Leye Adewumi
9 July 2009
Akure — Ondo State Governor, Dr. Oluseun Mimiko on Monday charged President Umaru Musa Yar'adua on the 2011 general elections, warning that democracy would be in danger if malpractices continue to mar elections in Nigeria.
Similarly, the National Deputy Chairman of the Labour Party, Dr. Joseph Akinlaja has said he did not foresee free and fair elections in 2011 if nothing is done to correct the impression that politics is a do-or-die affair in the country.
Mimiko spoke at a public lecture organized by the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Ondo State council titled: "Democracy at 10: Gains and Pains" in Akure. He said democracy would continue to be under threat if rigging persists when votes no longer count.
The governor said history of nations showed that the more democratic a nation is, the more developed it becomes, adding that the issue of election malpractices needed to be addressed.
His words: "A nation to seek greatness needs a leader who is decisive and well-equipped to provide national leadership guided and informed by the overall collective interest of the nation rather than primordial, ethnic, religious or personal interest".
However, Akinlaja noted that the only surviving industry in Nigeria today is politics, saying that is why do-or-die politics was introduced by former President Olusegun Obasanjo "to find jobs for the boys".
According to him, "The 2011 general elections would be battle of the guns. I mean the battle of the fittest. You could see what happened in the re-run election in Ekiti, the election was marred by rigging, violence and malpractices".
He lamented that Nigeria is going backward instead of moving forward and that there is no reason why Ghana should be better than Nigeria, saying last year, Ghana celebrated constant power supply and in Nigeria , we find it difficult to produce just 2,000 megawatts.
Akinlaja, a former Secretary General of National Union of Petroleum, Energy and Gas (NUPENG) also warned the Federal and State governments not to be extravagant on meaningless projects so that the effect of the economic meltdown would be minimal on the nation.
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