If BAT won through credible means, we won't be under pressure to ask Niger to do what is right – Chris Nwokobia

Chris Nwokobia, a member of the Labour Party and public affairs analyst, has emphasised the importance of genuine electoral systems for electing African presidents. He stated on Arise TV that West African leaders, and particularly those from Nigeria, should show credible electoral practises by conducting fair and transparent elections.

It appears that we are under pressure to go to war in Niger,” Nwokobia stated. You don’t have to put Nigériens under duress to ask them to do the right thing if the president was elected through a legitimate procedure. You need only board the president’s plane, fly to Niger, and bargain with the locals there. Nigériens won’t listen to you if they don’t think you’re credible because of your background.

He added that he has heard similar sentiments from people in Burkina Faso and other African countries, who claim to have inside information about the outcome of Nigeria’s elections and how this damages Nigeria’s reputation when talking about democracy.

Nwokobia added that politicians in Africa should make their ascent to power a transparent and honourable one. A government “by the people, for the people,” he said, is crucial to a democratic society, and leaders should actually work for the people they represent. In this way, African leaders can rise to the top not just of their own regions, but of the entire continent. Nwokobia’s remarks, in essence, stress the significance of honest elections and open government in influencing the democratic practises of other African nations for the better.

He argued that African leaders should make sure they gain power in a fair and transparent manner. The leaders of Africa need to make sure that democracy is truly rule “by the people, and for the people, as Abraham Lincoln put it. And when we properly dish and provide service to the people, we will emerge not only as leaders in West Africa and the Sahel, but as leaders across all of Africa. As a nation, we enjoy the highest level of prestige on this continent.”

(Fast forward to 15:54)

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