What is your opinion on deployment of soldiers to Ekiti during the election and the request that the western world should assist us on security issue?

I am not so sure that people are asking the West to assist Nigeria in the area of security. In Nigeria, in all fairness to the security agencies, they are not incapable of managing the security situation in the country. I believe they are trained, they are professional. There may be all range of things happening that we are not fully conversant with or that we don’t know the steps the security is taking.

I am aware that in at least one area, people have solicited assistance. That is in the area of terror because terror and terrorist act are not limited to a country. It is fungible violence and it traverses borders, it transcend boundary and inevitably you will require collaborative efforts from those who have to deal with it and those who have gained expertise in the course of handling this in their own setting. I think it is in that contest that Nigerian leadership has requested assistance from other countries. In principle, I don’t have an objection to that. But it is the duty of any state to protect the citizenry. That is the first responsibility of the government.

Coming to the Nigerian constitution, it is the security and welfare of the citizenry that comes first and any government that is not able to do that really should revisit its purpose in office. At any level, we can’t discount that terror is not a single nation issue; it is something that has different components. And in our own case, we need a multi-throng approach, not just law and order, not just force, but also economic approach, political approach and a comprehensive integrated response. We must do something that will reduce our being seen as a laughing stock in the eyes of the world. On your second issue as to whether I endorse or approve the use of soldiers during election. There is no one side approach to election in the area of security management.

I have seen situation in which soldiers have been helpful in managing areas that could have become problematic as far as elections in Nigeria are concerned in the past. I will give example of Edo State. Soldiers were particularly helpful in the Edo election. Even though they were not involved in the inner ring protection, they were able to rescue the state from people who were hell-bent on using violence to scuttle the election because they have the capacity more than the police to arrest such untoward situation. If it is in that context that soldiers are being introduced to the election either here in Ekiti or elsewhere, as long as they are scrupulously professional, as long as they do not interfere direct with the ballot, as long as they maintain peace and provide voters with the confidence to go out and perform their civic duty, then why not?

But if soldiers are being introduced in order to intimidate legitimate voters from coming out to do their civic duties, then you know I will be opposed to that. If it is to enhance election security and to enhance and promote one person one vote, I am more for it; for as many security agents as possible who are ready to do the duty of guaranteeing a clean, credible, free and fair election.

What is your message to INEC to ensure fairness in the forthcoming election?

For me, it is a case of once bitten twice shy. I have been a victim of manipulation in election and I know that INEC is trying to redeem its own image as far as this is concerned. Ekiti is like a determinant of what will happen in 2015. INEC is really in a very sensitive position as far as Ekiti election is concerned. I believe it owes itself and all Nigerians an obligation for Ekiti election to be scrupulously clean and to be seen by all as clean. It enhances the credibility of what will happen in 2015 because all eyes are on Ekiti; not for Ekiti sake particularly, but for 2015 election. After Anambra, INEC’s reputation is on tentacles. It will be in the best interest for INEC to ensure that Ekiti does not go wrong. I really, really pray Ekiti does not go wrong; if Ekiti goes wrong, God help Nigeria.