 The People's Democratic Party and other opposition parties have lamented the level of insecurity in Nigeria. And the Muslim rights concern rejects, Governors will lose endorsement for a second time. This is Plus Politics and I'm Kofi Bartels. You're welcome. The People's Democratic Party and two other opposition parties have lamented the rising insecurity in the country, which has caused the death of 12,250 citizens between January 2021 and March 2022, according to a report compiled by research group SBM Morgan and an advocacy network in South Nigeria, 6,102 civilians were killed within the period while 1,055 security personnel were also killed. Further breakdown shows that 571 of those killed were soldiers, 307 police officers and 193 vigilante members. Very grim statistics, but joining us to discuss is Public Affairs Analyst Ihechiku Ibeja. I'm glad to say he joins us live in the studio. Bisebeji, good evening to you and thanks for your time. Good evening and thank you very much. These are really grim statistics and I mean it should send Shiva down the spine of anyone. Yeah. What did you say? It does send Shiva down the spine of everyone and especially given the fact that there seems not to be any actual head-on manner in which it can be handled or it can be managed or it can be nipped on the board. Because of life everywhere is something that is taking very weighty, it's not an easy thing and what's even more frightening is the fact that it progressively over time and it's not something that started today on this dispensation, it's something that far and of course has outstayed this dispensation, it has progressively become more sophisticated so to speak. These are not mean figures and there's no lighter way of saying it than to say that the situation is just horrible. All right, because this is a false policy so we always look at the political angle of things. But as far as the People's Democratic Party is concerned and the sequence they are making, not just the PDP but two other opposition parties lamenting the rising insecurity in the country. Is this political fodder, political hay for the PDP at such a time? Absolutely. You see that one of the nexus of one of the key points objectives for this current dispensation which used to come into power was to guarantee security and to snip in the board the insecurity that had been fostering right from the previous administration that they met on ground. So every political party at this point especially as we advance towards the 2023 elections will begin to use this as a campaign strategy to see how they can also win votes. But I like to deviate a lot of times away from the mere politics of these numbers because we're talking about lives and property of people, the value of livelihood, the value of life itself and the quality of life has so diminished and these deaths that have been, these one term killings are going on and not just anything you can politicize so easily. So away from them coming out to try to use these figures to campaign and all of that you must look at the psychological and the actual situation on ground and the actual situation on ground is not something that you can just weave away. So yes, a lot of political parties and this is just one part of it, I'm going to use this as part of their manifesto. Of course what you're going to find is that this current dispensation will be on the slab of the judgement of the people and the politicians and the political parties are going to milk it and if you look at this kind of figures, this is more or less like a performance leadboard for them and this performance leadboard doesn't really do good. Interesting. Whilst the statistics cannot be argued with, whilst the numbers cannot be argued with, should Nigerians also be cognizant or have bearing mind that before you remove the respect from your neighbour's eye you need to clear the one of your eye as well and take the criticism and statements of these political parties with some caution, look behind the scenes and also realise that this is also political milk for them. Absolutely, let me say this so clearly and let me say this, there's no better way to say it and we only as a people be disemnised as we don't tell ourselves the truth. Insecurities challenges that any administration, this current administration faces is not a little one, it's not a small one. Apparently when they were probably campaigning to come into power they must have looked at it from the rhetorics and looked at it from the plans, looked at it from the grammar and the objectives but what you find on ground is totally different because insecurities are not something that you can just wish away or tackle away. So what am I trying to say, I'm trying to tell you that look, any political party that's going to use this as a campaign chip must be ready to show that it can tackle. If for nothing else the current administration have had the experience of actually facing the actual insecurity and they've seen for themselves how not very easy it is and it's not to say that they've not made efforts to be quite frank, it will only be foolhardy to come out and say that they've not made effort, they have made effort but it is one thing to make effort and it's also another thing to see those efforts of course tail into success, they have had their successes and at the same time they've had their failures in this area of insecurity and I'm sure that genuinely they will continue to try to see what they can do but they have to keep trying to do more and more because once a life goes it can never be gotten back. Alright interesting and very important rather once a life goes it can never be gotten back and once again we're still trying to bring up more political juice out of this and you know it's the people's democratic party itself, do they have a moral justification to judge the APC on this? I'm not talking about Nigeria itself the party itself, what do you say? As dispassionately as I would like to always remain in everything I say or anything like every time I come out to comment I don't think they have any moral justification because they also had an opportunity to tackle the same security challenge when they were in power right and why they may say that the record show that it was less compared to now the truth of the case was that it still remained there, that insecurity challenge still remained there and you know it actually started to fester as at that time you know we started to