It is no longer news that the election of the next occupant of Lugard House, the seat of power in Kogi State is scheduled to hold on 16th of November, 2019 which coincides with this coming Saturday. Citizens of Kogi will choose their destiny for the next 4years via the ballots.
Initially INEC announced that 23 political parties will be contesting for the Governorship election in Kogi State, disqualifying some Governorship and Deputy Governorship candidates citing that they were below the prescribed age by the constitution, then SDP filed a suit against INEC at the Federal High Court in Abuja and upon conclusion of the proceedings the court ruled in their favour and their candidates were thus allowed to contest.
The frontrunners are the incumbent Governor Yahya Bello of APC, Engr. Musa Wada of PDP and Barrister Natasha Akpoti of SDP. They all claimed to have solutions for the problems bedevilling the state but those remained largely to be seen.
The campaigns so far have not been violent free by any stretch of imagination with supporters attacking each other leading to physical injuries and destruction of valuable items and properties most notably vehicles and buildings. This happens to be my worry as without peace in the land power and authority in is meaningless.
The Peace Accord organised by INEC, Civil Society Organisations and security operatives was scuttled by thugs whose identities are largely unknown with supporters of the ruling party and opposition parties throwing accusations and counter-accusations to who were responsible for the violent behaviour and ugly scene created.
The action carried at the Peace Accord event by "unknown thugs" is a thing of shame and disgust, it portrays the state in bad light sending negative impression in the minds of our guest at the event and questions the government of the day's grip on security. The Governor should do all in his power as the chief security officer of the state to fish out the perpetrators and bring them to book so that it will serve as deterrent to others and restore people's confidence.
It is sad that despite our torrid history the youths have not learned from the events of the past that violence before, during and postelection solves nothing, it's counterproductive and sets us a decade or several decades past.
People should be allowed to campaign freely and vote for the candidates of their choice without any form of physical intimidation and violent harassment. Let the will of the people prevail after all democracy as defined universally is; the government of the people, by the people and for the people. Without the freedom of political association then it is no longer democracy.
Finally, I call on the stakeholders to ensure that peace prevail before, during and after the election because election will come and go but the state will remain. Let the youths eschew violence and campaign should be issue based.
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