Survey: Concerns as Nigerians back Clarke’s call for military intervention
over military intervention on November 25,
everyone expected him to be fried for having the
audacity to even think about it.
Troubled by Nigeria’s seeming descent into a
ruinous path, and what he termed gangsterism in
the style of leadership, Clarke, while speaking on
Channels Television, canvassed that the military
should return to power for a 2-year period to
clean the mess left by the politicians.
Were Nigerians livid by Clarke’s comments? The
sentiments appeared heavily weighed against
him, at least on the surface, largely because
military involvement in governance was no longer
fashionable. Added to this was the Nigerian
experience that left the citizens with
unforgettable scars of mis-governance and
repression.
Even Ripples Nigeria took out an editorial on
November 28 titled, “Our stand: Clarke’s call for
military intervention, so absurd!”
However, driven by a desire to ensure objectivity,
the platform also undertook a popularity test of
Clarke’s position, and the results were
astounding. A survey titled, “Do you support
Robert Clarke’s call for military intervention in
Nigeria?” was administered online on December
2. Stats show that the survey reached 524,773
persons, while 1,375 actually voted.
Against popular belief, 52.9% of respondents
backed Clarke’s call while 43.2% did not support
him. The number of respondents who were
undecided stood at 3.9% (see chart). A total of
4,200 persons either ‘liked’, ‘disliked’ or
expressed ‘sadness’ over poll outcomes.
While the results may seem a close call, what
the facts suggest is that Nigerians want a quick
fix to everyday challenges which they perceive a
military structure would readily handle.
The social media engagement on the survey,
especially on Facebook, was even more
revealing. With 2,512 comments, the
conversations, arguably, rank among the highest
of any recent survey (see screen shot).
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