ELECTION 2015: Politicians, Greatest Threat To Nigeria’s Democracy – Kukah

Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Most Rev Hassan Kukah, has identified politicians as the greatest threat to the country’s democratic enterprise.

Bishop Kukah, made this comment yesterday while speaking at a workshop on the forthcoming general election, organized by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Abuja, warned politicians not to derail the country’s democracy.

He said, “There is the need to make the point that the greatest threat posed to our democracy is posed by the composition of the political class. The political space has been occupied by very many undemocratic and undisciplined people; people who have continued to threaten the very foundations of the existence of our democracy.”

Kukah noted that no matter how well prepared the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the security agencies might be, these characters are hell-bent on foisting their undemocratic tendencies on the system.

At the occasion tagged “National Workshop on Countdown to the 2015 Elections, with the sub-theme: Are Nigerians Ready? Kukah pointed out the challenges that all stakeholders in the electoral system must watch out for.

“Our preparedness will be based on identifying some criminal tendencies like rigging, disenfranchisement of the electorate, various strategies of manipulating the system, and the connivance of officials associated with the electoral process,” he said.

Also speaking at the event, the chairman of the NBA’s Committee on Voter Education and Mobilisation, Chief Joseph Daudu, lamented the resort to violence by politicians in the course of campaigning.

He condemned the recent shooting of innocent returnees from political rallies in Port Harcourt as well as the burning of opponents’ vehicles and houses in the country, urging political office seekers to recognize the rights of opponents.

In a welcome address, the NBA president, Mr. Augustine Alegeh, admonished the electorate to resist the allure of gift items from politicians. He said Nigerians needed a serious government that would move the country forward.

“We need a government that can attend to our needs, address our insecurity challenges. How we determine the coming elections will determine our fate in the next four years,” the NBA president stated.