Afenifere chieftain and former Secretary to the Federal Government, Chief Olu Falae, on Sunday, expressed fear over the possible conduct of next year’s general election.
Also, he blamed the ethnic agitation in the country on the politics of exclusion allegedly being played by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Speaking on the state of the nation at Saint Andrew’s Church, Akure, the Ondo State capital over the weekend, he said the insecurity and attacks by terrorists in the country are threatening the conduct of the next year’s general election.
The elder statesman said: “I am praying that the terrorists will allow elections to take place in Nigeria.
“A few days ago, they still burnt down one of the INEC offices in the Southeastern part of the country. They have been doing that for a longtime. We hope the election will hold.
“Secondly, if elections take place at all, I hope that the outcome will be acceptable and credible. If during voting, shooting takes place and riots, the outcome will not be credible. I am hoping that we would be able to have an election next year.
“I am praying that in that case, the God Almighty will intervene and pick a president and government that can lead us out of the crisis that we are in. Nigeria is moving precariously on the edge of a precipice.”
On ethnic agitations in the country, Falae blamed it on the alleged marginalisation of other ethnic groups by the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration of President Buhari, saying: “An ethic campaign was inevitable when the government does not present itself as a government for all the people.
“If a government presents itself to be champion of a section of the people, naturally, others would begin to defend themselves. They will want to take care of themselves. Nigeria is not a difficult country to govern. I have spent time in government.
“If you have a president who shows genuinely that he is for all Nigerians, he does not just say it, he acts it in all his decisions and shows that he cares for all, Nigerians will worship him.”
Falae said we need somebody that knows that Nigeria is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and very complex country.
His words: “That is what Nigerians want; a fair-minded person; it does not matter where he comes from. After all, whoever is Nigeria’s president must come from one particular family, one particular tribe and one particular town.
“All he needs to do is to know that apart from his people, there are also other tribes as well that have equal claim to the Nigeria patrimony.”
On the security situation in the country, he said security is a local matter and every community should mobilise its people.
He said: “Every village, every hamlet should mobilise its people to defend them. The police would do their work, and DSS would do what they ought to do; but every community must have its security. For example, in my community at Ilu Abo where I am the Olu of the town, we have our vigilance group, and they have the instructions to comb all the surrounding forests.
“If you see any strange person, arrest him and bring him to the police station. The most important part is the surveillance, intelligence, monitoring of your environment and keeping strange elements out of your area.”
New Telegraph
