
By Abdulrazaq O Hamzat
The 2015 general election shall be taking place in few days time and Nigerians are sharply divided along party, religious and regional level all over the country.

Based on numerous considerations, some Nigerians are rooting for change, through the opposition Party All Progressive Congress (APC), while others are enjoying the continuity of the incumbent administration of People Democratic Party (PDP). This divide is creating much tension and conflict of interest and in some places, the divide is causing actual conflicts which had been leading to personality attacks and counter attacks.

In this case, the definition of this kind of conflict is a situation in which two or more human beings desire goals which they perceive as being obtainable by one or the other but not both. Each party is mobilizing energy to obtain a goal desired,object or situation and each party perceives the other as a barrier or threat to that goal. Such personality Conflict often arises from the desire of one party to impose its will on the other, but such should not be encouraged in a democratic society. (Agbu,2006)

This definition suggests that, conflict is inherent in human society. As much as other scholars in their conceptualization accepts this definition, Simmel (2006) sees conflict not simply as a pathological phenomenon to be prevented or adjust, but rather as an essential ingredient in the balance and vitality of group life, which emphasizes that conflict is positive and will always be a part of human nature.

Study shows that, there are basically two types of conflicts, the functional conflict and the dysfunctional conflict.

Functional or constructive conflict is when the conflict improves the quality of decisions, stimulates creativity and innovation through which problems can be aired and tensions released. This form of conflict fosters an environment of self-evaluation and change.

While the dysfunctional or destructive conflict is when it leads to retarded communication; it leads to reduction in group cohesiveness and a subordination of goals to primacy of in-fighting among member. This type of conflict could bring a system to a halt and threaten its survival.

At this point of the electioneering, it is important to ask ourselves, has the conflicts generated as a result of our divide in the choice of who should lead our nation help us make better decisions for the good of our country and the well being of our country men and women? Has the cohesiveness between us as fellow country people increased or reduced? Has our conflicts been functional or dysfunctional? Has it improved the quality of our decisions and stimulates creative innovations within us? And finally, has it served a purpose leading to self-evaluation for better decisions?

If it has increased our cohesiveness and enhance issue based communication, this is good for us all, but if not, it is bad. This is the right time for Nigerians to re-evaluate our position before we make that crucial and final decision that may hunt us for the next 4years.

We must not be ashamed of our short comings,but rather work to improve and get better over them. We must also not allow our tribal,religious or regional consideration be bane of our quest for a progressive nation, rather, we should make quality decisions using our human instincts and Godly guidance. Before we cast out vote in the next few days, we must ask ourselves again, am I doing the right thing for the good of our country? Is my candidate the right candidate for this job? Is my choice the best for this country?

Let me state here that, it is not a crime to retrace your steps and go back to the right way, the decisions you make now will make or mar your future, it will shape your future and that of million others. Don’t make a the wrong decision based on mere sentiments, don’t make a decision you will regret for the next 4years, don’t make a decision based on sentiments and irrelevant consideration. Decide based on issues of governance and interest of all, not for your tribal, religious or regional consideration.

Should we decide to go ahead with our choice, we must take responsibility for whatever happens after the election. If who we chose act right, we may share in the fulfillment of his righteousness and if he acts wrongly,we must accept responsibility for his decisions and failure. This is what democracy is all about.

If we observe the political conflict presently being witnessed in the country, we would see the level of its progression. Conflict is not always stationary but dynamic, and, therefore, grows or reduces and changes in form and shape. When this happens, conflicts progress in the following stages:

Stage One: Emergence of a Problem: What is the problem here? The election of either Buhari or Jonathan as president of Nigeria. Here, the electorates in the country hear the news and are interested in it.

Stage Two: Taking Sides: Nigerians begin to move towards one side or the other. Some are for Jonathan while others are for Buhari. Here, more people form opinions and feel the need to get together with others with the same views. The conflict expands and each side gets more supporters.

Stage Three: Positions Harden: People talk more with others who hold similar views with them and less with people with different opinions. Here, positions on who should be the president is formed. Nothing good can be said of the opponent's supporters.

