EDITORIAL: The Edo State governorship election

On Saturday 19th September, that is tomorrow, the people of Edo State will go to the polls to elect a governor.

There has been palpable tension in the state. While the incumbent governor Mr. Godwin Obaseki is seeking reelection under the umbrella of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Pastor Osagie IzeIyamu is hoping to be the new occupant of the government house under the umbrella of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The emergence of both candidates for their respective parties provides a study in Nigeria’s constantly evolving political chicanery.

While Obaseki was APC’s candidate four years ago, Ize-Iyamu was PDP’s candidate in the same year.

Today, in a magical realignment, both candidates have swapped positions.

For Edo indigenes and many Nigerians, the process leading to the emergence of the two candidates is now immaterial.

What is important for everyone now is who will emerge the winner on Saturday.

In fact, observers have termed the election the ‘mother of all battles’ in the history of Edo State. Our intervention, therefore, is a call on all stakeholders to embrace peace and use the Saturday outing to further entrench the practice of democracy.

Events leading up to the election have created fears that there may be violence and chaos in the state during and immediately after the election.

To this end, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) has deployed one thousand police officers from Lagos to Edo State to complement other security personnel already deployed for the election.

Judging from the way elections are conducted in Nigeria like warfare, police presence is required to maintain peace and order.

However, the deployment of a whopping one thousand police officers from Lagos State to Edo State for the election raises some concerns.

Why should the majority of the police officers come from Lagos, a state which requires a high level of policing?

If the police officers sent to Edo State spend about 72 hours away from their stations, it means that the Lagos Police Command will be short of security personnel in the state.

Criminals could take advantage of the situation and carry out criminal activities. Can Lagos State afford to temporarily forfeit one thousand police officers even for one hour?

Does it mean that the Inspector-General of Police did not consider the fate and safety of Lagos residents before deploying such a high number of officers outside the state?

Or is the Police High Command suggesting that there were too many police officers in Lagos ab initio?

One would have expected the IG to select an equal number of police officers from contiguous states to make up the large number without depleting the Lagos State force.

Also, Lagos State is controlled by the APC. With so many police officers deployed from an APC-controlled state to Edo State for an electoral contest where APC is an interested party, there might be insinuations of partisanship. While building our democracy, we must ensure that transparency is maintained so that the populace will have confidence in our electoral processes.

Also, the deployment of one thousand police officers from one state to another state for election purposes simply shows that many atates do not have the requisite number of police officers to combat crime and monitor an otherwise peaceful exercise like an election.

States should have enough police officers to combat crime and maintain peace. A situation whereby the lives and property of people in one state will be endangered to maintain peace and order in another state is counterproductive.

The deployment of so many police officers to a state for election purpose calls to question the manner of elections we hold in this country. Politics is not war. It should not be treated as war.

It should be a contest of ideas in the court of the people. There is undue tension in Edo State. We urge all stakeholders, especially the two political parties and their candidates to ensure the reign of peace.

What is going to take place on Saturday, we reiterate, is an election and not warfare. Although the stakes are high, they should all remember that Saturday will come and go, and life will continue.

There is life after elections, both for the electorate and the elected. The youths are also urged to resist any attempt to use them as thugs by politicians.

It will be tragic to record the death of anybody before or after the Saturday election. Since there will be heavy police presence in Edo State on the election day, one expects a level of safety for the electorate and officials of the Independent National Elections Commission (INEC) who will conduct the election.

READ ALSO: Edo Election: Ndigbo seek support for Ize-Iyamu ahead of the election

Finally, we call on all stakeholders to eschew violence and play by the rules of the game. There should be no form of rigging in the process.

With the high presence of security personnel on the ground, electoral fraud ought to be minimized if not obliterated.

Also, INEC should see the Edo State election as a call to duty and ensure that they carry out their duties in the most professional manner so that the election will not only be fair but must be seen as free and fair.