PERSPECTIVE: This Threat To Democracy Must Stop

• By Smolette Adetoyese Shittu-Alamu

Last Tuesday in Benin City, Edo State, an incident that presents a great threat to our country’s democratic efforts took place. It started with gun trotting, unidentified men storming the African Democratic Congress (ADC) State Headquarters very violently.

The attack came shortly after Mr Olumide Akpata former National President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and Labour Party’s governorship candidate in the last gubernatorial election in Edo State, had been officially welcomed into the fold of the ADC as a new member.

Reliable accounts say the ceremony had in attendance politicians like Chief John Odigie- Oyegun, a former governor and an ADC chieftain, Mr Peter Obi presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Prof Osunbor a former governor of Edo State and frontline Edo politician, Senator Roland Owie and a host from of others.

The unknown gunmen were said to have raided the Edo State headquarters of the ADC. When they could not find their targets they shot and wounded some party faithful before going on to transfer their aggression at the GRA home of Chief John Oyegun where the party leadership had gone, after the ceremony that  welcomed Mr Akpata into the party had been hurriedly concluded.

The entire programme of formally accepting Mr Olumide Akpata into the African Democratic Congress, had had to be hurriedly carried out. Security reports had  suggested a possible attack on the venue was imminent. That explained why media interviews were not granted by any of the top members of the ADC including Mr Peter Obi at the party’s state headquarters.

The marauding gunmen were said to have raided the home of the governor of Edo State in  the aborted  third republic diarchy system of government General Ibrahim Babangida introduced under the two party system the country then, namely the National Republican Convention (NRC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Chief John Odigie-Oyegun served Edo as governor under now defunct SDP.

Much later on in life the chief also serveed as National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He it was who was removed as the party’’s National Chairman before  Comrade Adams Oshiomhole leadership came on board.

At Chief Odigie-Oyegun’s house which is said to be very, very close to Government House where the State Governor Mr Monday Okpabohlor resides. The gunmen rode to the venue and fired gun shots on several cars that were parked outside the building. Many vehicles had their wind shields shattered,  several others were bullet-ridden. The good news is that no casualties were recorded in those two separate incidents which had  common targets to perhaps neutralize.

Well, Edo State is one entity in Nigeria whose political barometer makes it aflash point often in considering states or areas that could be cause for concerns to any Electoral Umpire or Election Management  Boyd.

Politics in Edo State is not for the chicken-hearted nor for the lily-livered. Edo is always a hard nut to crack, given the very nature of the different  ethnic groups that make up the state.

The average Edo man or woman is not a “sme sme” person. Edos don’t demonstrate nor present themselves as “cheap cheap” people. They are not “eran riro”. They are ever “gra gra” type of people and always love to dominate their environment. The threshold of an Edo man in getting temperamental is rather high.

In the layman’s language, Edo people don’t take trash. An average Edo person is ever self assertive.They don’t take nonsense nor tolerate bullshit. Whoever, therefore, must come to equity with them must do so not only withclean hands but a clean and clear mind set too.

Hence the African Democratic Congress’s political event in Benin had the ability to displace the political equilibrium of that state. To all intents and purposes, that was a bad start or beginning to our national journey to the forth coming  general elections in January 2027 as our law-makers have advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),  not to allow a sensitive national subject or project such as the general elections to fall into the Islamic month of Ramadan in the fast approaching  year 2027.

As one state that is always a hot bed in Nigeria’s political matters, it is important that all politicians be advised to exercise care and restraint in everything they do so that the ordinary words they  exchange do not escalate matters negatively.

Ever since last Tuesday clash gun-troting and shooting incidents in Benin City, claims and counter claims have been made while every body has tried to give reasons why it happened.

Those blaming the Edo State government as being responsible for it, do premise the logic of their position on a statement the governor made last July. It was to the extent that Mr Peter Obi was not wanted in Edo state and that if he ever wanted to visit, that state he must inform the governor of the State. That time, the governor amidst dancing and banter throwing had spoken inter alia:“This is not a threat. If he (referring to Peter Obi) wants to come here he must inform me!” For that statement he made some eight or so months ago, many have considered it as one in bad taste. The opposition in Edo State think Mr. Monday Okpebholor should not have gone that route at all.

But watching Prince Kassim Afegbua, Edo State Commissioner for Information defend the APC government in Edo State on Channels TV, he put the blame at the door step of both the ADC and the Labour Party in the state. Afegbua holds the view that there is a leadership crisis within both the ADC and the Labour Party on their own.

He suggests that the issue could have come out as a result of the internal wranglings within the new ADC leadership on one side and a similar one within the Labour Party on the other. Afegbua thinks that each of the leaderships in the two political parties, feels short-changed by the exit of Mr. Olumide Akapata from the party and also his admission into the ADC.

He drew the attention of the public to the wranglings that took place within the ADC on Monday 23rd February which rattled Benin City in a way. The Commissioner of Information in Edo State told Nigerians that Governor  Monday Okpabohlor has directed the State Police Commissioner to investigate the matter thoroughly and give him a report on the violence.

While there has been no formal report of the violence especially from the Labour Party angle, the truth of the matter is that there are some under currents within the Labour Party that have only recently led the Nenadi Usman faction of the party to take over as the court has confirmed that faction as the authentic National Executive Council, and has the right to take over and run the national headquarters of the  party in Abuja.

What this means is that all is not very well within the Labour Party itself. A crisis has been on between the Abure-led faction and the Nenadi Usman-led one. Each of these separate political wranglings could have precipitated the Tuesday 24th of February ugly incident. It definitely was one that was so close to the losing of human lives. Thank God it did not.

That this is a threat to our democracy is not in doubt. It portends very badly and must be  checked promptly.

For a country that has been overwhelmed in recent years by an orgy of terrorism, banditry and violence, the political upheavals such as happened in the Edo State capital must be seriously condemned by all who are opposed to violence and do want peace, absolute peace in our land. We hold the opinion that politicians in the country must give our people the needed break.

They need to regulate on their emotions which threshold is too high we can say.

Rather than being driven, by the spur of the moment, we think that politicians and political parties must have and also show institutional loyalty to this country called Nigeria and its citizens. Our dear country needs us all as individuals and also as different groups.

Violence has never taken Nigeria anywhere good in our 65 years of nationhood. It can’t and will never. Let our politicians know and accept the fact that they can only win battles in life because some one else has lost the chance to win.

In the euphoria of their success it is important they realise that victorious situations do have their reversed orders or consequences. They must be told and re-told if need be that nations are built on ideals, values and ethos. They are  built on truth and also on visions. Nations are not built on hate, anger, misgivings, mutual antagonisms, greed,  avarice etc etc.

We condemn very strongly, last Tuesday, 24th February violence in Benin City and call on all political parties to begin to learn to do things differently and not to allow the ways their grand fathers, fathers, uncles and cousins did.

it it in the past which has not brought us any good so far. We must all say no to political violence, indeed any form of violence in our march to progress, development and success.

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