Students as well in Kktsina state have admonished politicians to see politics as a means of guaranteeing brighter future for the country and not otherwise.
Majority of the students who have stayed at home for months now said that they are worried over the consistent degree of threats by politicians, which, according to them, is not healthy for the nation’s polity.
They said their reason for their passionate appeal to politicians was that elections in the country are characterised by unpredictable tensions before, during and after.
While reminding Nigerians of the post 2011 election violence in Katsina, the home state of President Muhammadu Buhari and several other states of the federation that claimed many lives and property, the students, have admonished Nigerians youths against allowing themselves to be used by politicians to perpetuate evil.
“Our primary concern is the youths, whom we feel there is the need for a more rigorous enlightenment against being engaged by politicians as thugs during the elections. We are equally appealing to political and religious leaders to guide people on the path of peace and to prevent evil-minded people from engaging youths in violent acts to achieve their desperate ambitions”, one of the youths advised.
Demonstrating their concern, the National Association of Katsina State Students (NAKATSS) organized a public lecture tagged: “Political Thuggery, Election Violence and Voter Education.” to help drive home their youth sensitization agenda.
The event held at the conference hall of Hassan Usman Katsina Polytechnic attracted youths from diverse walks of life and students from higher institution of learning in the state and beyond.
Speaking at the event, National president of the association, Nasir Almustapha Jibiya expressed worries that as political war drums are getting louder for the forthcoming general elections, the prospect of political thuggery has become the major concern in different societies.
He also decried that, as the general elections draws closer, the teeming unemployed youths in Nigeria has the misfortune of being engaged as political thugs after which they sadly commit crimes just to satisfy their paymasters who will later dump them after the elections.
The students’ leader advised all students to be law abiding, patriotic and vigilant wherever they are and educate eligible persons to partake in election processes so that their votes would count.
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In his presentation, the Wazirin Katsina, Prof. Sani Abubakar Lugga, revealed that post –election violence in Nigeria claimed no fewer than 15,000 lives from 2011 to 2015.
Lugga however noted that the rate of election violence in the country fell to its barest minimum in 2015 general elections believed to be fair and credible even as he added that the prompt acceptance of defeat by former President Goodluck Jonathan greatly contributed in deepening the Nigerian democracy and stemming post-election violence.
The highly respected voice in academic and Islamic religion circles in the state and beyond advised people to desist from any act that could breach the existing peace as a result of 2019 general elections.
On his part, the Katsina State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Jibril Ibrahim Zarewa, disclosed that out of over three million registered voters in the state, no fewer than 95% of the eligible voters had collected their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs).
Zarewa, who expressed optimism that the people of the state would support the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in its efforts to ensure free, fair and credible elections, further queried the rationale behind recent protest in Katsina over the recruitment of non-indigenes as adhoc staff to conduct the forthcoming elections in the areas.
The REC submitted that such protests were misguided and uncalled for at this time when all hands should be on deck for the success of the 2019 general elections.
He said: “The commission has the policy of appointing the presiding officers from among NYSC members. In Katsina, the metropolis, for obvious reasons, has more NYSC members than most of the LGAs. For this reason, we may have to move Corps mebers from Katsina to such LGAs in order to have full complement of the presiding officers.
“The Constitution and by all intents and purposes, the Nigerian people have put the trust of conducting elections in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). This trust is sacred and the Commission is committed to conduct free, fail open and credible elections.
“It also expects all stakeholders in the electoral process, critical among which are the electorate, security agencies, political parties, candidates, traditional rulers, religious leaders, Civil Society Organizations, youth and media, should play their appropriate roles in order to ensure that the elections are peaceful, free, fair and credible”.
