Insecurity Won’t Stop Free, Fair Elections In 2027 – Yari

By JAMES KWEN, SAMSON ELIJAH, Abuja

A former Zamfara State governor and senator representing Zamfara West, Abdul’aziz Yari, has assured Nigerians that insecurity would not undermine the credibility of the 2027 general elections.

He expressed the confidence that President Bola Tinubu is committed to ensuring a free and fair electoral process.

Yari spoke at the 8th Edition of Blueprint Newspaper’s Public Lecture, Impact Series and Awards, held yesterday in Abuja, with the theme, “Security Challenges and Integrity of Nigeria’s 2027 Election.”

He maintained that insecurity was a national challenge requiring the collective efforts of the government, politicians, community leaders and the citizens.

Drawing from his eight-year experience as governor of Zamfara State, Yari said he had firsthand knowledge of the difficulties involved in confronting insecurity.

“When you talk of insecurity in the country, I think I am the subject, or those who know,” he said, recalling that he began dealing directly with the challenge about three months after assuming office in 2011.

He said his experience during the 2015, 2019 and 2023 elections showed that insecurity had remained a recurring challenge in Nigeria’s electoral process.

“My little experience on insecurity during the general election in 2015, my little experience on Buhari’s re-election with insecurity in 2019, as well as the election of 2023 with insecurity challenges, are all in the records of what happened. Today is not a different story,” Yari said.

Yari said insecurity should not be treated as the sole responsibility of the President or security agencies, insisting that politicians, elites and ordinary Nigerians also had roles to play.

“We are the security, as well as the insecurity. Leaders, people, are not the business of our government’s security or security architecture only. Politicians, elites, and ordinary men on the streets were all part of it,” he said.

He said the consequences of insecurity went beyond elections, affecting the economy, livelihoods and the general well-being of citizens.

“This subject, or this theme of today, is not only about the election. It’s about our lives, our economy, our well-being,” he said.

The senator urged Nigerians to unite against insecurity and resist attempts to politicise the challenge.

“When I stepped in as a governor, when this thing started, they tried as much as they could to bring the politics. I told them no, it’s not politics. This thing is about our life,” he said.

Yari identified security and the economy as the two major priorities he believed President Tinubu would seek to address.

Also speaking at the event, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, urged Nigerians, particularly young people, not to surrender to despair despite the challenges confronting the country.

Yilwatda spoke while delivering his acceptance speech after being honoured as the Blueprint Person of the Year, alongside 23 other individuals and organisations recognised for their contributions to national development.

He described the award as a humbling honour and a renewed responsibility to contribute to society.

“I feel humbled, and I stand here today with profound gratitude to the Almighty God and with a deep sense of responsibility that I and all the other awardees take the responsibility of accepting this award,” Yilwatda said.

He said the honour was not the achievement of one person or institution but the result of contributions and sacrifices by many Nigerians.

“To be named the Blueprint Person of the Year, the high distinction of this important award, is an honour that I accept with immense gratitude. But I’m conscious that an honour of this nature is never an achievement of one individual or a product of one pair of hands or one office or one party or one institution,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of the other awardees, Yilwatda said the recognition reflected contributions across leadership, enterprise, public administration, security and other sectors.

“Together, we represent something greater than individual recognition: the capacity of different groups of people in Nigeria coming together to develop a country,” he said.

Yilwatda said the actions of the awardees would determine the true value of the recognition after the ceremony.

“We know the medals are just the details for today, but the character is examined over a long period of time. The photographs from the occasion will enter the archives, but the more enduring report will be written by what we do after leaving this hall,” he said.

He urged the awardees to strengthen institutions, pursue results and place the public interest above personal advantage.

“May this honour inspire us to build institutions stronger than personalities and pursue results larger than publicity, and place the public good above our personal advantage,” he said.

Yilwatda also acknowledged the contributions of families, colleagues and supporters whose efforts often go unnoticed.

“Nigeria may be facing some difficulties, but they are not beyond the reach of our collective resolve. Our challenges may be great, but the Nigerian spirit is greater. Our problems may test us, but they can’t define us,” Yilwatda added.

He expressed confidence that Nigeria could build a society where young people could pursue their aspirations without fear and where diversity would become a source of strength rather than division.

Yilwatda dedicated his award to Nigerians committed to the country’s development, stressing that leadership should be viewed as service.

“Leadership is service, democracy is sacred trust, and national unity is a duty that requires all the contributions of every Nigerian to make it possible,” he said.

He described the award as a renewed call to service, saying the, “The greatest recognition is not the award we have received, but the lives that will be improved, and the nature of help we can support people from today to build a nation that all of us can be proud of,” he said.

He urged the awardees to leave the ceremony inspired to contribute more to national development.

“Let us therefore leave this hall, not merely as celebrants, but challenged, inspired and committed to do more for the many works that remain to be done in our little corners,” he said.

Yilwatda concluded by expressing optimism about Nigeria’s future.

“I believe in the Nigerian project, and the best of the Nigerian chapter is yet to be heard and seen. And together, with courage, integrity, sacrifice and faith in our country, we can build a new Nigeria of our dream,” he said.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, meanwhile, commended the management and staff of Blueprint Newspapers for sustaining the organisation over the past 15 years.

Idris, who spoke at the event marking the newspaper’s 15th anniversary, recalled his role as the foundation chairman and expressed confidence in its continued growth.

“Earlier, in my capacity as the Minister of Information and National Orientation, of course, I was the foundation chairman of Blueprint Newspapers 15 years ago,” Idris said.

He said he remained connected to the organisation and would return after completing his government assignment.

“But I’ve told them that they should keep my little chair there. Whenever my tour of duty is over, I will have to go back to continue where I swore,” he said.

The minister commended the chairman of the occasion for attending despite his tight schedule.

“I want to thank you for this gesture specifically. I know that when the management of Blueprint Newspapers was finding it difficult to reach out to you, I was attacked and I was accused of abandoning the ship that I started 15 years ago,” Idris said.

He also acknowledged other dignitaries at the occasion, including former Niger State governor and serving senator, Abubakar Sani Bello; representatives of the minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa; and the Taraba State Commissioner for Information.