Godwin AJOM, Calabar
Professor Chris Nwamuo of the University of Calabar, Cross River State, has warned against ethnic or religious politics and a high level political apathy, as elections draw closer.
Nwamuo noted that it was high time candidates and political parties stopped playing ethnic and religious cards during electioneering campaigns, saying such issues were capable of rocking our political system in 2023.
Speaking at Ibeku community, APC stakeholders’ forum, the University of Calabar orator decried a situation where the electorate tend to give attention to candidates’ tribal origin, religious background and personalities than to the latter’s political programme and ideology.
He stated that there was the urgent need “for an active and serious continuous civic and voter education anchored on the imperative to embrace issue-dominated politics because it had more potential to bring about change, sustainable development and lasting peace.
“So with issue-based campaigns, people representatives go to office having specific issues to be addressed as key element of their political agenda.
“Issue-centred politics has enormous potentials of bringing about serious socio-economic development while personality-dominated politics, as experienced in the country, is susceptible to breed conflict and community unrest.”
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On electoral violence, Nwamuo said there was also the need to sensitise politicians and their political movements towards being responsible and disciplined during electioneering as most incidences of political violence were endangered directly or indirectly by the actions of politicians.
On voter apathy, the renowned professor attributed it to many factors including the belief that votes will not count, the belief that leadership candidates will be selected and not elected, that the real election results will be doctored or written and on the belief in vote buying culture.
