The United States-based New York
Times says the postponement of
the elections by the Independent
National Electoral Commission was
orchestrated by President Goodluck
Jonathan to frustrate Maj. Gen
Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) of the
All Progressives Congress.
The newspaper, which has won 114
Pulitzer Prizes, further stated that
Jonathan appeared to be afraid of
the increasing popularity of Buhari,
who most Nigerians would likely
vote for.
It said this in the editorial of its
Monday edition titled, “Nigeria’s
Miserable Choices”.
The publication said, “Any
argument to delay the vote might
be more credible if President
Goodluck Jonathan’s government
had not spent much of the past year
playing down the threat posed by
the militants and if there were a
reasonable expectation that the
country’s weak military has the
ability to improve security in a
matter of weeks.
“It appears more likely that Mr.
Jonathan grew alarmed by the
surging appeal of Muhammadu
Buhari, a former military ruler who
has vowed to crack down on Boko
Haram. By dragging out the race,
Jonathan stands to deplete his
rival’s campaign coffers while he
continues to use state funds and
institutions to bankroll his own.”
It said INEC’s excuse that elections
were postponed because security
forces wanted to fight insecurity
would have been taken in good
faith if Jonathan had been tackling
insecurity effectively since he took
office.
The 164-year-old newspaper said
that Jonathan had become so
unpopular that Nigerians were not
afraid of the idea of a former
military dictator returning as
President.
It however said that Jonathan had
become worried about the rising
insecurity and was willing to accept
help from western powers.
The newspaper warned that
election postponement might
increase the level of insecurity
rather than reduce it and that
Nigeria’s democracy would not
survive an electoral crisis.
It said, “Beyond security matters,
entrenched corruption and the
government’s inability to diversify
its economy as the price of oil, the
country’s financial bedrock, has
fallen and has also caused
Nigerians to look for new
leadership.
“Nigeria, the most populous African
nation, and a relatively young
democracy, cannot afford an
electoral crisis. That would only set
back the faltering efforts to reassert
government control in districts
where Boko Haram is sowing terror.
“The security forces may not be
able to safeguard many districts on
Election Day. But postponement is
very likely to make the security
threat worse.”
by ROTMANLUV 2023-07-08, 17:34
