Amb Timothy Nwachukwu
Walter Ubaka Okeke, The Managing Director/CEO of Richwood and Richland International has warned that Nigeria is beset by the cankerworm of political and electoral violence which to all intents and purposes retards democratic consolidation, brings disenchantment and disillusionment in the entire polity, He has therefore called on the Federal and State Governments to take stringent measures to forestall the ugly incident towards the build up of November 6th Anambra Gubernatorial Election.*
Chief Walter Ubaka Okeke spoke on the backdrop of the Violence which erupted during the by-election held in Abia State. He expressed fear that the realities that spelt doom for the past republics are still endemic and prevalent in Nigeria today. He opined that poverty, unemployment, hunger, corruption, politically
motivated killings, abductions, religious bigotry are conspicuous in Nigeria’s political firmament.
The renowned Oil and gas Consultant proferred that to obliterate and reduce political violence to the barest minimum, pragmatic and proactive effort must be made by those in positions of authority to reduce poverty, thus people would not be pawns in the hands of
politicians in orchestrating political violence.
He further advised that youth employment should be vigorously embarked upon and objectively implemented without prejudice to give the vast majority of Nigerian youths the opportunity to be gainfully engaged in productive ventures.
He urged political parties to play politics according to the rules of the game by Promoting internal democracy, refraining from politics of desperation which oscillate the polity and swing it to the precipice of violence.
He called on politicians to eschew the use of ethnicity and religion to galvanize support and polarize the populace through politics of religious deception and ethnic chauvinism which have stirred up sentiments
and sparked communal violence perennially in Nigeria.
He reaffirmed the urgent need for Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) and relevant agencies such as the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to embark on vigorous education and value-orientation and re-orientation aimed at repositioning democratic institutions in Nigeria.
*Chief Walter Ubaka Okeke called on the government and judicial authorities to carry out the prosecutions of persons implicated in political violence whatever their political affiliations; those to be prosecuted should include persons who ordered or organized the violence as well as those who carried it out.*
