Nigeria’s 2023 election may lead to violence with the North plotting to retain power by hook or by crook
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Promoters of violence and rigging in Nigeria’s 2023 general election will face United States visa restrictions, Washington has warned.
The warning comes amid scheming by the North to directly refuse to rotate power to the South after Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure or bankroll a crowded Southern field so no Southern aspirant gets enough votes to win the presidential primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Aso Rock cabal – comprising Mamman Daura, Abubakar Malami, and Isa Pantami, among other Buhari’s hatchet men – is plotting to split the votes of Southern delegates among several Southern aspirants sponsored by the cabal so that bulk Northern votes can win the ticket for a Northerner.
Direct or indirect manipulation of the system to favour the North can be a recipe for disaster because Southerners are agitating for power shift to their region in 2023.
United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, Michael Gonzales, said the threat of visa restrictions will help restrain those who may resort to violence to wreck democracy in Africa’s most populous nation.
He spoke at a conference on “United States Policy and Nigeria’s National Decisions in the 2023 Elections” held virtually at the School of Advanced International Studies in Washington.
The conference brought together Nigerian and American policy communities to discuss the 2023 ballot.
“[We] will continue to use our messaging, as well as other diplomatic channels at our disposal, including visa restrictions, where warranted, to dissuade those who may be tempted to use violence to undermine Nigeria’s democratic process,” Gonzales said.
He stressed that the US government is committed to working with Nigeria to uphold its conventions toward ensuring a peaceful power transition in 2023.
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South East seeks a sense of belonging
Centre for Democracy and Development (CDC) Director Idayat Hassan noted that “political parties during the Anambra governorship election cycle could not campaign due to insecurity” and a worse scenario could happen in 2023.
“The zoning of the Presidency to the South, particularly the South East, will give the region a sense of belonging in Nigeria,” she said, per reporting by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), published by Nairametrics.
Previous visa restrictions
Washington has already imposed visa restrictions on some Nigerian politicians for their conduct in past elections in Kogi, Bayelsa, Edo, and Ondo.
“Today, the Secretary of State is imposing additional visa restrictions on individuals for their actions surrounding the November 2019 Kogi and Bayelsa State elections, and in the run-up to the September and October 2020 Edo and Ondo State elections.
“These individuals have so far operated with impunity at the expense of the Nigerian people, and have undermined democratic principles,” it announced in a statement.