experience a lot of insecurity as at the last PDP led you know when we were in power we started to experience what was called from different angles we experienced Niger Delta militants we experienced the Boko Haram attacks we began to experience a bit of kidnapping and we'd run some you know attack to it and you know since 2011 you know there's been there's been a source that speaks to us having paid over 18 million dollars in ransom alone and ransoms are being charged of between $1,000 and $15,000. These are ransom paid by family? Yes by family and you know these are things that we started to experience not from this current dispensation so they will have to be faced with the moral justification to convince the people that what they did before by not being able to nip it in the board then nip it in the board in such a manner that this current dispensation used it as a campaign chip to come into power they are able to you know get a magic wand to do that same thing at that time and that's something that they are faced with at this current time you know the elections the general elections are around the corner the political scene is heated up as we speak and Nigerians will soon have to make a choice between you know which political parties of the 18 available as for my neck you know and that will be on the ballot paper if all things are according to plan yeah you know you can't be too sure you know but I just have to make a choice yes are you confident that the voting public is aware of the issues you know and aware enough to be able to say hey all progressives Congress presidential election these are the issues of problems you have at least I'm a voter in Kaduna state I'm a voter in Borno state I'm a voter in Benway state you have failed as far as insecurity is concerned I will not vote for you or tell me what you're going to do better before I vote for you or hey PDP when you were there we saw these issues and you didn't even make it any better Boko Haram came up while you held sway so what are you going to do do we have the voters who you know have such an awareness to ask these questions and in an informed way vote let me be very sincere to you and point blank I see situation whereby the voting public are going to be looking at the individual not entirely about the party now the party brings for the individual but the the the the integrity the composure the track record of the individual is going to sway a lot and you know let's be very clear none of the parties have really done you know done themselves a whole world of good when it comes to the major issues on ground such as insecurity none of the parties but what already comes to the presidential election where you have just one man and then a flag bearer running mate rather you would you do you are you confident that Nigerians can look at the track record of these parties and based on a truck I would say I will vote for you because you'll give me a reason to vote for you all because you have failed and I don't believe you can do any more any better they would Nigerians to speak with the PVC and they speak with you speak with your PVC is based on the failures of the of any party that feuds a candidate that is not you know that is not you know attractive attractive to the people that is not that is not accepted by the school of thought you know I've had the chance to talk to some you know for your of your fellow public affairs analysts they say nothing is going to change the people are not aware enough or independently minded enough to make the hard decisions to say a PC this candidate you're presenting us we think he's go we're going to vote for him because we think he can solve the security he's convinced us or PD or APC won't vote for you or PDP will vote for your own vote based on ABC it's not about security or insecurity as a case there's a school of thought that says nothing will change it's going to be business as usual because we're not ready to change anything I've had that school of thought to in fact I've been in conversations as a public analyst experienced public affairs analysts over time to to have arguments and discussions about that but I kind of feel differently maybe I'm one of those who are not part of the 12 disciples maybe I'm one of those who are outside the 12 maybe you can say 13 but you know in this in all the years that we ever ever in all the years that we ever had elections this is one one election is so important because this seven years have seen Nigerians in a different level but we know you know we're talking I also I also present the program on radio as well as on TV I hear people commenting on social media people are talking but we are still talking and it seems nothing will change do you just gonna get to the point and the usual is so gonna emerge and we'll just go and vote and these things are just gonna continue nothing will change most of the time I like to say let's wait for when the action happens but what I like to also tell you is that the people showed your hands during the during the end SARS issue the passion after that what happened well after that after that after that it is all bottled up because because because because you cannot you cannot hear them off you cannot hear them off the voting the voting the voting polling votes they are going to walk down to polling vote whether I like it or not have you ever been to the polling vote I voted in almost every other election and how fiercely they got their votes at those polling votes and counted it's very key so you know something that you cannot and what I'm trying to either you cannot wish a way you cannot wish a way we keep talking about and SARS that I mean a lot people were happy to see that the young people were rising up to speak with their voices at the end SARS but but I mean right now the message that has been passed is that you fire some bullets you know I'm I don't mean to trivialize her that the massacres the panel has has rightly you know you know called it you know I don't mean to downplay but but the message that has been clearly passed is that the people will run back to their shells you know if you fire some gunshots now I had been in Port Haca before coming to Lagos and I have people who are listening or watching us right now in Port Haca they can tell you the election times when the major parties brought out their boys or brought out people in uniforms who God knows where they're coming from with the weapons the voting public run back