Between Lives and Ballots

With the 2019 general elections two days away, the Nigerian army had earlier announced that it will deploy 95% of its troops for security engagements during the polls. This comes against the background of recent fatal attacks the country is facing.

Yesterday in Zamfara, 66 people were killed in a clash between armed bandits and villagers who mobilized to defend themselves from the attack. In a similar incident yesterday, 20 people were killed when armed herdsmen invaded Ebeta Ushia Ward in Benue. In addition to these, are 18 people that were slaughtered in Borno by suspected Boko Haram terrorists.

Wanton killings is fast becoming a daily occurrence in Nigeria that requires heavy security presence in these hotspots of violent attacks. If the Nigerian army deploys 95% of its troops to polling units across the nation while some regions in the country is rife with bloody attacks and in dire need of heavy security presence, what will be the security situation in these hotspots during the elections?

Saving lives or securing ballots? Which one should take precedence? At this trying times where the nation is faced with numerous security challenges, what should be prioritized, lives or ballots?

Back in 2015, a court ruling illegalised the Federal Government’ deployment of soldiers for elections. Soldiers by training are to defend a country’s sovereignty and not get involved in internal affairs like elections. Deployment of soldiers for the elections has a tendency of militarizing the polls. Instead of casually deploying soldiers nationwide for the polls, they should be strategically deployed to high risks areas that is battling with security issues.

For Further Reading, Click: Militarising the 2019 Elections