 The President, Mohammed Buhari, has urged candidates of political parties to continue running issue-based campaigns and to treat opponents with dignity. The President maintained that election is not a do-or-die affair. In his 2020 to democracy day broadcast to the nation earlier, he commended the leaderships of political parties in the country for the smooth conduct of their party's primary elections. Buhari reassured voters that advocate measures have been put in place to safeguard their votes during the forthcoming elections in the country. Hello Nigerians. Today, June 12th, marks another democracy day anniversary and an occasion to celebrate freedom and unity of our nation. From 1999, we consistently celebrated democracy day to mark the end of military rule and the return of power and control into the hands of those freely elected by the people. This is my last democracy day speech as your president. By June 12th, 2023, exactly one year from today, you will already have a new president. I remain committed and determined to ensure that the new president is elected through a peaceful and transparent process. The signs so far are positive. Recently, all registered political parties conducted parameters to select their candidates for the 2023 general elections. These parameters were peaceful and orderly. Those who won were magnanimous in their victories. Those who lost were gracious in defeat. And those aggrieved opted to seek judicial justice as opposed to jungle justice. I will therefore take this opportunity on this very special day to ask all candidates to continue running issue focused campaigns and to treat opponents with dignity. As leaders, you must all showcase high character and never forget that the world is watching us and Africa looks up to Nigeria to provide example in governance. The tone you set at the top will surely be replicated in your followers. For the voters, I am pleased to inform you that in the last seven years, our government across all tiers has made significant investments to reform and enhance our electoral laws, systems and processes to safeguard your votes. The executive, legislative letter and judiciary were and still remain united and committed to ensure those reforms are fully implemented in the 2023 general elections. What's it talking about the democracy day? We have joining us a political analyst, Gadwin Itaki-Bribu, and he will be analysing the high points of the president's speech and how far we have come as a country. Good evening to you, Gadwin. Thanks for joining us on the news now on Klaus TV Africa. Good evening and thank you very much for having me. It is indeed our pleasure. It is been about 23 years of uninterrupted democracy since 1999 or some people would say that it is no longer a nascent one. So how far would you say we have come vis-à-vis from 1999 to this particular point? Thank you very much for your question. I listened to the president's discussion this morning. He spoke well. He spoke well. He spoke well, actually. Also, when he brought the idea that we should respect each other and when it came that the primaries that had been completed within the most bigger political parties came with results being magnanimous and the winners being generous and he spoke well to us. But analysing his statement, I want to take it back a little to 1993 and I want to anchor from 1993 to 2023, that will bring it exactly 30 years, hope, hope, 93. The one that Brother Biola with King BBB is running it to pay a guest offer in the NRC SDP election. The election as judged by the world community is very, very free, very, very fair and best so far in the running of elections in our countries. I would want to take this lead if you would permit me to do that. Do I have your permission? Go ahead, but rather very quickly. Thank you very much. I appreciate you once again. In 1993, there was hope. The hope came in form of election. The election was freely conducted. The election was fair. The election was very, very free. And a candidate emanated from that election, the person of Moshe Kashi Mahua Biola, with King BBB running. Therefore, the election was a nod. But before that, let me point a, let me make a point here. In 1993, that hope that became the identity card of Moshe Kashi Mahua Biola came with Muslim-Muslim ticket. Moshe Biola was a Muslim, King BBB, as we speak, he was a Muslim, he remains a Muslim today. Then we are now moving to another likely hope, 2023, meaning 30 years of hope. But the first hope came to materialization, but the person representing that hope died after being put in detention by the military junta of different military establishments that caught across Biola, Abbasah, Abdul Salam Abu Bakr, and Thuanku. Now, if we look at 2023, we are seeing another hope. So if between what the President said and what he might not have said, what he didn't say, but what he said, let us decode what could come out of it. Of course, we see the primaries. Primaries are quite different from elections, proper. Primaries are personal arrangements of political parties in bringing out their candidate who veered the flag into the election. Elections are deeper. Elections are like an ocean compared to primaries of political parties, which is just like the Lagui Legos here in the river. But what we see so far, if we are able to hold it like that, it is most likely that we will meet another hope again. But with that hope of 2023, we didn't leave, we only became many factors. Alright, Godwin, if I just may butt in right now, invariably what you are saying is that from the foregoing, from the political parties primaries that we've had in the recent times that there is like a gleam of hope for the dispensation in 2023, is that what you're saying? Yeah, there is a gleam, let me use your language. Let me borrow your language. There is a gleam of hope. But this can be tampered with. The personal remedies and some other elements could play down that hope that the hope itself may not materialize. In 1993, the hope was established. A hope was born and a hope was nourished. But the man bearing the hope died. The Nigeria system killed the man. Now, we are having quite radiating and good primaries, which is pointing to a hope in 2023. But with this hope materializing in 2023, a better side, a free and fair, that's a different ball game entirely. But given what is taking place right now, speaking of the three major political parties, two major political parties, plus appendices of political parties here and there. For example, the label is coming in bearing the penchant of it. I think I'm back at the flag of PDP. And I think the flag of it. How will they materialize into that place? Unless 2023 is properly achieved, the hope that lies between these past 30 years might be lost. All right, thank you, Godwin. So the president in his speech today emphasized on the need for election narrowing campaign to be issue-based. You have mentioned the three frontliners who are representing their parties. Come next year, you talked about Attico, Peter O'Bee, and of course, Ashwajibola Ahmed Tinabu. But over time, if you were to analyze our political dispensations and election narrowing campaigns, would you really say that we have told the past of issue-based politics? Okay, we are still at the learning points of this presidential dispassion, this republic. We can all look at it and ask ourselves, are these campaigns issue-based? Or merely a situation of personal character? Or what are the main factors that I'm drawing? I am yet to see, even we are talking of the primaries of the political party. Like as I told you, the primaries of the political party is like a river. The general election is a notion itself. In the issue of the river, the political party's primaries, they were not too much of issue-based. The matter was between either I am qualified, it is my turn, not my turn. The person must come from not west or not east. Nobody has really spoken to us that this is the agenda I have for bringing, for example, insurgency to Aned in Nigeria, terrorism to Aned in Nigeria, kidnapping to Aned in Nigeria. Nobody is telling me that you are being attacked by a wabu. You will have food on your table. We need to hear those ones. All right, thank you so much indeed. We need to start watching out for issues as we go to the polls next year because that's what the electorate want to see and not just people who feel maybe they are entitled to it. We have been joined by a political analyst, Godwin Etaki Buebu. Thanks for your input on the news tonight. We do appreciate them. Thank you for having me. Thank you. Hello. Hope you enjoyed the news. 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