Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, has said that President Goodluck Jonathan should assure Nigerians that there will be free and fair elections and the country will be safe no matter the outcome of the coming polls.
Fashola who spoke during the visit of the National Human Rights Commission, led by its Chairman, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, to his office in Lagos House, Marina emphasised that as long as elections are not rigged, there won’t be electoral violence.
He said “You cannot deny people access to justice and expect peace. No one who knows me will ascribe violence to me. But, when one begins to sow the seed of violence, I will warn the person. That doesn’t make me a violent person.
“The reason for electoral violence is the fact that many people don’t understand that vying for an office is just a contest for service and that the ultimate deciders are the electorate. Some have ignorantly ascribed it as a do-or-die affair.
“Another reason is that electoral violence is a reaction to stimulus. A stimulus that suggests we will do what we like to get power means you can also do what you like to get yours.
“One of the things that I will demand is to re-amend that provision of the law which states that electoral issues should be prosecuted within 180 days. If it takes four years, so be it. Let the wheel of justice turn. This is because this provision gives people the tendency to rig.
“The President must come out and reassure Nigerians that this country will be safe whatever the outcome of the elections. That is his primary duty. And it is not enough to say it, it is important to act it. That was why all the commentators have said that the President says the right thing, but his body language does not say what he says.”
Odinkalu also added that it is our duty to make democracy work. He said “One of the issues that worried us about this election is the political violence. As a Nigerian voter, what is happening in our country’s politics must challenge all of us.
“It is our duty to make democratic politics work. Lagos is where it all started for this country. This is the industrial hub of the country and if we must diversify the country’s economy beyond oil, this is where it will start.”