Peace Peace Peace!
All over the country, everybody is calling for peace. Yes we want peace before, during and after the election but calling for Peace without hammering on fairness is an act of hypocrisy. Peace is not given. Peace does not come by itself. Peace comes out of transparency and fairness.
It is quiet surprising that non of the Peace Advocates or Peace Ambassadors have hammered on Transparency and Fairness in their campaign messages.
Peace in an election is achieved when the election is carried on transparent and equal grounds for all.
At the end of an election, when non of the candidates felt cheated, obviously there would be peace.
Ensuring peace before, during and after an election is a responsibility of all most especially the Electoral Commission, who bears the greatest of the responsibility.
For peace to prevail in the coming election, let’s not pretend to tell the Electoral Commissioner and her Commission to conduct the election on the grounds of equal opportunity for all. The commission must not favour any of the candidates and the ruling party must also not interfere the work of the commission. The ruling party must not employ coercive tactics by using the National Security operatives to intimidate or victimize political opponents. The laws of the land and the laws bordering the elections must be applied to all parties and candidates without fear or favour.
We must not be cowards to tell the Security of the state to discharge their duties without favouring any of the political parties be it the ruling party or opposition. Mostly, because the leadership of the Security agencies are appointed by the ruling party; the IGP, Major General, Director Generals and among other ranks and files in the various security agencies turn to favour the party that appointed them.
In some instances, the strongholds of the opposition parties are packed with thousands of security personnel to use all dubious means to scare electorates from voting.
When this happens, peace wouldn’t prevail. In other instance, when there is an issue in a polling station, the security at times arrest those from the opposition wrongly leaving the members of the ruling party.
When this happens, there wouldn’t be peace. The security must not be bias in discharging their duties especially regarding elections.
The role of the media ensuring peace before, during and after an election is not just about playing Peace Songs and showing movies of war-tagged nations. The media must report as it is. The state media must not be used to favour the ruling party. Mostly, because the government controls the state media and the chairman of the National Media Commission is appointed by the President, The Commission in collaboration with state-own media houses turn to favour the ruling party.
The Peace Council since its creation has always been silent on sensitive issues. In my personal view, the existence of Peace Council is a waste of national resource. The peace council has eyes to see the wrong things that comes from the opposition only.
The Peace Council is a useless entity created to do the bidding of the government. Peace Council is nothing but the Welfare Committee of the ruling party. I’m yet to be told whether America and Britain have something called “Peace Council” Yes, we must call for Peace but we must as well hammer well on fairness else our efforts would be in vain.
Peace is not given.
Let fairness prevail and Peace will come as a by-product.
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