Jonathan postponed elections to frustrate Buhari – NY Times

The United States-based New York Times says
the postponement of the elections by the
Independent National Electoral Commission was
orchestrated by President Goodluck Jonathan to
frustrate Maj. Gen Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) of
the All Progressives Congress.
The newspaper, which has won 114 Pulitzer
Prizes, further stated that Jonathan appeared to
be afraid of the increasing popularity of Buhari,
who most Nigerians would likely vote for.
It said this in the editorial of its Monday edition
titled, “Nigeria’s Miserable Choices”.
The publication said, “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.”
It said INEC’s excuse that elections were
postponed because security forces wanted to fight
insecurity would have been taken in good faith if
Jonathan had been tackling insecurity effectively
since he took office.
The 164-year-old newspaper said that Jonathan
had become so unpopular that Nigerians were not
afraid of the idea of a former military dictator
returning as President.
It however said that Jonathan had become worried
about the rising insecurity and was willing to
accept help from western powers.
The newspaper warned that election
postponement might increase the level of
insecurity rather than reduce it and that Nigeria’s
democracy would not survive an electoral crisis.
It said, “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.”