Feb polls more frightening, disturbing – Justice Akanbi

From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

The former Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practice and Other Offences Commission (ICPC), Justice Mustapha Akanbi has noted that the manner at which Nigerians and their supporters are heating up the polity, they are only making the 2015 general elections more frightening.

The former President of the Court of Appeal, who stated this during the Mustapha Akanbi Foundation public lecture held in Ilorin yesterday on voters’ education, noted that many of these politicians are pursuing personal interests instead of national interest.

Akanbi said: “the situation today is more serious, more disturbing and more frightening than what it was when Professor Jega made his speech on 12th March, 2014. This is most unfortunate. With the approach of the 2015 elections, the threat to national unity and cohesion has been on the increase.

“Political gladiators have been spitting fire and heating the polity as never before. Threats of taking up arms and breaking up Nigeria, if particular candidate does not win the election rent the air.

“Some of the protagonists of disintegration are elders who should know better but have chosen to serve personal ends instead of national interest. Our teeming unemployed youths are now being mobilised and recruited to re-enact the events of 1993 which sent Nigeria into the doldrums.

“We are told that arms and ammunitions are being stock piled by war mongers and ‘commercial politicians’ to plunge Nigeria once again into a state of unnecessary civil war”.

Justice Akanbi, said that well-meaning Nigerians and patriots cannot afford to stand aloof, arms folded and allow the country to disintegrate or risk another civil war.

“Political violence must not be allowed a free reign. Those who threaten fire and brimstone or overheat the polity must be made to know that if they sow the wind; they will reap the whirlwind and that under whatever guise they cannot fool all the people all the time”.

In his remark, Justice Isa Ayo Salami attributed the low collection of PVCs to fear by voters and attitude of Nigeria security agencies.

“There is apathy and the apathy must have been generated by various reasons, failure of their expectations and the failure of agencies of government established to make their expectations realized.

“The military and other arms of security behave as if they are part of the candidate; they are party of the candidate. They are not. “They are agencies and institutions of federal government. And institution of federal government is different from the candidate who incidentally is the president” Salami stated.