Military: Towards Ensuring Peaceful 2023 Elections in Nigeria
By Mukhtar Ya’u Madobi
With the 2023 general elections around the corner, the attention of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and other sister agencies have eventually turned toward providing adequate security aimed at ensuring the peaceful conduct of the poll.
As a result, the military has been seriously engaged in Counter-Insurgency operations for the past months in the insurgents -troubled northeast and the bandits infested areas in the northwest in which a lot of success were recorded.
Recently, the Defence Headquarters has restated its commitment to deploy substantial troops to areas ravaged by terrorists, bandits and gunmen to ensure the safety of electorates during the polls.
While giving the assurance, the Director, Defence Information, Maj Gen Jimmy Akpor, said, “Nobody is sleeping; we’ll continue to do our utmost and scale-up our operations, intelligence and physical, kinetic and non-kinetic activities to ensure that the environment is safe for socioeconomic activities.
“In those areas mentioned, you would have done justice by having feelers from security agencies in the areas. Yes, there are security challenges; they keep evolving and so also are we reviewing our processes to ensure that we are able to deal with them.
“Mind you, this is not a conventional threat; this is an asymmetric operational environment we are talking about. Just imagine somebody who will commit an offence against the state will not write it on his face. That is the asymmetric environment we are talking about.
“We are also reviewing our processes to deal with it. Mind you, it is an all-agency affair and you can imagine the level of synergy between the armed forces and all other security agencies.”
The Nigerian military has a long history of involvement in the country’s electoral process. In the past, the military has been accused of manipulating elections to favor certain candidates or political parties.
However, in recent years, the Nigerian military has taken steps to ensure that elections are conducted in a free and fair manner. As Nigeria prepares for its 2023 general election, the Nigerian military is once again playing an important role in ensuring that the election is conducted in a peaceful and orderly manner.
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The Nigerian military has been actively involved in preparing for the 2023 general election since 2019. The military has been working closely with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other security agencies to ensure that all necessary preparations are made for a successful election.
This includes providing security personnel to protect polling stations and other sensitive areas during voting days, as well as providing logistical support for voter registration and other activities related to the election process. The military also provides training for INEC staff on how to conduct elections properly and safely.
In addition to its role in preparing for the 2023 general election, the Nigerian military is also playing an important role in ensuring that it is conducted peacefully and without any interference from outside forces.
The military has deployed troops across Nigeria to provide security during voting days and ensure that no one interferes with the electoral process. The troops have also been instructed to remain neutral during voting days and not take sides or interfere with any political party or candidate’s campaign activities.
The Nigerian military’s efforts towards conducting a free and fair 2023 general election have been praised by many observers both within Nigeria and abroad. Many believe that these efforts will help ensure that Nigerians can exercise their right to vote without fear of intimidation or manipulation from outside forces.
Furthermore, it is hoped that these efforts will help create an environment where all Nigerians can participate freely in choosing their leaders without fear of violence or coercion from any group or individual.
In conclusion, it is clear that the Nigerian military is playing an important role in ensuring that Nigeria’s 2023 general election is conducted peacefully and fairly. By working closely with INEC and deploying troops across Nigeria, they are helping create an environment where all Nigerians can participate freely in choosing their leaders without fear of violence or coercion from any group or individual.
This effort should be applauded by all Nigerians as it will help ensure that democracy remains strong within Nigeria for years to come.
MUKHTAR is the author of a book on “National Security Strategies” and is a staff writer with the Emergency Digest.
