Jonathan Vs Buhari: The Make Or Mar Election

Warning Signs Of Danger

Following the controversies and legal actions against the use of the electronic card readers, danger signs are becoming evident following protests against the use of the device. A recent protest embarked upon by the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign States of Biafra, MASSOB, turned sour in Aba, Abia state, as soldiers rounded up members of the group and beat them up with horse whips. MASSOB members had converged at the Asa/Ngwa Road junction where they planned the commencement of their protest against the proposed use of card readers for the forthcoming elections but were ambushed by Nigerian soldiers. They regrouped at another location from where they marched through the major roads of the city chanting solidarity songs and carrying placards with such messages as “Jega must go,” “We don’t want him to conduct the next elections,” “Ndigbo have suffered enough in the hands of Nigeria,” “Any election conducted by Jega means more suffering for Ndigbo.”

Speaking at the event, MASSOB’s Aba regional administrator, Comrade Larry Odinma stated that the organization’s protest was based on the fact that the INEC chairman, Jega has been biased and cannot deliver a credible election. Odinma declared that if their call for Jega to be relieved of his position was not heeded, MASSOB would not allow elections to be conducted in the South East.

Following closely in the heels of the MASSOB protest, members of the President Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation in Lagos in conjunction with members of the Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, also protested against Jega and INEC. The protesters, who were later also joined by officials of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency, FERMA Task Force, gathered at the old Toll Gate on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway chanting anti-Jega songs and demanding that he should resign or be sacked as the country draws close to its general elections.

Armed with various weapons, including guns, knives and cutlasses, the protesters later marched along the Ikorodu Road leading to the National Stadium in the Surulere area of Lagos State where a rally was held in support of the re-election bid of President Jonathan. As they marched to the stadium, they destroyed posters and billboards belonging to candidates of the APC and attacked motorists and passers-by while security agents looked the other way.

These anti Jega protests were coming only days after the opposition All Progressive Congress accused the President and the PDP of earmarking N9 billion to sponsor ethnic militias with the aim of scuttling the elections. Jega had stated that he was aware of the protests against him but maintained that he would not be discouraged or frustrated in his bid to ensure that the elections were held and winners declared in a free and fair exercise. “In fact, am aware that some groups have been protesting. Well, I have a job to do and I will do it. Nobody has asked me to resign and all of us at INEC are focused on ensuring that this election is free and fair,” he said.

In the wake of these violent protests against the electoral umpire, the All Progressives Congress has accused the federal government and the PDP of concluding plans to render card readers ineffective on election day, with a view to justify their fears about the use of the card readers and ultimately to scuttle the polls.

“We can authoritatively inform Nigerians that the morbid fear of card readers by the Jonathan administration and the PDP has now been translated into concrete action: They have hired an Israeli, Gyora Berger, to do the dirty job of jamming the card readers,” the party said in a statement issued in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

“To those who might accuse us of crying wolf, they should realise that every alarm we have raised in the past has been true, including that the Jonathan administration was pushing for the postponement of the elections and that they are mortally afraid of the use of PVCs and card readers,” the statement added.

APC said the Israeli was hired specifically to develop three prototype card reader jammers, and he has now developed three of such jammers (25 metres, 50 metres and 100 metres range) to be carried in the pockets of trusted PDP stalwarts on election day with a view to disabling the card readers within the state radius. It added that apart from disabling the card readers, the jammers will also disable all telephones, iPads, etc within the states radius of those carrying them on their persons.