 In the last four years, political thugry has increased in Kano, Ekiti, Oshun, Nassarwa, and Borneo states, unless concerted efforts are made to maintain peace and ensure politicians respect the outcome of elections. 2023 may see a post-election period similar to 2011, then that of 2019. Recall that last January, the Nigerian Army arrested 98 armed thugs reportedly headed for Ekiti state in the south-west of Nigeria to disrupt the PDP primary election to nominate a candidate for governor. Stakeholders have urged the federal government and security agencies across the country to make sure that the 2023 general elections does not descend into violence, following the already heated polity as a result of the ongoing campaigns. While joining us to discuss this is Akim Breithways. He is the governorship candidate of the National Rescue Movement here in Lagos State. It's always a pleasure to have you in the studio. Thank you. It was great to be here. And happy new year. Happy new year to you too. I wish we were meeting on the better circumstances, but this is very important to the future of Nigeria. In four years, we've had to battle because we've had a number of elections, we've had Oshun, we've had Ekiti, and that's because these are elections that precede the general elections and we've seen pockets of violence. Even as we speak, Oshun state seems to be seeing a very heightened level of political violence. What do you think is at the core of this for a country that is termed the big brother in Africa? We have a history of violence. You might recall the wild, the west operation, when it was in the west. And if you go further back than that, you think about slavery. We might be in denial about it. But slavery also was a situation where man's inhumanity to man. So you want to ask yourself, is this a DNA thing or is it just that we have become dumbed down to the concept of the dignity of our fellow human being? However, I won't say it's DNA because if you look at the history of the world, the history of the world is also filled with violence. You look at the Vikings, the Barbarians, a lot of the Scandinavian countries that we hail so much today have a real history of violence and domination and all this kind of stuff. You think about Germany of today and the Holocaust. So looking at the genesis of violence, it's an act of domination and thugry. When I was getting into this political season, because I hadn't been in it before, I wanted to educate myself about what really takes place, how the political parties really operate, join elections and so forth. And what I found was really shocking to me because there were some unconscionable things and people that I met along the way who I was asking, because I needed to talk to the veterans, people who had done this and whatever. And some of the things that they told me almost made me want to backtrack and say, do I want to be involved in this? But you see, my philosophical standpoint is that there are two groups of human beings. They're the ones who believe that the end justifies the means and they'll do anything, even kill, to be able to attain that end. And that's a group of people. Then you have another group of people who truly believe that, look, you must deal with conscience, there must be ethical values and so forth and so on. So those two extremes exist and they will continue to exist. The question is at any point in time, which dominates the other? Now, it is tended to be that those who believe in positive values tend to be what I would like to address as a silent majority. If you look, let's just keep quiet, let's not ruffle the feathers and let's just keep things, everything will be all right in the end. And you have to also finger religion as a cause of that kind of mentality that says, let's leave it all to God, okay? And it's almost got to a point where you even wonder whether people who have positive values are not just cowards who don't want to stand up to what is wrong. And so it's easier to say, let's just leave it, God will sort it out. It will all work out in the end. So part of what I discovered was that there's even a term for the Thugry angle. So they have different options and Thugry is referred to as option A4. So at the 7th, I thought A4, 2 is a form of voting. But so you have option A1, A2, A3. I'd never concentrated on all that because they're the usual standard thing. Now A4 is triggered when at a certain point there's an organization around it. And a structure around it. So there are guys who are kept, particularly during this season, they are taken into some sort of group where they are looked after, catered for feds, this, that, and the other. So they become dependent on whoever is their minder. It's almost like what the terrorists do. For sleeper cells. Absolutely, you got it. So you have these cells. And these guys are fed all this stuff. And then they are indoctrinated heavily. So look, listen, you got to what by all means necessary. You must make sure that. And they're given steps, very, very organized. And then they are triggered. So when option A4 is triggered, it means that's code red. Everything goes. They are supplied. Those who are supplying them with the cutleries and whatever on the knives do that. And some may be supplied with guns and what have you. And then they push the alarm. And especially with modern technology, it is easy to just wake everybody up. And then they get into the fray. Some are told, they're told the extent to which they need to get violent. And some are told, even if it means taking their life, we'll protect you. So in order for this to work, it goes right up all the way to the chain, even to the security agencies. So they are given whatever it needs to keep them happy and sweet. The guys who are going to do the actual implementation, given whatever is required to be, including drugs and all of these things, are pumped up very well for the particular day. And then it comes to the zero hour, they're activated. Now, for it to survive so long and through many election cycles, we must understand that it pays. So when I was brought up, I was brought up to understand that crime doesn't pay. So you don't even think about crime. But you see, when you are in a society where crime is not punished, then you have to conclude that crime therefore pays. So the guys who are corralled into this, they see the big boys doing the crime, and there's no time for the crime. So and then the big boys are shown them to look, see, nothing happens. So you can do this stuff. And you will be well rewarded, both with drugs and money. And that's how the thing continues. So just as we're talking about the foundation of this and what's at the core, at the core of this, I mean, I've never seen somebody your age carrying a machete or grabbing a ballot box or setting an iron-neck office on fire. It obviously is young people who are batting and jerting. And I always wonder why young people are the target, being that these are the people who are supposedly the future of this country. And just as I said to the last group of people we discussed with, we're doing a lot of civic education, we're trying to re-engineer the minds of the avid Nigerian. Do you think we're not doing a great work or it's just falling on deaf ears? No, I think the work is great and you must obviously continue it. But let's not make a mistake that because a person is young, then that means that they're on the right side of the value, you know, value mindset. That's why I said at the beginning that people divide into two. Those who accept evil and I'm trying, whether