home nobody came out to vote if nobody came out if the politician and the politics the political parties do not think or they believe that's going to business as usual then they should not campaign they will campaign but nothing is people are just going to say you know what I don't feel safe enough to go vote because I'm in the southeast I'm going to stay at home I don't feel safe enough to vote because I'm in the northwest and north east or middle belt they're going to stay at home it's going to be affected I'm seeing one million boys I'm seeing any article or some other group on the street with machetes in Lagos chasing people away I'm not going to vote the police are looking the other way they're not doing anything I'm not going to vote people have not demonstrated the fact that they will not back down even if lives are lost and that is the message that has been transmitted to those who who ready to do anything this pattern has been on for years as I said before lives have been lost before now people have tried to show some kind of apathy that they will not they will not vote when the time is there but let me be very very clear and set into you the will of the people is strong you cannot you cannot with us let's look at I mean let's look at the the Ansar's anniversary we have the Ansar's anniversary and people wanted to march to to mark the anniversary and the police commissioner Hakeem Odumosu who supervise the police actions during Ansar's and was given an honorary an award by the Lagos State House of Assembly after that or before that I need to check after that when he was living and now with this Lagos State traffic motor parks union that MCO Lomo of SWRNURTW or SWRNURTW chairman has now been placed in charge and now fighting with other other factions or other groups he was also made a part of that thank you clapping for him well done now the man said no protest would be allowed on the anniversary of Ansar's and the protesters and the young people and all people are like all obeyed they sat in their cars and then drove past the legato nobody came down the few managed to come down they were arrested nobody said anything nobody said anything nothing will change you missed the point the point wasn't that people were going to protest the point was that they were going to mark their memorial and as long as they were concerned and but they passed that message okay whether they were in their car whether they were in their car honking on their horns whether they waved the flags whether they whether they drove past with speed yet they came out and that to me showed a wheel you cannot wave aside the fact that look Ansar's transcended the young or the youth absolutely it was a strong message of people who had come out and said look this is our feeling this is how we felt and that message was strong and anybody who's going to trivialize that message or who's going to trivialize the fact that the wheel of the people is something that you cannot step on then that person just may just be taking them for granted all right so I know that political parties will not take the people so we have we have a large number of people in Nigeria last election over 80 million voters and we know that from 1999 or from 2003 I need to check the the number of voters registered voters to turn up on election day is been dropping we have had we have the highest number of registered voters in the 2019 presidential election and we had the lowest voter turnout in the 2019 elections of all the years since 1999 um you look at at voter apathy it's an issue it's an issue and you're you're telling me that people are going to come out irrespective of whether they feel it's safe to do so um irrespective of what are they they feel there's a reason that I've also count let me put it this way there has always been cases of voter apathy right from days of sdp nrc you can never guarantee the total maximum of voters who come out at the voting by the polling votes but what does the winning of a vote translate to it translates to the maximum total number of votes that have voted for the most popular party and that is all that you need to point you need to take a look at even at the last local government elections there was voter apathy but at the end of the day it was all about the party that came out to campaign even more vigorously so so so the parties the parties that um you know uh you've talked about for instance the pdp is is uh appointing an accusing finger the apc saying uh you're responsible in security country you've not done well and all that look at the stats and you're seeing that the pdp too also has to look at itself and ask itself questions have you seen any political party amongst the eight the other 16 political parties that can give the two leading parties a run for their money to be quite frank because because that is where if you want to see a change it may come from may me i'm not saying you can have a change in the pdp or the apc you can but but and i think about winning elections about party structure i mean you look at nigeria as a country as within the six geopolitical regions seven and seventy four local governments that it has which of the parties has that structure on ground and that's what this is why i said to you one of the major determinants for this next election will be the individual the individual any of the parties the two key parties who select that individual who the people believe in and that the people hold on okay people are convinced that this is a this is a person who can deliver for us with swedea votes so have you seen any one and i'm going somewhere with this ehichok have you seen any candidate that the people can believe in amongst all those who've come out to say i want to less stuff from people's democratic party who can do something different amongst all those who've come out to pick form so to say i intend to pick a form there are a lot of credible candidates who have come out of it okay so for instance peter b is that we are looking i don't know i'm not campaigning for him just asking because people seem to you know cast him the same light as those technocrats and all of that kings in mogalu you know they say he was governor of an umbrella state and left a healthy you know uh account yes i mean so let me let me let me tell you something when when when the people begin to look at such candidates and if you trace back and then you come you make comparisons now and you begin to make this kind of