Gradually, the Federal Government is building up the hope of the Nigerian people towards the 2023 general elections. More Nigerians have come to see the possibility of an election in which their choices at the polls will be respected.

Since he signed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill after a protracted battle of wits, President Muhammadu Buhari has been a strong and consistent advocate for a free and fair election in 2023.

Some of his actions such as his failed attempts to appoint his erstwhile media aide, Lauretta Onochie, as an INEC Commissioner and the appointment of known All Progressives Congress, APC, members as Resident Electoral Commissioners attracted doubts, worries and scathing criticisms. However, his utterances asking people to vote for candidates of their choice and taking steps, through the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, currency policies to curb vote buying, will fortify the efforts towards a free and fair election.

The Chief of Defence Staff, Lt-Gen Lucky Irabor’s assurance that the military will resist pressure and inducement and support a free and fair election is a further boost of confidence and trust that the incumbent government will live up to its duty and solemn pledges.

Ordinarily, these public undertakings should not be called for. The Army has no business being involved in a purely civilian business such as elections. But in Nigeria, the Army has always been a fixture in our elections. They are meant to be a backup to the Police which is constitutionally empowered to provide security at elections.

But we have seen elections where the military went beyond their constitutional bounds to work for some political parties and candidates. In the 2019 general elections which returned Buhari for a second term, bad eggs in the military were seen running riot in Rivers, Kaduna and Kano in attempts to thwart the people’s will. They also directly interfered at the collation centres.

Politicians always plot to buy over the Police, Army and other security personnel to steal the vote. Fortunately, the CBN’s well-received currency control measures and the INEC’s use of technology to sideline human interference in the elections will leave very little space for the use of thugs and bad eggs in the Police, military and security agencies to play foul.

Now, the Army will be able to keep off the election zones and respond swiftly whenever the Police and the security agencies need their backup. They should also fortify their internal mechanism to deal with bad eggs.

With all these, the politicians who had pinned their hopes on the impunities of incumbency and political mercantilism will have no choice but to start genuine campaigns to earn the people’s vote.

Buhari should use the 2023 elections to thank Nigerians for granting him his heart’s desire to lead as an elected president.

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