Okey Maduforo and Adewale Momoh 
Former Anambra state governor, Chief (Dr) Chukwuemeka Ezeife, has expressed fears over the fate of the 2023 general elections at the peak of insecurity situations in country. According to Ezeife, the security situation in the country may mar the election as most Nigerians have been cowed by the sustained killings across the country.
This is just as the Secretary General of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, Basorun Sehinde Arogbofa, said that as far as 2023 is concerned, things were still dicey. Arogbofa said in an interview that Afenifere is of the opinion that until two things were put in place one might find it difficult to stake out his neck, saying that restructuring is one of them.
“Look at the issue of terrorism, killings, attempts by some groups to drive others away from their possessions and things like that. Look at the constitution that is faulty and foisted on us by the military. All these are problems. Life insecurity, property insecurity, unless all these things are addressed, how can you have a successful election?” Arogbofa said. Basorun Arogbofa noted that these are Afenifere’s anxieties about 2023, adding that the group wanted a situation where some of these things are addressed, so that whenever the nation was going to have an election, people will be safe and alive.
“With the way things are going, unless some drastic measures are adopted, who knows who will be alive in 2023. So let us see how much of the problems we can clear before we go into 2023. “Yes, people are on the field talking about 2023, but they should also address the issues on the ground. So that is the way Afenifere looks at it,” he said. According to Ezeife; “It does not stop at fixing dates and timetable for the election when people are living in fear and how do you expect them to come out and vote during the election when unknown gun men always storm the political gatherings and kill policemen? “What efforts are being made to protect and secure the lives of both those contesting the elections and those who are the voters? Ezeife further lamented that security operatives are now the most hunted people in the country, noting that the security personnel are expected to provide protection for the electorate.
“We are not safe in this country and those mandated to protect the electorate are those that are being hunted down; so how would they protect the voters.” He posited that the Federal Government should first guarantee the safety of the electorate and build confidence in them before the election proper, adding that the insecurity in the country would certainly lead to voter apathy and ultimately produce the unpopular candidate as winners. “On the election day people will be afraid to come out and vote and that is voter apathy and at the end you will see the unpopular candidate win the election,” he said.
