From Theo James
A Human Rights Lawyer and a Commentator on National Issues, Barr Ifeanyi Ejiofor has warned the political class that the terrorists they created to assume office may become their nemesis in the future.
Barr Ejiofor said that his observation should be a sobering lesson from Nigeria’s security history :When Politicians arm violence for electoral advantage , they may unleash forces they can neither control nor contain.
The Legal Luminary said, "As Nigeria inches towards the 2027 general elections, the disturbing rhetoric of political violence, threats against voters, and the mobilisation of armed thugs in pursuit of electoral victory demand urgent national reflection.
"Those who sacrifice the peace of a nation on the altar of personal ambition must be reminded that the consequences of political recklessness rarely respect the boundaries of political parties or the identities of their sponsors.
"History offers a sobering lesson. In the years preceding the 2015 general elections, political hostility, incendiary rhetoric, and fears of electoral violence deepened Nigeria’s political divisions.
"Meanwhile, Boko Haram had already emerged as a deadly insurgency following its violent confrontation with the Nigerian state in 2009. The dangerous intersection of political violence, arms proliferation, weak accountability, and the exploitation of vulnerable young people has helped create conditions in which criminal violence can flourish.
"The warning is unmistakable: the young men recruited to intimidate political opponents today may discover tomorrow that their weapons are more profitable than their political loyalty. Once violence becomes an instrument of livelihood, its practitioners may cease to recognise the authority of those who first empowered them.
"From the North-East to the North-West and North-Central regions, Nigeria continues to grapple with overlapping security challenges, including Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgencies, armed banditry, kidnapping, and communal violence. These crises have distinct histories and drivers; the proliferation of illegal firearms, the entrenchment of criminal networks, and the failure to hold sponsors of violence accountable remain issues that demand uncompromising national attention.
"To the politicians who consider armed thugs indispensable instruments of electoral victory, a question must be asked: what happens when the hired hand refuses to surrender the weapon after the assignment? What happens when yesterday’s political foot soldiers become tomorrow’s independent warlords, demanding protection money from the very political establishments that once patronised them?
"Therein lies the tragedy of political short-sightedness. A man who plants thorns along the road to power should not expect to walk barefoot when returning home. The gun does not recognise a godfather, and a criminal recruited for political convenience does not necessarily remain loyal when a more lucrative opportunity presents itself.
"An Igbo proverb reminds us, in substance, that whoever invites a dangerous creature into the household must not assume that he alone will determine when it leaves. And, as another enduring lesson of life teaches, the hunter who mistakes the forest for his private estate may eventually discover that the prey has learnt to hunt.
"Those who threaten voters with AK-47 rifles in Edo state, boast of conquering states by force, or contemplate electoral victory at all costs must understand that democracy is not warfare, and political opponents are not enemies to be exterminated. No electoral mandate is worth the blood of innocent citizens. No presidential or governorship ambition is more valuable than the life of a Nigerian, and no political office confers immunity from the consequences of sponsoring criminality.
"Some politicians appear to believe that the young men they arm will possess the discipline to terrorise their opponents today and the civility to return their weapons tomorrow. What a convenient illusion! You may hire a thug for an election, but you cannot hire his conscience, guarantee his loyalty, or dictate the next target of his gun.
"This is a clarion call to Nigeria’s security agencies, intelligence services, and electoral authorities. Credible intelligence concerning threats of political violence must be investigated promptly, impartially, and professionally. Those who finance, arm, recruit, or direct criminal groups must be brought to justice in accordance with the law, irrespective of their political standing. Selective enforcement is not security; it is an invitation to anarchy.
"The security agencies must never permit partisan considerations to overshadow their constitutional responsibilities. To ignore credible warnings because the suspected perpetrators are politically connected is to mortgage the nation’s peace for the convenience of powerful individuals. National security must remain greater than the ambitions of any politician, political party, or electoral godfather.
"Ultimately, Nigeria must confront an uncomfortable truth: violence tolerated for political convenience today becomes a security burden borne by the entire nation tomorrow. The same weapons procured to intimidate an opponent may eventually threaten the sponsor, his family, his community, and the state itself.
"Let every politician reflect before lighting a fire he may be unable to extinguish. Elections will come and go; political offices will change hands; godfathers will lose their influence. But the consequences of insecurity may endure for generations.
"Those who sow violence to harvest political power may yet reap a harvest of terror. History has issued the warning. Wisdom demands that we heed it before another generation pays the price."
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