Winning By Hook Or Crook: Untoward Statements By Officials

In sane climes, public servants, specifically those saddled with organising credible elections ought to be most civil about what they say openly, especially regarding state matters. 

However, in most cases in Nigeria, it seems like a trending norm for public officials to dish out subtle threats capable of undermining the peace of society, and they are hardly held accountable for such. 

Intuitively, any time supposed incumbent party officials make daring, boastful, and threatening statements, it serves as a forewarning that the following election results will be compromised in favor of their party and its candidate(s).

This thesis appears to summarize the dispositions of officials of the APC at local government, state, and national levels. 

Among many similar developments, recall how the Kano State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Abbas, last November 2022, issued a statement to the effect that the party would capture the state in the forthcoming governorship election by hook or crook. 

Abbas was then reported to have made that statement during the flag-off of the party’s campaign in Gaya.

He said, “People are saying that I should stop saying the APC will capture Kano by hook or crook.

"I want to tell this gathering that the APC will capture Kano by hook or crook.

"We have today demonstrated our resolve of winning the election from top to bottom come the year 2023.

“Gaya as you know is the home of APC; no political party can match our strength and our clout.

"We are determined to take the bull by the horn in maintaining our dominance.

"Gawuna is our candidate and he is going to be the next governor of Kano State.”

Against the backdrop of statements like this, it is not strange when one comes across viral videos of under-aged children in possession of INEC's PVC ostensibly casting their votes in Abbas' constituency. 

Incidentally, Abbas is not the only APC chieftain in this mold.

Similar inflammatory statements have been credited to other APC chieftains like Festus Keyamo, Femi Kayode, and Adams Oshiomole, to mention but a few.

Conclusion

It cannot be faulted for any party member to proudly and visibly champion the cause of their party.

What fouls the air is when such party faithful openly denigrate the natural outcomes of election results with prejudiced preemptive statements that upset the peace of society.

This scenario is far more distasteful for the members of an incumbent ruling party to flagrantly rub things in the faces of the opposition.

It is one violation too many!