Security Agencies Required To Safeguard Elections In Nigeria – NSA

The national security adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki, (rtd) has said that Third World countries including Nigeria will continue to require the presence of security agencies to safeguard elections, protect electoral materials, persons and even voters. According to him, this is based on the countries’ past experiences where hooligans, rented by politicians were bent on creating confusion through ballot box snatching or stuffing of ballot boxes. The NSA was reacting to criticisms of the presence of security operatives at polling stations, saying that security agencies will continue to play major roles in future elections in the country until Nigerians imbibe the tenets of true democratic culture. Dasuki said that this culture includes orderliness and the elimination of all forms of thuggery and other electoral malpractices in Nigeria’s electoral system. The NSA spoke in Jos yesterday at the 3rd Eminent Expert Group Meeting at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru near Jos. The meeting, which has the theme “Elections and Security in Nigeria: Towards an Effective National Security,” had in attendance experts in electoral law, foremost traditional rulers, policy makers in both security and political spheres as well as participants of the Senior Executive Course of the institute. He said that elections are easier to conduct in societies where majority of the people are literate and where people have access to the print and electronic media. adding however, that the agency has made some changes in the presence of security agencies at polling stations such as the elimination of guns at polling centres to eliminate violence and other related incidents. He said that the Independent National Electoral Commission would continue to do everything within its powers to ensure that elections in Nigeria are free, fair and devoid of any violence. Sambo added, “Some commentators have argued that security agencies should have no role to play during elections, as in the case in mire mature democracies such as USA, UK, India and Australia, but these commentators tend to forget that the democratic culture is a learning curve. “Counties have to start somewhere and gradually improve on their past experience, to the extent that citizens would require little or no coaching in how to take part in elections. But this is not the case in many Third World countries where the electoral body and politicians are relied upon to guide people on what to do.” Prof. Dakum Shown, Chairman of the occasion, bemoaned the scrapping of the Centre for Democratic Studies, CDS, saying that the services of the centre is needed now more than ever before.(NAN)