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ABUJA. – Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan yesterday urged Nigeria to hold peaceful elections next month, warning that violence could be a setback to progress across Africa. Voters elect a new president and parliament on February 14, then two weeks later return to cast their ballots in gubernatorial and state assembly polls.
But with a precedent for election-related violence – and a raging Boko Haram insurgency in the country’s far northeast – there are fears that this year’s vote could be the bloodiest yet.
Annan, speaking at a conference in Abuja attended by President Goodluck Jonathan and main opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari, said the impact of unrest could have far-reaching consequences.
“What happens in Nigeria affects us all, not just in West Africa but Africa as a whole,” he told delegates.
“If Nigeria does well, the region as a whole does well. But the reverse is also true.”
Last time round in 2011, which was widely regarded as the cleanest since civilian rule was restored in 1999, nearly 1 000 people died in post-poll protests in the religiously divided central region.
Annan said a pledge of non-violence by all parties “will reassure Nigerians and foreign friends who are concerned about potential election-related violence”. – AFP.
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