At a recent Ramadan fast break he hosted for journalists in his palace, the Sultan of Sokoto and president-general, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, spoke the minds of many Nigerians on the root cause of killings and general insecurity problems in the country. “Politicians are the main problems of this country,” the Sultan said. “The insecurity problem in the country is geared towards 2015, nothing more. If there is no election in 2015 and it is in 2030, everything will cool down. Everybody is pushing to be at vantage position to gain electoral might. The whole thing is about political office, nothing more. What is painful is that innocent people are being killed every day.”
Although the spin doctors of the beneficiaries of the country’s insecurity continue to muddle the waters, Sultan Abukakar’s position on this issue is in tandem with the one held by millions of Nigerians. Nigerians are convinced that the 2015 general election has given a fresh impetus to the so-called insurgency in the country and that many politicians have taken out a terror franchise to kill and maim the very people whose mandate they would seek come 2015. It appears that politicians in this country believe they cannot win election in a free and fair contest, hence they must resort to underhand means including orchestrated elimination of their opponents by means of assassination or mass murder directed at the general populace in order to discredit the current occupiers of the office they eye.
While insurgents and other violent groups are truly active in parts of the country, it beggars belief to continue to attribute the rising numbers of killings in the country to the usual suspects. To be sure, murderous politicians are at it again, killing Nigerians under the guise of terrorism and allied acts of violence. Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom, and we commend this to the Nigerian people.
As 2015 approaches, we urge Nigerians to be alert and not give in to the rhetoric of violence many politicians have apparently resolved to bring to the contest. As the sceptre of violence looms large over the country, we ask all Nigerians to reject all politicians who harbour violence tendencies. It will not be out of place now for all leaders of thought and opinion makers in the country to start a campaign against violence in the 2015 poll. Government agencies like the National Orientation Agency (NOA), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the political parties themselves must take the lead in this campaign. We also demand that all security agencies serve the Nigerian people as they are duty-bound to end all killings in the country and bring the murderers behind them to book.