Stage Four: Communication Breakdown: At this stage, information is exchanged haphazardly between the parties. Communication takes on an increasingly adversarial tone and eventually information no longer flows between the parties. We all remember the death wish advert of for General Buhari, placed by Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose and many others. Here, the parties feel there is nothing new to talk about and, therefore, no need to talk to the other party about the issue. Example of such situation can be seen when All Progressive Congress (APC) avoided a presidential debate held yesterday.

Stage Five: Committing Resource to the Course of the Issue: At this level, moderates will be given less attention, while militants will become more rigid and individuals now have a sense of personal power in being part of the group and, therefore, are committing their resources to support the issue. Here, each group will use money to ensure that their candidates win the election. President Goodluck Jonathan was recently reported to be dishing out dollars to groups, pastors and traditional rulers to gain their support. Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) reportedly got N7billion naira to campaign for the ruling party, while each traditional ruler in southwest were also reported to have gotten about $250,000 each for similar job.

Stage Six: Conflict Goes Outside: Each group will now begin to look outside their party or even country for support and power. Each group will appeal to none party groups such as the traditional rulers, religious bodies, etc and even foreign partners for help. Here, the frontiers of the conflict will expand and become more complicated. While General Buhari had gone to United Kingdom in pursuit of such support, King of Morocco reportedly decline to talk to president Jonathan few weeks ago,accusing the Nigerian president of using his country for electoral purposes. The country had to recall its Nigerian Ambassador for questioning.

Stage Seven: Perception of the Conflict Becomes Distorted: At this stage, the cause(s) of conflict becomes distorted. So are the positions and interest of the parties. People with neutral views are seen as part of the enemy. This makes the conflict complex. Example of such situation can be seen dominantly on the social media, where some Nigerians feel that both presidential candidate are unworthy of leadership and therefore decided to sit on the fence. For sitting on the fence, both camp accuse them of unpatriotism and being part of the enemy.

Stage Eight: Sense of Crisis Emerges: The country is now divided into factions. The pro-Buhari and ant-Buhari faction and the pro Jonathan and anti-Jonathan faction.

Stage Nine: Outcomes Vary: Here, the outcome of stage eight may vary ranging from either (i) litigation between the parties, (ii) intervention by neutral body (iii) violence.

(i) Litigation: As a result of this conflict of interest in build up to the election, countless of court cases are presently being heard in the various courts across the country. From cases involving Buhari’s eligibility, to cases of false distortion and character assassination.

(ii) Intervention by neutral body: Example of such situation can be seen when the African Union delegation led by former South African president, Thabo Mbeki came to Nigeria to get assurances from both leading candidate about their commitment to accepting the outcome of the election and working to ensure peace. Another example is the peace accord signed by all candidates as their commitment to peace.

(iii) Violence: This has been so visible. Party offices have been bombed, campaign vehicles set ablaze,people have been shot dead and many others attacked.

In addressing such conflict, the right to life must be fundamental protected by all, it is beyond all economic, social, civil and political rights. We must all ensure that no life is wasted on meaningless pursuit for wealth and power.

This must be well communicated to all politicians and their supporters before the actual date of the election and should anyone found in violation of such a fundamental rights, they must be made to pay irrespective of their status in the society.

In a place where violent conflict continues, upholding the right to life and ensuring security for all people would be compromised. This must not be allowed to continue.

Finally, conflicts is said to occur in all societies, because every society is a collection of competing interest and forces. In most cases, conflict does not necessarily lead to violence, which is a negative expression of disagreement. Most conflicts are managed and resolved peacefully and in most cases, such conflicts lead to positive changes in the societies, systems and institutions.

However, it is the violent destructive conflicts that draw attention and for this reason most people adopt a negative attitude to conflict. The ability of individuals to manage conflict is affected by our attitude and in democracy, conflicts or disagreements should be regarded as positive indicators of areas that require attention for the betterment of the society.

You can follow the writer on twitter @Abdool101

http://www.skytrendnews.com/index.php/feature/feature-columns/7507-agenda-for-peace-with-hamzat-2015-election-is-your-candidate-the-best-for-nigeria

yes
or u want me to say no

The two most sought after candidates, GMB and GEJ, are not the right people to lead this fallen country that looks like the ghost of its past glory. But since it's about choosing the lesser evil, I'd rather stick with the lesser evil - GEJ.

hum

My candidate is definitely not the best for Nigeria but the "Best" out of the options Nigeria itself offered me!

SAI GEJ.

really?