SING FOUNDATION LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TAGGED #VoteAMust IN ABUJA…..Promises to mobilize the Niger Delta people for a sustainable peaceful protest until identified perpetrators of electoral violence are prosecuted

 SING FOUNDATION LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TAGGED #VoteAMust IN ABUJA

…..Promises to mobilize the Niger Delta people for a sustainable peaceful protest until identified perpetrators of electoral violence are prosecuted.

By Michael Egiethua

Olufemi Akindele Lawson, Director of Policy of SING marking his welcome address

The SING Foundation, a prominent Civil Society Organization which aims at creating a more prosperous and vibrant Niger Delta, launched its nonpartisan campaign Hashtag,  #VoteAMust in Abuja yesterday Wednesday 17^th of October 2018 at its Headquarters. The campaign is aimed at building a credible electoral process as a forerunner to a better society. The campaign tagged, “Vote A Must” Campaign is aimed at sensitizing the Niger Delta and indeed the whole of Nigeria on the importance of participating actively and independently in the forthcoming 2019 general elections.

In his speech, Olufemi Akindele Lawson, who is the Director of Policy of SING said that, they at SING were “particularly concerned about the security of lives and properties of our people in the Niger Delta region judging by the antecedents of some politicians who are now playing leading roles in some states of the region ahead of the elections”.

In his own words he said, “We wish to remind our people and the entire world that, the acts of violence witnessed during the December 2015 Governorship election in Bayelsa State remains fresh in our memories and the wounds are yet to heal. We cannot but express our displeasure that despite our independent efforts as stakeholders and independent Civil Society Group, Government has up till date refused to act on the report of our findings, many of which were validated by the recommendations of the Justice Margret Akpomiemie led Judicial Commission of inquiry” set up by the Bayelsa State Government.

He said that the gubernatorial elections in 2015, if well recalled, led to the killings of a number of persons, destruction of properties and many put into permanent disability. It would be recalled that a Commission of Inquiry was inaugurated by the Bayelsa State Governor on Monday December 14, 2015 in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State to investigate the violence and breach of peace that occurred before and after the governorship election between December 3 and 6 in the state.

Mr. Olufemi Akindele Lawson pledged that, SING would sustain a peaceful protest against the kind of electoral violence in the 2015 Bayelsa State Governorship election, violence unleashed by identified characters like Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri who is presently a minister of State for Agriculture serving under the present administration of President Mohammadu Buhari. This protest he said would be sustained until perpetrators of such identified violence are prosecuted.

In her remarks, SING’S Director of Research, Dr. Itari Turner, said that many young Nigerians have demonstrated capacity in various fields and politics cannot be an exception to this rule. She said that government will continue to be an abstract concept unless we engage with the process and put it to work for our good and in our best interest to create a Nigeria we will be proud of. She emphasized that the youth must apply their strength in numbers by engaging in the political process which will facilitate bringing Nigeria closer to the dreams and aspirations of its huge population of young Nigerians. She said the challenges are enormous and require huge sacrifices and strategic organizations around the key issues that plague us as a people and collection of nations within a nation.

Dr. Itari Turner said that this challenge starts with exercising our civic and patriotic duties and sending a clear message to the ruling elite by casting our votes and not allowing ourselves to be used as tools of violence and other election malpractices. In her words, “The youths are a deciding factor in this 2019 elections and they must make their voices distinctly heard in deciding who governs them”. She said Nigerian youths who have been known to build businesses and made giant strides in many fields must now translate their renowned boundless energies into meaningful participation in politics and governance.

Members of the Board of the SING Foundation

On the Niger Delta question, Dr. Itari Turner, said the issues are most often misunderstood. It was noted that the Niger Delta beyond being seen within the narrative of the struggle for a larger share of the resources gotten from the region and a source of over 80% of government revenue, is a dynamic and vibrant ecosystem which is host to one of the largest mangrove forests in Africa that is being depleted at a very dangerous rate. The Niger Delta is home to an intricately beautiful and diverse network of creeks, aquatic life comprising fresh and brackish waters ecosystems that have for centuries provided livelihood for the industrious people of the region in local and international trade.

She said the Niger Delta was noted to be the source of the dominant chunk of the Federal Government revenue and it will continue to be for the foreseeable future unless the country is restructured. However, in spite of this, the region has reaped poverty and a degraded environment for the people therein. The pervasive narrative about the region is that of militancy and violence, but the time has come for the good people of the region to rise and tell the whole world that these criminal elements are in the minority and don’t represent the whole story of the region.

In her conclusion, she said that, “the upcoming elections present an opportunity for the people to speak out with a large voice as the start of a process based transformation of our region to take its rightful place as a center of development and fountain of all that is possible in Nigeria. The essence of this “Vote A Must Campaign” is a clarion call on our people to literarily take their destinies into their own hands, by using their vote to kick-start the process of accountable and people-centered leadership that recognizes the office of the citizen in all its plans and programs”. She said the process of building institutions that will tackle the multiple challenges of Oil Spills, flooding, poor infrastructure, education and health among others begins with casting our votes and therefore we say to the people: VOTE IS A VERY BIG MUST FOR THE NIGER DELTA.

Also speaking at the occasion, Bar. Kayode Ajulo emphasized that the big issue in Nigeria at the moment is the 2019 general elections. In his remarks, Bar. Ajulo was critical of the practice whereby, political parties are only interested in securing votes rather than engaging in voter education which will undeniably help to transform the electoral process for the better.

He said “Based on the trends over the years, the state and non-state political actors must pay more than usual attention to the issue of electoral violence, knowing that for an election to be credible there must be mass participation and the votes cast must be allowed to count. Even our security agencies have a role to play but they seem to be losing the initiative. For now, all we see them doing is presenting budgets on what they intend to spend for their role in the elections. Why are they not engaged in in-house and public orientation? They must at all times carry out their responsibility with a consciousness that they are created to serve the masses and not to collude with politicians and their thugs to discredit the elections through intimidation and what have you. This to me is a vital aspect of their expected role in the elections. Seeing that the ultimate aim of elections is to reflect the wishes and interests of the long-suffering people, anything short of giving them the confidence to cast their votes in a free and fair process would be a robbery against them”.

Dr. Itari Turner with Microphone and members of the Board of the SING Foundation

In conclusion, the group called on the Bayelsa State Government and the federal government to implement the findings of the Justice Margret Akpomiemie commission of Inquiry set up to investigate the violence  and breach of peace during and after the governorship election held between December 3 band 6, 2015 in Bayelsa State. The group stated that failure by the Bayelsa State Government to proceed with the said prosecution, it will commence the process of suing the Bayelsa State Government over its non execution of legal action against those indicted in the election violence by the commission of Inquiry.