The recent sack of the Chief Imam of the Apo Legislative Quarters Mosque, Shiekh Nura Khalid by the mosque committee led by Senator Saidu Dansadau, is an unfortunate mess, the mosque and the country could have done without it. At no time has the sack of an imam in Nigeria’s recent history been so controversial and widely discussed as this, perhaps because it has happened at a crucial moment when nerves are frayed about a myriad of challenges facing the country, not least, the worsening insecurity situation in the country.
Sheikh Khalid’s fervent critique of the government of President Muhammadu Buhari in the aftermath of the Kaduna train attack over its failure to address the security situation bedeviling the country struck a nerve with many Nigerians and by and large echoed popular sentiments. Aside from Sheikh Khalid, religious leaders from the two major religions have expressed concerns over the insecurity situation in the country on different occasions.
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However, it is crucial to point out that the Chief Imam’s call for Nigerians to boycott elections until security is improved in the country could easily be misunderstood and therefore create room for further chaos. No doubt, the security of life and property is paramount, not only for the smooth conduct of democratic exercises, including peaceful, free and fair elections but for everything else that citizens do. However, calling for citizens to boycott the elections until the security situation is improved is one call too many and goes beyond the pale. It is a call that certainly stands against what would normally be expected of religious leaders who have a duty to be measured and introspective in their reasoning and comments on public affairs, particularly in a country where religion commands so much influence on citizens.
Elections are the bedrock of our constitutional order without which there cannot be a legitimate government. Free and fair elections are the most important means by which citizens can change the affairs of the country, including the security situation, by electing more capable leaders to take charge of the affairs of the country. Therefore, boycotting elections or calls for such would only lead to a constitutional crisis or worse, create room for the emergence of leaders without legitimacy, with all the attendant problems that entail. Even at the peak of the Civil War, the United States of America, for instance, still held its 1864 elections. Daily Trust, therefore, rejects Sheik Khalid’s call for Nigerians to boycott the coming elections until the security situation improves. If anything, we strongly encourage Nigerians to exercise their franchise by voting to elect new leaders when the time comes.
However, it must be understood that Sheikh Khalid spoke in the overall context of the need for the government to take all necessary measures to protect Nigerians who are being killed, maimed and raped by bandits, terrorists and criminals of all kinds. So while the imam erred in his call for an election boycott, the mosque’s committee overacted and effectively mismanaged the situation by throwing the baby away with the bathwater. The suspension of the imam and his subsequent sack is clearly an attempt to sanction free speech. Whereas we endorse calls for the regulation of preachers and preaching, this must be done with due regard to the constitutionally guaranteed right to free expression.
Nigeria is a democracy where only hate speech can be curtailed or regulated by any means. Calling on the government to secure the country, especially in the wake of a vicious attack on innocent citizens, does not qualify as hate speech. Moreover, in a country and at a time where many in the political system are reluctant to speak truth to power, those who muster the courage to do so must not be seen or perceived to be muzzled, by the government or any committees. After all, France’s wartime leader, Charles de Gaulle said that “Politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians” alone, which, therefore, means that people from all facets of life must get involved.
We categorically echo the call for the government to step up efforts to tackle insecurity in the country so that Nigerians can express their rights to participate in elections, move freely within their country, and above all, their fundamental right to life. If the government adequately meets this most basic of its functions, critics will naturally be silenced.
We, once again, maintain that calls for elections boycott are not the best way forward. Instead, we call on Nigerians to come out in their large numbers to vote for credible and competent leaders who will improve the fortunes of the country and its citizens, including in the area of insecurity. We also urge the government and its security agencies to ensure that a safe and conducive environment for the peaceful conduct of elections is created and sustained. This is paramount not only for the successful conduct of the 2023 elections but for the general wellbeing of the country, its economy and its people.
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