By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
An Ex- Army General, General Zamani Lekwok (rtd), Human Rights Activist, Senator Shehu Sani, Bishop Hassan Kukah of Sokoto Archdiocese and Barrister Gloria Ballason CEO of House of Justice have spoken against the current democratic instability in the country.
They made their views known while speaking at the 8th House of Justice 2023 Summit held on Friday with the theme: ‘Electoral Accountability and Democratic Stability”, at Burgundy Ball Banquet, Epitome event centre, Barnawa, Kaduna state.
General Lekwot, a veteran Army said there can never be democratic stability without equity and justice. “Politics is like all other games, guided by rules. We’ve the democratic instability problems because of the gross abuse of the rules by some of the key actors, especially the political god fathers.
“So for things to change for good, there must be respect for the rule of laws and that must be imbibe by everybody, because rules are meant to bring everybody together to line up in other to be sure of stability.
“When you put square pegs in a round holes, there’ll be gap and things will not work”, he stated these in an interview with newsmen at the close of morning session.
Also in an interview, Senator Shehu Sani, who represented Kaduna state in 8th Senate said the summit came at the right time when people should be airing their opinion and given useful advise on ways forward for the country, as the elections have been concluded, “and cases are still going on in courts.
He said “People are losing hope. It important that the federal government led by President Ahmed Bola Tinubu immediately initiate an electoral reform programs that’ll correct the mistakes that have been made and also chat ways forward for the country.
“Tinubu has been a man in forefront struggling for democracy, one of those forced into exile during the struggle for democracy, so even if the election that brought him into power has been seriously challenge, he owe it the duty, the nation and posterity to initiate necessary electoral reform that’ll make 2027 election better in conduct than the recent one.
“Also there’s need for judicial reform to ensure that those who’ll preside over electoral cases cannot be compromised. People have lost hope in the executive and legislative arms of government, and now the judiciary too in it own pace.
“What happen in plateau and kano states are serious matter of honour and integrity for the judiciary. Event unfolding this country should be of serious concern to all of us in this country, because if we don’t have electoral accountability we cannot have national accountability. Democracy has been bulling in west African subregion because of the issues if election”, he lamented.
Speaking, the Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese and a member of the National Peace Committee, Bishop Matthew Kukah, expressed his frustration regarding the entanglement of the judiciary and priests in politics.
He made his views known while speaking at the 8th House of Justice 2023 Summit held in Kaduna on Friday, in Kaduna state.
The theme of the summit, ‘Electoral Accountability and Democratic Stability,’ prompted Kukah to note his sadness about how the judiciary found itself entangled in politics.
He also expressed concern about the manner in which priests, including ‘us,’ are getting involved in politics.
“I am saddened by the fact that the judiciary has now found itself being sucked into politics. I would have also been sad — and I’m also sad — to the extent that even us priests in the church are getting sucked into politics because you will never come out the same.
“You go to wrestle with a pig inside poto poto (mud). You may defeat the pig, but you cannot go around showing yourself to see what you look like.” he said.
He clarified that he was not referring to politicians as ‘pigs.’ However, he explained that politics has its own rhyme and rhythm, especially in contrast to someone who has a certain moral responsibility.
“Elections will always give us what I call unintended consequences. But also, it is important to understand that a contest is always a contest. And you use the experience of this to prepare for the next contest,” he said.
Nonetheless, he maintained that Nigerians should not lose hope, stating that the best is still to come. Rather than worrying about the next generation, he argued that Nigerians should be focused on the present.
“You are using mobile phones today. It wasn’t the generation that went before us that gave us mobile phones. Every generation will contest its own problems. Let’s be concerned with the problems of the moment,”
“Yes, we dream about the future. But, like somebody said, today is the tomorrow you dreamt about yesterday. But let’s not be nervous.
“We should be nervous that we are underperforming because there are things we could have done differently and we can do differently.
“But there is a new consciousness that is emerging, and it is that consciousness that we must build on. So, justices will do what justices will do.”
Also in an interview, the host Barr. Gloria Ballason explained that “The House of Justice will always look at the contemporary issues in the country and in the continent, and discussed it.
“And what we’ve at the moment is Democratic instability particularly with five African countries that have fallen back to military rules. But then the issue of electoral accountability in Nigeria is something really challenging.
“For many Nigerians their votes are either overturned by the court or their it doesn’t count. INEC has not been able to count and account for the vote properly. So we thought its important to have this conversation this year to spark up the spine of the citizens for them to make those demand for electoral accountability so that their can be democratic stability.
“There’s a straight line that lead from the electoral accountability to democratic stability. If the votes are accounted for, democracy will be stabilize. But if there’s an overturn of popular mandate particularly by popular institutions or by certain persons who see themselves to be more powerful than others, then we’re not likely to have the democratic stability that we need.
For us, the overturn of the popular vote is the most regrettable in the recent political instability. People goes to vote in Nigeria is not just casting of vote. Voting is contact spot in Nigeria and the electioneering process cost so much in Nigeria.
“And so for people to go out there and votes and those votes are overturned, is something we find very regrettable”, she said.
According to her, the expectation is that the court will protect the popular votes of the people, which are not done sometimes. “The argument sometimes is that ..ohoo there was failure to comply with the electoral Act. But then the constitution is key.
.”And the constitution say sovereignty belongs to the people. So government can only drive it legitimacy from the people. And so we find that, in House of Justice, that must be protected and done, “the popular vote of the people”.
Other speakers described Nigeria as becoming a laughing stock, in the face of the current instability, also saying many Nigerians are ignorance on how to mobilized themselves against instability and therefore need to be thought how to do so by those who knows it.
