By Clifford Ndujihe, Deputy Political Editor & Dapo Akinrefon

LAGOS—TO save the polity from avoidable tension and mayhem, leading presidential aspirants have been urged to halt their incessant use of acerbic, divisive and caustic language ahead the 2011 polls.

Some comments attributed to President Goodluck Jonathan, former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, former Military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar have been described as worrisome and capable of hurting the polity.

Among those who urged the aspirants and leading politicians to toe the path of decorum and desist from heating up the polity yesterday included founder of the Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, Dr. Frederick Fasehun; Second Republic politician, Chief Guy Ikokwu; Chairman of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, CNPP, Alhaji Balarabe Musa; and founding Chairman of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group, NESG, Prof. Anya O. Anya

The rest were former Petroleum Minister, Prof. Tam David West, chieftain of Afenifere Renewal Group, ARG, Mr. Bisi Adegbuyi, former Works Minister, Senator Adesye Ogunlewe, Prof. Pat Utomi and National Chairman of the Atiku For Change 2011, Mr Vitalis Ejimofor.

Embrace of self help

Buhari said last week that he would no longer go to the courts to fight over rigged elections. He said he and his supporters would embrace self-help by ‘protecting’ their votes at the polling booths.

At a conference organised by the Northern Political Leaders Forum, NPLF, Igbo Political Forum, South-South Unity Forum and the Yoruba Redemption Group, in Abuja, Atiku said with reference to the 2011 polls that “those who make peaceful change impossible, make violent change inevitable”.

Acting under the aegis of Coalition of Atiku Northern Supporters CANSU, in a statement signed, Thursday, by its President, Mallam Abubakar Ibrahim and the Secretary-General, Dr. Yakubu Ahmed, the group said the crisis that would envelop the nation should Abubakar not get the ticket would be greater in proportion to the series of Boko Haram massacres that had engulfed the country.

Countering the threat, repentant ex-militants, under the auspices of the Ex-MEND Commanders Forum, also threatened mayhem. In a statement signed by High Chief Bibopre Ajube (aka Shoot at Sight), ‘General’ Ezekiel Akpasibewei (ex-leader of the Niger Delta underdogs) and ‘Commader’ Micah Kpenfi (aka Ota 1), described the position of the northerners as “a call for coup,” hence treasonable.

Reacting to the developments, Fasehun warned politicians against mishandling the 2011 polls because of the unpalatable consequences. According to him, the backlash could cause so much problem that could alter the political map of West Africa if massive violence erupts in Nigeria.

Ikokwu asked those threatening violence to learn from history and the Cote d’Ivoire experience, adding:  “Nobody should threaten violence because Jonathan is running. It is a ring thing, let them all enter the ring and contest.”

An optimistic Anya, however, said there would be no violence during or after the elections as being feared. According to him, those threatening violence were the very set of people who were resisting change as symbolised by Jonathan.

Musa said it would be wrong for Jonathan to say he would sink the boat if he did not get the PDP ticket, adding that such bluffs should be rebuffed. According to him, if Nigerians reacted properly when former President Olusegun Obasanjo said the 2007 polls were a do or die affair, the rigging of the elections would not have been massive.

Ejimofor said retaining the PDP zoning formula would ensure harmony in the party, adding:  “We are for the retention of the PDP zoning formula. Zoning is the reason many people are in PDP because they believe that with time power will rotate to all parts of the country. Zoning has been in operation since 1999 and it has been working for the PDP. That is why we support the PDP and Atiku Abubakar to bring change in Nigeria.”

Also speaking, David-West declared that President Goodluck Jonathan had no authority to arrest Babangida and Abubakar for treason.

He said: “Jonathan cannot do it, I mean he cannot arrest Babangida nor Atiku. Does he (Jonathan) know the meaning of treason? He should look at the meaning of treason in the dictionary. He cannot charge IBB and Atiku for treason because neither of them committed treason. They were quoting from an authority which wrote the statement, that quote has been there from time immemorial. President Kennedy also used the quote long time ago, that was about 40 years ago and he was also quoting from the authority. Babangida and Atiku were quoting from the source. All of them are ignorant of the meaning of treason. What IBB and Atiku said, I will also say.”

On his part, Professor Pat Utomi called for restraint on the part of the trio and also urged that the polity should not be over heated.

Utomi said “they should all reduce the tension in the polity, all this talk is unnecessary. Already, Nigerians are on the edge. I am using this opportunity to warn all three of them to desist from over heating the polity. On behalf of the people of Nigeria, whose quality of life has been made worse, I will like to warn them not to allow their personal interest to be becloud their sense of reasoning. They should have the interest of Nigerians at heart. If they allow this growing tension to persist, it could threaten our democracy.”

Also, former Minister of Works, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe said Nigerian leaders should be careful of their utterances.
He also maintained that the 2011 general elections should not be seen as a do-or-die affair, adding: “Nigeria has passed that stage now, it is just a warning that our leaders should know what to say.

They should take things easy and see the elections as not a do-or-die affair. They should not heat up the polity.”