Fear of electoral violence in 2027, by Tonnie Iredia
Since December 12, 1959 when the first national pre-independence elections were held in Nigeria till today, we have had no election without citizens losing sleep and remaining exceedingly anxious over electoral violence. Even the June 12, 1993 Presidential election internationally recognised as the nation’s best had its own tension. Indeed, the 1993 election was the […]
Is PDP still the largest in Africa?
A few years back, it was a common practice among members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to describe their political party as the largest in Africa. None of us outside the party bothered to authenticate the claim. Perhaps some people just believed it. But it was indisputable that the party was Nigeria’s biggest judging by the overwhelming number of elected political office holders produced by the party from the level of a local council to the presidency. Indeed, the PDP won the Presidential elections of 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011.
2015: Bogus Oracle at work again in Benin!
In Nigeria, any claim whatsoever can easily be made to look correct; all that is required is to repeatedly make the same claim overtime and after a while it sticks in the sub consciousness of people. The claim in Benin, the home city of this writer that there is an oracle which has capacity to determine the political direction of the people falls into this theory.
Our Military must not die
What do Nigerians and indeed the media expect of the military in the face of contemporary challenges? This was a question I sought to answer in April 2013 at an interactive session on civil military relations organized by the Nigerian Army in Lagos. At the end of my paper, it was clear I had upset the military judging by the responses of the top most military officers who were participants at the conference. The session was so combative that I was forced to fight back by telling them not to invite me to future sessions if they only want to hear what would please them.
Presidential Debate on what?
The refusal of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Buhari to participate in this year’s Presidential debates has once again thwarted our efforts at organizing a debate to enable Nigerians assess the candidates properly so as to determine who to vote for.
Can Abuja Peace Accord stop political violence?
Political events of the last one month in Nigeria seem to place doubt on the workability of the recent accord signed by our political leadership. First, the accord was not comprehensive as it tended to rely on the existing erroneous impression that the only cause of election violence in our clime is the desperation of politicians. While not playing down on that because it is certainly a prime factor, it is obviously incorrect to think that it is the only factor.
