North’s Elders On 2023: Vote Competent, Honest Leader

The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has urged Nigerians, especially Northerners, to register and be prepared to vote for competent and honest leaders in the 2023 general elections.

NEF said Northerners would work with other Nigerians to produce a competent and committed leadership that would restore confidence in the country’s capacity to survive and rebuild itself for the next generation.

In a statement issued in Abuja by its Publicity & Advocacy Director, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, the forum noted that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) dominate the political landscape.

It said Nigerians would benefit from additional options, both to improve competition and to broaden the leadership selection process.

The statement reads: “The forum took note of the worsening security situation in the country, in spite of claims by the administration to the contrary.

“Boko Haram insurgency continues to be a major threat in the Northeast, while kidnapping and large scale banditry in many other parts of the North are taking over the lives of large portions of the population.

“IPOB threatens to eradicate the influence of legitimate authority in the Southeast. Politicians and influential people are worsening the nation’s fault lines by the manner they seek political advantages through the exploitation of threats to our unity and peaceful co-existence. Poverty and poor governance are fueling widespread alienation from mainstream social existence.

“The forum joins the nation in its outrage over the fact that Maiduguri, Borno State capital has been without power from the national grid for 10 months, and is alarmed by signs that its population could be forced to resign to living with this additional assault on their lives and livelihood. This situation must be reversed at all costs. The planned closure of Internally-Dispersed Persons (IDP) camps should be carefully considered so that it does not place more victims in avoidable peril.

“The forum regrets that arguments over labelling bandits as terrorists waste attention and energy. If labelling bandits as terrorists will substantially improve the capacity of the Nigerian state to eliminate this expanding scourge, the Forum supports it without reservation. In any case, all lawful options in bringing this menace to an end must be pursued.

“Measures put in place to contain its spread should be diligently monitored and evaluated, and those that merely worsen the condition of living of the law-abiding population should be removed.

“Governments should be sensitive to the possibility of severe food shortage in the next few months in many Northern communities, in addition to escalating cost of living which will combine to confront the poor with intolerable conditions of living.

“Activities of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) represent an unacceptable threat to the security and rights of fellow Nigerians in the states of the Southeast and the country as a whole.

“Its damage to the economy of the Southeast is already registered as a major disaster. IPOB’s plans to frustrate the governorship election in Anambra State this weekend must be resisted.”

He cautioned Southeast leaders seeking special treatment for the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, in exchange for peace, reminding them “they are merely inviting more threats on the people they should help to protect.”

NEF said the nation was coming to terms with a major requirement of the democratic process, which is the right of all citizens to freely participate in all political activities, adding that: “every Nigerian can contest for any office to which he/she is qualified, and voters will choose their next leaders in credible elections”.

The forum hailed all who toiled to restore a level playing field to the democratic system.

NEF said it was now left to politicians and other leaders to conduct the type of politics that builds into real equity, fairness, competence and justice, through inclusive campaigns and a responsible approach towards the 2023 elections.