2015 ELECTIONS WERE SHIFTED TO FRUSTRATE BUHARI, NY TIMES POSITED

The United States of America (USA) based newspaper, popular know as New York Times has argued that the shift in date of Nigeria's general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), is aimed at  frustrating presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), retired  Major General Muhammadu Buhari.

Besides, the newspaper also insisted that incumbent President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Goodluck Jonathan appears to be afraid of what it termed    increasing popularity of Buhari.

In its editorial of Monday  with the tittle, 'Nigeria’s Miserable Choices,' the newspaper maintained that,  "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 further maintained that INEC's excuse that elections were postponed on the reason that security forces needed to
fight insecurity would have been taken in good faith, if Jonathan had been tackling insecurity effectively since he took office.

It further argued that President Jonathan
had become so unpopular that Nigerians were not afraid of the idea of a former military dictator returning as President.

While stating that Jonathan had become worried about the rising insecurity and was willing to accept help from western powers, the New York Times suggested that postponement of elections might increase the level of insecurity rather than reduce it and that Nigeria’s democracy would not survive an electoral crisis.

Moreso, the paper is of the opinion that, "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."

Photo credit: Nigerianeye