Presence of World Leaders In Nigeria Not Intrusion, Sawyer Tells el-Rufai
Former President of Liberia, Professor Amos Sawyer, has said the presence of world leaders in Nigeria few days to the commencement of the national polls should not be seen as an intrusion.
In a veiled reference to Governor Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai’s remark where threatened foreigners with death if they dared intervene over the polls, Sawyer, Special Guest of Honour and former at event organised by the Jonathan Foundation, said elections in Nigeria, considered Africa’s most populous nation, mean a whole lot to the West African sub-region.
“Nigeria’s role in West Africa makes election in this country is very critical. So elections in Nigeria cannot be seen solely as a Nigeria’s affairs,” he said, adding that the trouble currently rattling the nation’s judiciary should be resolved in accordance with the provisions of the law.
“Nigerian judiciary has been in the news for quite sometimes now in a manner that is of deep concern. It is our hope that the issues involved are resolved in a manner that will leave the integrity of the judiciary intact,” he said.
Lead speaker and Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah who spoke on ‘Electoral Violence in Nigeria: Causes, Consequences and Options for Prevention,’ submitted that violence is nothing but a reflection of deep frustration in the society.
Condemning the cheap values accorded human lives in the country; the cleric said killings no longer make meanings to people so long as those killed were not from their ethnic nationalities, adding, “We have refused to confront the realities of our time”.
