By Josef Omorotionmwan
THE countdown to July 14 – the gubernatorial election in Edo State – has started in earnest. This column is just two editions away from that day: July 5 and 12, 2012. Both editions shall be devoted to the search for peace in Edo State.

Admittedly, the time has come for us to talk less of the forest and more of what we did with the woods – the doors, the windows, those fine school desks, tables, the roofing woods, the books, etc.

We are not about to forget those beautiful beds on which the beautiful people of Edo State were manufactured and born. There must be peace in our land. At the election, there will be winners and losers. Whoever emerges as governor will be the Governor of Edo State, not Governor of a political party.

Yes, in the democratic process, controversy is inevitable and sometimes healthy. There must be an opportunity to introduce new ideas and test them through debates and campaigns. In fact, politics would be dull and uninteresting without the rounds of heated arguments we have had to put up with in the last six months or so, when the campaigns began. After all, it was in realisation of the importance of open debates that the framers of our Constitution made very liberal allowances for free speech and free press.

We watched some of the ugly trends in the campaigns thus far. They may have been a few inches above the campaigns of previous years but they are still very far from the ideal. A campaign that ran into muddy waters in which some people died at the onset; and a campaign that was marred by name-calling, smear tactics, mud-slinging and character assassination has absolutely nothing to recommend it. This is not what we want to carry into the election and the post-election era. We must realise that after the new yam festival, people must still go to farm and there is life after election.

Edo State must move! We cannot afford to miss it this time around. There is too much violence pervading the air around us. If nothing else, the maintenance of public peace and order is a basic requirement in any community so that people can conduct their daily lives without fear of physical harm, or destruction and loss of property. This is even a major reason for the establishment of government in the first place.

Today, we shall attempt to outline why we must have a clean break from the past in the forth-coming governorship election. The second part shall concentrate on how this marvelous feat can be achieved. In all of this, there are roles for everyone in Edo State. During the electioneering, we saw the ugly instances of the tearing of opponents’ posters and the destruction of their bill boards. Some have remained at the level of making hate-speeches and heaping abuses on opponents instead of telling the electorate what they would do if elected. In some societies, these are clear offences that are normally visited with severe sanctions. In fact, no society ever elects anybody based on his track record as a murderer. And if a leader suddenly embarks on the killing of all his perceived opponents, he may eventually end up having nobody to govern. Doesn’t it make sense therefore, that the time has come for us to put an end to all forms of violence in our elections?

Come to think of it, your worst enemy today could be your best friend tomorrow. All those who pulled the triggers on us on April 14, 2007, are on the same side with us today. As I cast my mind back to 1983, I remember my old friend, the late Olaiya Fagbamigbe, who represented Akure Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives during the Second Republic. He was wasted in the politics of that turbulent era. That would have been a fine party leader today were he alive.

One thing is clear: If you kill to get there, you must also be prepared to kill more to remain there. Funny enough, killing cannot improve the lives of people. Starting from this election, we must all learn to say NO to killing and maiming of anybody!

For good or for evil, ours is still a democracy. Much as democracy may not always provide the best system of human governance, we know not of any other system that is half as good. Essentially, democratic institutions – elections and parties – are important only for their symbolic value. They help tie us to the political system by giving us roles to play during elections and providing us with a political party we can identify with.

Nothing good comes easy. Nothing good takes place in an atmosphere of acrimony and in-fighting. Based on all we have heard during the campaigns, we are now better equipped to make intelligent choices as to who can best serve our interest. Rather than killing and maiming, rigging and snatching of ballot boxes, we must develop a soft spot in our minds for the development of Edo State.

The task here requires earnest, patriotic and ceaseless work from all of us. Immediately after the election, everyone from Edo State, irrespective of party affiliation and irrespective of religious and ethnic differences, must quickly banish from his heart, all feeling of disappointment, all sense of chagrin, and, like the gallant soldier, fall in line, salute the colours and face the common enemies.

The common enemies are many. They include unemployment, bad roads, environmental degradation, inadequate education and health services, infrastructural deficiencies, insecurity, etc. We have enough problems to engage our collective energies for the next decade. Why must we dissipate efforts on violence?