Jonathan postponed elections to frustrate Buhari – NY Times

Jonathan postponed elections to frustrate Buhari – NY Times

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The United States-based New York Times says the postponement of
the elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission was
orchestrated by President Goodluck Jonathan to frustrate Maj. Gen
Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) of the All Progressives Congress.

The newspaper, which has won 114 Pulitzer Prizes, further stated that
Jonathan appeared to be afraid of the increasing popularity of Buhari,
who most Nigerians would likely vote for.

It said this in the editorial of its Monday edition titled, “Nigeria’s
Miserable Choices”.

“Any argument to delay the vote might be more credible if President
Goodluck Jonathan’s government had not spent much of the past year
playing down the threat posed by the militants and if there were a
reasonable expectation that the country’s weak military has the ability
to improve security in a matter of weeks.

“It appears more likely that Mr. Jonathan grew alarmed by the surging
appeal of Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler who has vowed
to crack down on Boko Haram. By dragging out the race, Jonathan
stands to deplete his rival’s campaign coffers while he continues to
use state funds and institutions to bankroll his own,” the publication
said.

It said INEC’s excuse that elections were postponed because security
forces wanted to fight insecurity would have been taken in good faith
if Jonathan had been tackling insecurity effectively since he took
office.

The 164-year-old newspaper said that Jonathan had become so
unpopular that Nigerians were not afraid of the idea of a former
military dictator returning as President.

It however said that Jonathan had become worried about the rising
insecurity and was willing to accept help from western powers.

The newspaper warned that election postponement might increase the
level of insecurity rather than reduce it and that Nigeria’s democracy
would not survive an electoral crisis.

“Beyond security matters, entrenched corruption and the government’s
inability to diversify its economy as the price of oil, the country’s
financial bedrock, has fallen and has also caused Nigerians to look for
new leadership.

“Nigeria, the most populous African nation, and a relatively young
democracy, cannot afford an electoral crisis. That would only set back
the faltering efforts to reassert government control in districts where
Boko Haram is sowing terror.

“The security forces may not be able to safeguard many districts on
Election Day. But postponement is very likely to make the security
threat worse,” it said.