11th June, 2023
Prof. Jerry Gana, former Minister of Information and National Orientation, believes INEC was unfair to Nigerians during the 2023 general elections.
Gana gave his opinion on the election when he spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Minna on Nigeria’s democracy; the journey so far.
The former minister blamed INEC for the current electoral challenges where many election results were being challenged in the court for alleged electoral manipulations.
He said: “Recently, INEC has not been fair to Nigerians in conducting national elections, therefore, we have a long way to go in our democracy if we allow this ugly development to continue.
“It is true that we have introduced a lot of modern technology to improve our electoral system but these technologies are not being respected today by INEC. To me, it is a major disappointment that INEC was not fair enough to give us the leaders of our choice,” Gana stated.
He, however, expressed optimism that the country would perfect its democracy soon.
“After going through the current democratic process, it is my hope that the next one will be better,” Gana added.
Gana, who also spoke on the June 12 presidential election, stated that the annulment was a tragic mistake.
He claimed that retired Gen. Ibrahim Babangida meant well by organizing the election but some powerful forces made him to annul it to suit their selfish interests.
Similarly, Prof. Mohammed Kuta-Yahaya, a former Secretary to Niger Government, described June 12, 1993 presidential election as a moment of political history when Nigerians expressed satisfaction for democracy because they were tired of continuous military dictatorship.
He said that it was unfortunate that the then Supreme Military Council under the leadership of Babangida annulled it for whatever reason.
“Whatever that made the military to annul June 12 presidential election did not go down well with the people of the country because that was when they demonstrated to the whole world that they are one people that believe in democracy.
“This part of why former President Muhammadu Buhari recognised June 12 as democracy day in Nigeria, although the date was changed.
“It was a day Nigerians came out en mass and freely voted for the leader of their choice irrespective of cultural and religious affiliations,” he said.
The former Secretary to the State Government called for caution in the country’s electoral system to end the political event such as June 12 in order to improve the electoral process.
He urged President Bola Tinubu to recruit competent hands into his cabinet to ensure unity, progress and security of the country.
Kuta-Yahaya a lecturer at the University of Ibadan enjoined the country’s leaders to make education their first priority in order to empower the people and make them better persons in the society.
“Quality education will bring about rapid socio-economic advancements because it will make the people self reliant.
“If you make education your first charge, you are going to cause a revolution that will outlive you as a leader to better the people and the country.
“If you don’t educate the people especially, the youth to become good citizens they will turn to terrorise you the leader tommorow.
“As far as I am concerned, education is the bedrock of any meaningful society,” he said.
He advised leaders in the country to re-trace their steps back to the ideals of our founding fathers when Nigerians coexisted peacefully toward national development.