Ahead of the March 11 governorship and state assemblies’ polls, civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, (HURIWA) has counselled 87,209,007 Nigerians with Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to elect competent leaders and not blindly vote in the candidate of a political party because of the influence of the presidential candidate of such party.

HURIWA has also condemned the persistent targeted attacks by political thugs suspected to be loyal to the ruling party in Lagos jittery over possibility of being dethroned by alternate political platform just as HURIWA warned that the people must procure lawful weapons to protect their lives since all the armed security forces are almost certainly bought over to look the other way whilst Igbo interests are attacked by street urchins and area boys.

HURIWA is calling on all and sundry in Lagos to speak out in absolute condemnation of these coordinated violence against Igbos in Lagos even when the Nigerian constitution guarantees freedom of movement,  freedom of association and Right to own immovable property in any part of Nigeria lawfully just as the Rights group asked the international community to put pressure on the Lagos State Government and the central government’s controlled armed security forces to protect Nigerians of all ethnicities in Lagos.

HURIWA is warning that anarchy will inevitably set in if this pattern of Igbophobic violence is allowed to continue because it will then mean that people need to procure weapons of lawful nature to protect their Right to life. “The deliberately orchestrated arson carried out in the Spare parts market in the Apapa Ajegunle area of Lagos State dominated by Igbo traders is a provocative criminal act permitted by the Lagos State administration for fear that majority of voters in Lagos may opt for Labour Party so as to dethrone the political godfather of Lagos who has just been announced by INEC as the winner of the hotly contested Presidential election,” HURIWA affirmed. HURIWA said it doesn’t make sense to continue attacking Igbos when there is no existing conflict between the Igbos and their Yoruba hosts in Lagos State. “Those who are running for public offices must stop setting the biggest commercial centre of Nigeria on fire even if their defeat is inevitable because no single family needs to control the destiny of over 30 million people resident in Lagos which is undoubtedly a Yoruba owned State within the Nigerian federation.

HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, urged the electorate in the over 176,000 polling units to scrutinise candidates on an individual basis, assess those who can solve economic issues and who can effectively hold social trust for four years before the next electoral cycle.

The group urged Igbo voters to vote governors in the 28 states where seasonal elections would hold using tested and scientific methods and proven track records of such candidates. The group said it is disastrous to blindly vote in all Labour Party candidates because of the popularity and sincerity of LP’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

HURIWA said such blanket action by the electorate could jeopardise Nigeria’s nascent democracy and be a cog in the wheel of governance in the next four years as classic opportunists with no pure intention and well-defined objectives and goals will find themselves in office because they rode on the fame and widespread acceptance of Obi.

Nigerians go to the polls again on Saturday to elect 28 governors and state assembly members in 36 states. The country held its presidential and National Assembly elections two weeks ago. Former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu won with 8,794,726, almost two million votes more than his closest rival — former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), while the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, who, in less than a year, galvanised young voters in a manner some have described as unprecedented finished the race with 6,101,533.

Because of Obi’s acceptance, many unknown figures and first-timers won National Assembly seats. The LP, for the first time got six Senate and 34 House of Representatives seats.

However, HURIWA’s Onwubiko said Nigerians must be careful in the election of new crop of leaders and not elect classic opportunists riding on Obi’s wave of popularity.

Onwubiko said, “With the gubernatorial polls coming in the next few days, it is important to warn voters not to fall for collective hallucinations of assuming that there’s a particular political party that has the magic wand to solve economic issues.

“HURIWA tasks voters to make their choices based on individual merits, competences and personal achievements of the person especially in the private sector and then assess the person based on his social contract with the people which the candidate expoused during the campaign season.

“We caution especially the Igbo voters against using untested and unscientific hysteria of voting in a party because of Peter Obi because, for instance in Enugu State, the Labour party’s governorship candidate, Chijioke Edeoga has always been a PDP member and has been around the power circles for over 15 years beginning from the federal House of Representatives as a member and commissioner in different sectors under the PDP.

“So, what marks him out as the best? Or is he no longer a PDP product because he jumped into LP after he lost at the PDP’s  guber primary? Voters should be very careful.

“However in a place like Abia State, the Labour Party governorship candidate, Alex Otti may be given a chance having displayed great character and competence. Alex Otti is a living legend in the private sector just like Peter Mbah of the PDP in Enugu State and will stop the thievery in Abia by a few families that had dominated power since 1999 without making any marked improvements that benefits the people.

“HURIWA maintains its non-partisan pose but our intervention is because of the expanding frontiers of untested and unscientific hysteria that is sweeping around the South East because of the phenomenal moral high ground and great charismatic character of Peter Obi and therefore ordinary persons are being deceived by even intellectuals to think that all guber candidate in LP will be like Peter Obi. Voters should be well guided so mistakes aren’t made on March 11th.”