Elections are war in Nigeria

In case you have not yet realised, elections in Nigeria are the singular most important aspect of our democracy in the last 25 years of our history. For both our politicians and electorate, elections have become the climax of the democratic process, which is followed by a four-year-long denouement interspersed with occasional drama over the […]

In case you have not yet realised, elections in Nigeria are the singular most important aspect of our democracy in the last 25 years of our history. For both our politicians and electorate, elections have become the climax of the democratic process, which is followed by a four-year-long denouement interspersed with occasional drama over the election results, the desperation of elected officials to secure their office, and that of the unsuccessful candidates to have another go. This has become so entrenched in our political culture that elections, not public service in the intervening years, have become the central focus of our democracy.

The significance of elections in our country has overridden everything else, so that at every election, we witness a massive deployment of security personnel with a performative gusto that quickly goes missing when there is a new security threat, such as Boko Haram, bandits, and secessionist groups that are killing and maiming Nigerians who could benefit from such attention.

Consider that for the 2023 general elections, the police alone mobilised about 310,973 personnel, which is almost the entirety of its staff, supplemented by the Nigerian military and other paramilitary agencies, to cover the country. Ironically, despite the deployments, elections are still marred by violence, ballot box snatching, vote buying, and election brigandry. In Kano State alone, 288 thugs were reportedly arrested during the recent by-elections.

We deploy for elections what other countries deploy when going to war. The reason is simple. In Nigeria, elections are war. But the militarisation of politics has resulted in a militaristic approach, where politicians strategise for war, not for governance. The objective becomes to conquer and secure power, not necessarily to fulfil campaign promises.

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This culture creates the needless storm of tensions that every election in this country comes wrapped in. As we saw this week with the recent by-elections in some 12 states across the country, political tension, underhand practices, and election security have taken centre stage. Victories at the polls are accompanied not by excitement but by pervasive anxieties about electoral malpractice and violence.

Unleashing violence during elections, however, is not the exclusive preserve of political thugs. While security agencies, including the police, military, and DSS, played highly visible roles in maintaining law and order throughout the voting process, they have been known to unleash violence on behalf of the highest paying official, turn a blind eye where their principal’s interests could benefit from the violence of certain political thugs, or disappear when their presence is most needed. The aftermath of the 2011 election and the needless deaths that occurred thereafter are still fresh in the memories of families who lost loved ones in the violence.

While their involvement is essential for preventing widespread violence and logistical mishaps, systemic issues continue to erode public trust. Reports of intimidation, ballot box snatching, and sporadic violence reveal that, despite increased security, fears of partiality and abuse loom large.

These tensions are not isolated to election day. Recent months have seen mounting public unrest, driven by harsh economic conditions, rising inflation, and discontent with government reforms. Nationwide protests have made clear that many Nigerians see election security as entangled with broader frustrations about governance and accountability.

The tragedy of our system is that those who are known for instigating electoral violence, who use thugs and our security personnel to intimidate voters, turning elections from a civic exercise into a dangerously extreme sport, have faced no consequences for their actions. Occasionally, a token political thug like Ocholi Edicha would be offered up as a sacrifice, but in reality, his conviction for culpable homicide in the heartless killing of Mrs Salome Abuh during the 2019 gubernatorial elections in Kogi and his 12-year imprisonment is a slap on the wrist. He could have easily been convicted for murder and faced the capital punishment for the sheer barbarity of burning a person alive for political reasons.

People who use violence to secure political office are, in the end, rewarded with that office and often face no consequences. This, of course, encourages others to adopt similar methods to secure political office.

Perhaps recognising these challenges, Nigerian leaders convened a policy dialogue in July aimed at reforming election security ahead of the 2027 general elections. The conference emphasised the need for improved security sector accountability, transparent mechanisms for reporting misconduct, and greater collaboration between security agencies, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and civil society groups. Recommendations also included better protection for vulnerable groups and innovative technological safeguards for polling units.

While these are all useful recommendations, politicians must also be held accountable for their roles in instigating the violence. This could include periodic or lifetime bans from participating in politics and possible criminal prosecution where applicable. We simply cannot have a system that condones mass murder in the name of election protests, as we have witnessed before. We also cannot condone a system where election is war and might equates to electoral success. This is not what democracy is about.

If we paid half the attention we pay to election security and the resources expended to secure political office to public service sectors, like the railway, we wouldn’t be experiencing train derailments such as the one we witnessed this week. The negligence of other sectors, including the security of lives and property of Nigerians whose livelihoods are being threatened by all sorts of terrorist groups, in favour of elections is detrimental to national growth. If the police and military would pursue criminal elements with as much gusto as they execute election security, we would certainly be in a different space now as a country.

The road to credible, fair, and safe elections in Nigeria remains arduous. As reform efforts gain momentum, the question for 2027 is whether Nigeria can cultivate robust institutional trust and guarantee the rights of every voter—or whether old patterns of tension and insecurity will persist. The extraordinary efforts of recent months suggest that, for Nigeria’s democracy to endure, the security of its elections must remain a top priority.