CONCERNS for peaceful outcome of the 2015 general elections have led to two major initiatives to promote peace in the country. The first was the signing of an accord  on violence-free conducts before, during and after the election by presidential candidates of 14 political parties, notably President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Peoples Congress, APC, on 14 January 2015.

The National Peace Committee for the 2015 General Elections, which comprised eminent Nigerians from different spheres of life, with former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, as its Chairman, was the other. It was convened by founder of the Kukah Centre for Faith and Leadership Research, and Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah. The involvement of respected national figures and international statesmen such as former United Nations Secretary-General, Dr. Kofi Annan, and former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, in these quests for peace underscores the depth of apprehensions about the elections.

Unless extraordinary steps are taken, most experts agree, the desperation for power the PDP and APC camps exhibit could boil over and put the nation and Africa at risk of destabilisation. We note the eagerness and patriotic zeal with which members of the peace committee embraced the assignment. It shows that in the midst of tumult among politicians and their supporters, there are still individuals who are ready to cast aside selfish and partisan pursuits to secure the most important element in the continued existence of the nation: peace. Without peace and security, there will be no election, and indeed, no nation.

The committee must swing into action and rally the Nigerians, especially the youth, behind its noble objectives, leveraging the credibility and non-partisanship of its members. Though the time for its work is short, the committee should reach out to volunteers to spread the word. Nigerians have to realise the imperative of peace for the sustenance of the country, which is more important than the collective greed of politicians. It should use the media, the clout of its members to connect with non-partisan civil society organisations, traditional and religious leaders, to market the centrality of peace to our people. The electorate needs more information on how to vote peacefully while resisting incitement to violence, no matter who wins or loses.

These pre-election activities should douse the tension in the polity and preserve Nigeria, which needs peace to achieve the economic greatness and prosperity her peoples desire. We should not allow politicians to nudge the country over the brink into a chasm of disaster and disintegration, which some prophets of doom have divined for Nigeria this general election year, 2015.