Jonathan’s Election Cause of Insecurity in Nigeria – US Agency‏

A notable United States based civil society organisation, Fund for Peace, has blamed the eruption of violence in different parts of the country on the ascension of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to the presidency, in violation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rule of zoning that, if followed in April, would have given the northern part of the country the presidential slot for another four years.

In its report on the April polls released recently entitled “Unlock Nigeria”, and exclusively obtained by LEADERSHIP SUNDAY, the organisation interested in peace and conflict resolution across the world attributes the present ethnic and religious tensions in the nation to its politics.

“The alternation of the presidency between the North and the South every two terms has been the rule since 1999, as per a PDP agreement. However, the death of President Yar’Adua mid-term in 2010 has thrown this delicate balance off kilter.

“This current term was expected to have been Yar’Adua’s (a northerner) second term, instead of Jonathan’s (a southerner) first elected term. This, coupled with an opening up of the political space and great strides being made in democratisation, has threatened those with vested interest in the status quo and brought ethnic and religious tensions to the surface,” the report states in part.

The US organisation’s report rated Delta, Kaduna and Bayelsa high on violence, as it predicted violence in the 2012 Bayelsa governorship poll.
“Looking ahead, UNLocK participants are very concerned about the potential for violence in Bayelsa state’s upcoming gubernatorial election, slated for February 2012.

“This is particularly concerning, given a history of political violence between politicians at the state level in Bayelsa, and the state government’s frequent use of state and non-state armed forces in a manner outside of the rule of law,” the report states.

The organisation also described the general elections in April this year as riddled by irregularities and violence.

“While the elections held in April 2011 were hailed as the fairest in Nigeria’s history by international observers, political intimidation, election irregularities and violence, including riots and bombings, occurred throughout the North and South.

“Though the previous report noted many of these incidents, more reports were compiled at a recent UNLocK workshop in Port Harcourt.

“For a more complete summary of the period, this edition overlaps with the previous report to include election and post-election incidents between the months of April and September 2011.”

On the other states, the report states in part: “As highlighted in this report, within southern states such as Akwa Ibom and Delta, there were incidents of election violence and irregularities, especially at the gubernatorial level.”

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