The Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, has urged organisers of the
Presidential debate to “give all candidates a level-playing ground.”
MURIC gave the call while lamenting the exclusion of some presidential candidates from the debate.
In
a statement signed and sent to DAILY POST by its Director, Professor
Ishaq Akintola, MURIC said: “It will be recalled that Eddi Emesiri, the
executive secretary of the Nigeria Election Debates Group, listed
political parties that would participate in the debate held on 14th
December, 2018 at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel as Allied Congress Party of
Nigeria (ACPN); Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN); All Progressives
Congress (APC); Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Young Progressives
Party (YPP).
“This did not go down well with other political
parties and the candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele
Sowore stormed the venue with his supporters to protest the exclusion of
his running mate, Dr. Rabiu Ahmed Rufai.
“We strongly condemn
the exclusion of candidates who are willing to participate in debates.
No candidate should have been excluded. What is worth doing at all is
worth doing well. The organizers should have prepared an all-inclusive
roster indicating the date and time of each candidate’s turn in the
debates. Nigerians deserve an explanation on the criteria used to arrive
at the choice of only five candidates for that debate. Why was Dr.
Rabiu Ahmed Rufai excluded? On what ground were others like him also
marginalized?
“Of course we blame those who compelled the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register every Dick
and Harry who applied for registration as a political party. INEC should
have been allowed to set the rules and to request for certain criteria.
Nigeria had 68 political parties as at January 2018. They became 91 in
August. This is clumsy.
“Yet, this proliferation does not hinder
inclusiveness in any way if the organizers do their home work
meticulously. After all 32 countries participated in the 2018 World Cup
finals in Russia and each team had its own chance to showcase its skill.
“Our
democracy must be fully participatory, not partially inclusive. That is
why foremost scientist, Jack Lively defined democracy as a ‘situation
of equality’. Margolis Michael was more succinct as he called it ‘equal
opportunity to participate’. We contend, therefore, that our democracy
remains a sham until every candidate is given ‘equal opportunity to
participate’.
“For the debates to earn the much desired
credibility, the Nigeria Election Debate Group is advised to consult
widely among the registered political parties. The possibility of
truncating a much publicized debate through a court injunction brought
by a marginalized political party cannot be ruled out. This is why the
organizers have to work very hard to ensure hitch-free debates.
“In
our own opinion, candidates who prefer to opt out of debates should be
allowed to do so. There are silent achievers who have correct ideas. A
candidate may not feel compelled to attend any debate if he has a clear
vision that can guide him to his mission or if he is certain that his
antecedent is enough to speak for him. Action speaks louder than voice
while oratory on the podium can be misleading sometimes.
“As we
round off, we call for fairness in the handling of debates. The
organizers must give all candidates a level playing ground. No
candidate, no matter how unimportant, must be put at a disadvantage
while none, no matter how highly placed, must be favoured in any
manner.”
Source:- Dailypostng
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