comparisons begin to um breathe out this kind of qualities about this kind of people you see that they are judgment their mindset they are making the kind of judgment for the kind of person that they think should shoot nigiri it tells you who they don't want okay so it tells you clearly yeah it can't the kind of person that do you do not know so i so you know i think we can safely say let me let me read let me edit what i said you said i shouldn't say nothing will not change you disagree with that okay why i said nothing will not change because no other party outside apc or pdp but he's the next president it won't happen for what i'm seeing it won't happen now these candidates that you're talking about um you have because people are sitting now waiting for the election day to go vote but the election is even won before the election my brother and people are sitting back saying answer so i want to ask you this um it's there is no way or there's a high chance there's a let me say a very limited chance do you agree with the school of thought and put that there's a limited chance for an aspirant who doesn't bribe delegates to emerge or doesn't do political horse trading to emerge as the party's flag bear in this in these two parties the mechanics of internal party politics inflation these two in mechanics of the mechanics of internal politics structure of course um requires that the candidate has to do what um is required to make sure that he comes out as a flag bear um but what we what we what we see a lot of times is that even in doing that the party mechanism always looks at the caliber and in this state the current party in power know that there are a lot of things that a lot of areas where the jury is out on them and that's one of the reasons why you will find that eventually they are going to ensure that the kind of candidates who are going to come out eventually to run for that primary is a kind of candidate that will make it impossible for the Nigerian man not to at least accept one so so you believe that a normal or what we've seen in the past we've seen players in the past in in the in the presidential primaries of some parties where it's about um who has the money by who can pay the highest I do admit in 2015 uh Muhammad Buhari said he didn't have money all right he didn't have money I don't know if maybe Attiku had money then I don't know but but but yes it can happen but you know it takes some of the candidates that are being touted from the two leading parties these sound like candidates who will not even pay one couple because it's not their principle to do that do they have a chance principles aside as long as you're playing politics and you're a politician you will you will do what is necessary to make sure that your target your objective is gotten now um whatever is done in that internal politicking is what I mean you and I can never can only be left to to be imagined so even when they say that they do not have money or money bags to throw around um they still do what is required to come out as candidates um I guess I do agree with you that the two strongest parties on ground that who are even doing something currently at the apc and the pdp and um for now that is the grand relatives on ground and that is what is going to remain or less another party comes out with the right form of candidates and the right form of structure to rival them and that's just weighted what do Nigerians need to do the voting public what do they need to do right now even before the elections to ensure that as far as insecurity is concerned the next president of Nigeria will be someone male or female who can tackle insecurity head on I'm not talking about what we call bobo juice yeah you know you come on tv and then you talk you you know and then meanwhile just talk because people can look at your track record and see that you've not actually done what you say you want to do for Nigeria in the little office you've had so what do Nigerians need to do starting now so that by the end the day you know Mambo de Kuba announces a result you have a president who can tackle insecurity head on they need to look very critically at all the candidates that are coming out all the candidates that are claiming that they can they can't deliver they look at not look they need to look at number of people who have been killed for since 2011 they need to look at number of people who have been displaced they need to look at the the the fringes on which this country is on the number of refugees that have been rendered homeless they need to look at the the the pervasive kidnapping that's continued they need to look at the insecurity that has gone from not just Niger Delta militancy down to Boko Haram down to the Katara issues down to the kidnapping down to the robbery they need to look at all of these issues and look very critically at the experience of the candidates who are going to come out and ask themselves the kind of questions that speak to can this person take the tough decisions because what is required is tough decisions um we hear a lot of stories when the when presidents go into power and we hear things about them being bedraggled by kitchen cabinets they need to look at people who cannot be bedraggled by kitchen cabinets there are candidates who are out right now who have taken setting decisions at at positions at positions of power that tells you that these are the kind of people that can do something when the chips are down and it's very important because let me be very frank with you the 2023 2023 political election is going to be one of if not the most important elections in the history of this country because we are practical at our trolls in the last seven years i don't know or i don't think i don't recall we've experienced the kind of situations that we experience so much so that the value of life is so devalued and these are the things that Nigerians need to look at when they make their choice interesting guy it's good it's good that we've ended up running off on the note of what needs to be done not what has happened in the past thank you very much iihechiku beiji for your time thank you very much thank you for helping me and that's the much you can take on this first segment of the of plus politics and we'll be right back with taking a short break when we return muric rejects governor samonlou's endorsement or rejects the endorsement of governor samonlou for a 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