they're young or old, that's just where they stand in terms of, this is what I want for life and this and that. You probably won't change that people. So in marketing, you're looking at who's your target audience and then it's the work of the religious organizations and establishments to convert people, to identify the people that have the wrong kind of mindsets and then seek to now bring them over to the right mindset. But if the religious establishments themselves have failed and are conflicted, then they're not gonna do that job. They themselves are right bang in it. Now in every war, you have the generals and whatever. I was gonna say, the general's a guy with the gray beard and stuff like that and he sits in the control room. The guys are gonna carry the guns and do the kill. Are the younger guys who have the flexibility and the energy? So that's the way the mafia works and that's the way military operations work. The reason why I ask that question is because, just as folk buying, it serves you for just a moment and then these guys are gone to wherever, whether it be Aso Rock or it be State House and you're abandoned all over again. And then they come back if they want to have a rerun and then remember you and then the process that you described starts all over again. So they need you for a purpose and after that you're abandoned. We see a lot of that happening. And so I'm thinking with all that Nigerians and these young people have experienced over time, is that not enough reason to for once decide that maybe we should look at it from this angle. We're being used. How do we get a better life? Because you can never be those guys. You would always be the henchmen, right? Yeah. Society has abandoned these guys, okay? So to a large extent, if you don't have a safety net and if I was a young man, you know, believe that I don't count, I don't matter, right? I've been disenfranchised. I've not been educated. I don't have a roof over my head for the most part, some of them do. Then why should I care? And this person feeds me with drugs. He listens to me, kind of goes through a simulated care. He becomes, he is my benefactor, even if all he's doing is come in and when it's election time, yes, I'll get more. But between that time and then, they don't just cut those guys loose, all right? Because they need to have them on their umbilical cord. So if they cut them loose, then it's hard work, you know, trying to get a new set and all this kind of stuff. And then these guys know the drill, you know, already. So you got to keep them, you know, this is some of the stuff that I'm discovering that, wow, this thing is organized crime. And that's why it's called organized crime. So the society, right, has to take another look at itself, we have to introspect and say, okay, you know what? It doesn't pay for us to leave these guys on their own. You cannot have a situation where people are so grossly unemployed that you've excluded them from legitimate economic activity. What are they meant to do? They're gonna go for illegitimate economic because they have to survive. Politics is about human affairs and economics. And that's why in the civilized countries, you have what is called the safety net. It's a safety net for a reason. You don't let people fall through. Because if people fall through and land on the floor, they're gonna get up with a serious anger. And they're going to take vengeance on society. So you put in a safety net, either provide the jobs or you provide the unemployment benefits until they can get the jobs. And I think some economists in America has even shown that unemployment benefits also keeps the economy going because people will spend on the consumables and things that they need and whatever. So it's a virtuous cycle. Cycle. Because we don't have time, I wanna go into, because the elections are literally here, we're about 40 days to election day and we're still having to deal with these issues coming up in different parts of the country. And talking about thuggery, we saw what happened in Lagos in 2019 in certain parts of Qatar and the likes. And this is, I'm sure, a detail for every other state. What do we do in the interim? Because, I mean, the Buhari government is on its way out. And so, I mean, Mr. President looks like he can't wait to go. But what can be done as we speak to deal with that issue? Because you talked about consequences, that there are no consequences. And if there be any, we've not really seen serious consequences. So how do we make sure these consequences become a thing and not just words being thrown about? Okay, so first of all, let me say that we have to brace ourselves for the violence that most likely will come. Oh, so you foresee violence? Well, they are definitely. Really, why? Yeah, because the, first of all, you've got a number of politicians out there, you know, spewing brimstone and fire. So they're heating up the emotions already. So you can't have that kind of situation. And then, and there's no sanction for it. So that way, and they're pushing this ideology that, you know, you got to grab it, you got to whatever. That feeds definitely into what people are gonna do. So it's a code, you know, Option A4. You know, that's it. So we have to brace ourselves. But most importantly, you know, if you look at the Americans and the civil rights, they went through a lot of blood, tears and sweat. And it's a number, all of us now, those that believe on what is right have to really get into the free and stand up for what is right, even at the risk of being maimed, killed or what have you. Then we then have to look at, okay, after this is done, because it's still 40 days or whatever, you're not gonna change the mindsets of whoever is it. The weapons have already been distributed to the whole, you know, and as I said, the code has already been sent. And it's out there every day when you're listening to some of these campaigns, you know, you're hearing the code. So it's really how we get through this. And like I said, you know, we go out there and we do what we have to do, those who are brave enough, I would want to assume that those who have stayed and haven't jacked yet is because they have some belief that they want to see this society, you know, improve and need to play their own part. They can't kill all of us, you know, on the same day, right? So those, so as you get into it, as we all go, you know, with a commitment, yes, there'll be those who are on this side. But if those who are on this side, and I like to believe that the majority who didn't vote in 2019, right, are the vast majority who didn't vote because they didn't see the right persons to vote for, let them come out. There are people who have collected their PVCs. Even if those who haven't collected theirs haven't collected and won't collect, there's still the vast majority who have collected. They can represent the ones who haven't collected and just come out and do it and look them in the eye and say, you know, this society belongs to us as well. And we need to defend it. And we'll defend it with whatever is required. Well, I wish we had more time, but Accumbrick Rate is the governorship candidate of the National Rescue Movement here in Lagos data. I think the best I can say is good luck to us all. Thank you for being here. Thank you, yes. And that's it on plus politics tonight. We'll see you tomorrow as we continue to talk for development. And if you haven't gotten your PVC, do whatever it takes to make sure that you get it because that's your passport to a new Nigeria. I'm Mary Anacorn. Have a good night.