Gentlemen, good morning. This account of Mr. Olumide’s visit to Port Harcourt has brought to focus a number of issues that should agitate our minds with regard to how our own affairs are piloted.
- On the side of the candidates, the issue raised is that of CHARACTER. How amenable to discipline, obedience to constituted authority & laws, & humble, is a person who not only flouts the ECNBA guidelines in an election he is a candidate in, but also the secular law of Federal & Rivers States governments banning inter-state travel? Is a candidate who flagrantly tramples over our laws & rules, & ruthlessly resorts to Brut Force & violence against those he’s seeking their mandate, to avoid the collection of the evidence of his misdeed, the sort of CHARACTER we want to elect as our leader?
- On the part of the electorate, do you require any further evidence that a candidate with such character SHOULD NOT BE ENTRUSTED with our mandate as he does not at all have any intentions of serving us? We must, as the electorate, LEAD THE CHARGE in saving ourselves from TYRANNY by refusing to elect a candidate who has evinced Tyrannical Characteristics & Tendencies, & not blindly allow such a character to ascend the throne, then hope against hope that he will change, or gnash our teeth in regret at the mistake of electing him.
- On the part of our Constituted Authorities, the issue raised is that of their ability to live up to their duties of enforcing the rules & laws they themselves made. The ECNBA cannot expect the generality of Nigerian lawyers to take their CREDIBILITY & CAPABILITY seriously if they remain silent & gloss over this THUMBING OF THE NOSE at them by a candidate in an election they are conducting.
Both the Federal & Rivers State governments, who have hitherto been quite forceful in enforcing the inter-state travel ban & large crowd gathering, should enforce their laws in the instant case, as they have been known to do in the past.
Consequently, l respectfully suggest that reports should be lodged with these APPROPRIATE AUTHORITIES IMMEDIATELY. It is these authorities that will call for & receive the response of Mr. Olumide, following which appropriate actions are then taken.
My views, Gentlemen.
Chidi B. Nworka, Esq.
