Former Independent National Electoral Commission Chairman (INEC), Attahiru Jega has said that Nigeria’s politicians act like militants.
Jega also condemned the country’s politicians for treating politics like a do-or-die affair.
He made the comments on Saturday, October 8, during the 50th birthday celebration of All Progressives Congress (APC) Legal Adviser, Dr Muiz Banire.
“INEC,
as an election management body, faced perhaps its greatest challenge
containing the predisposition and reckless mindset of Nigerian
politicians. I quite often say that Nigeria has a special breed of
politicians – ‘militicians’,” Jega said according to Punch.
“They
generally tend to believe that political power, through election, has
to be captured and this has to be done by hook or by crook; by any means
necessary. For many, winning an election is literally a do-or-die
affair. That is why the Nigerian political arena increasingly resembles a
bloody battlefield with maiming, killing, burning, assassinations and
unimaginable destruction of lives and property.
“Navigating
the minefield of do-or-die politicians as an impartial electoral umpire
requires nerves of steel and requisite thick skin as well as
appropriate containment.
“As long as
politicians continue to have unwholesome mindset, efforts at electoral
reforms and deepening democracy would remain constrained and susceptible
to reversal. This is, therefore, a key area of priority focus as we
contemplate sustainable credible elections in Nigeria,” he added.
Jega has been praised globally for his handling of the 2015 general election which was won by President Muhammadu Buhari.
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