Towards violence-free elections in Nigeria

Indeed electoral violence has threatened national stability at different stages and subjects most elections conducted in the country to be regarded as below the minimum acceptable standard.For an election to be termed democratic, it must be free and fair. The manifestations of electoral violence, since the birth of the fourth Republic in 1999 have assumed […]

Indeed electoral violence has threatened national stability at different stages and subjects most elections conducted in the country to be regarded as below the minimum acceptable standard.
For an election to be termed democratic, it must be free and fair. The manifestations of electoral violence, since the birth of the fourth Republic in 1999 have assumed an unprecedented dimension, resulting in instability and displacement of many people and loss of innocent lives. Also, the phenomenon affects the credibility of the electoral system, the democratic system and the rule of Law.
The Clean Foundation, a Non-Governmental organization that promotes public safety, security and access to justice, has identified 15 States in the Country as the most volatile with high security risk during the forthcoming 2015 general elections. The States listed as most volatile include States from all the zones although Gombe has the good fortune of not making the list.
Three of those States – Adamawa, Borno and Yobe – are already under emergency rule due to the activities of Boko Haram. Other States have recently witnessed killings of hundreds of people by unidentified armed men as well as through communal and ethno-religious violence.
B.    POLITICAL VIOLENCE
The Oxford online dictionary defined violence as action intended to cause harm, destruction, pain or suffering.
Any political system that condones snatching of ballot boxes, stuffing of ballot boxes, elimination of political opponents, riots and thuggery, etc can be termed to contain political violence.
CAUSES OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE
i.     Poverty: The dire economic condition of the majority of Nigerians creates fertile ground for social vices to thrive and make the electorate succumb to money-bag politicians. The lack of economic stability makes it easy for unscrupulous individuals to subvert the electoral process by making elections a ‘do or die’ affair.
ii.     Unemployment: One of the problems facing the nation and which every right-thinking Nigerian must worry about is the problem of unemployment. Every year our Higher Institutions produce thousands of able-bodied, highly educated graduates, without commensurate employment opportunities. We also have millions of Secondary School leavers, who have no jobs and no provision is made for them to go to trade schools. Nothing is more dangerous than having young, educated but unemployed youths in millions, that are capable of organizing themselves, to become willing tools in the hands of politicians to promote political violence.
iii.     Lack of Adequate Security: it is the responsibility of any Government to provide security to its citizens. When the machinery of law enforcement is weak in terms of workforce and training, political violence will continue to thrive.
It is therefore reassuring that the Federal Government is re-training and supplying up-to-date weapons and equipment to our Security agencies.
iv.     Failure of Justice System: Nigerians, high and low, public officials, and private persons alike indulge in acts of impunity that may cause political violence because the perpetrators are never brought to book. The Nigerian Judiciary is undermined by poor funding, inadequate facilities and poor training of judicial staff, to name a few. All these result in slow machinery of justice and encourage politicians to apply dubious means to thwart justice in order to win elections.
v.     Lack of Democratic Culture: Our traditional system of government in the south-eastern, south-western and northern parts of Nigeria was often more ascriptive or hereditary than democratic. Our traditional rulers exercised absolute or near-absolute powers over their subjects. As representatives of the Almighty on Earth, their reign is normally for life. It is this culture that has been introduced into our body politics. We also inherited the culture of dictatorship and violence from the long years of Military rule. For over thirty years we were under Military dictatorship with its disposition for top-to-bottom flow of Command which gradually became part of the spirit and consciousness of the nation. it is conglomeration of the above problems that are now bedeviling our political system.

C.    HOW TO MANAGE POLITICAL VIOLENCE
The following are some of the measures that could be employed to stop political violence or reduce it to the bearest minimum.
a.     There must be free and fair Election: – One sure way of putting an end to political violence is for us to ensure that every vote count.
b.     Checking corruption and ‘money politics’: – We must put an end to pervasive influence of money in Politics. Any politician who induce the electorate with money or engages thugs and hoodlums to win elections should be arrested, prosecuted and banned from contesting any elective office in the future.
c.     Employment Creation: – We must create job opportunities to empower our teeming youths and make it impossible for politicians to recruit them for political violence.
d.     Provision of adequate security and efficient Judiciary: – There should be a program of training, re-training orientation and re- orientation for officers and personnel of the Nigerian Police emphasizing their non-partisan roles and responsibilities to the entire nation. There should also be adequate deployment of security personnel during elections. The Judiciary should also be empowered with adequate training and funding to deal with the problem of political violence.
e.     Political enlightenment and virile societies: – One way of developing a democratic culture in our nation is through political education, and this can be achieved through the media and virile civil society organisations. It is through political education that people can know that only free and fair elections can guarantee true representation and that in a democracy majority have their way while the minority have their say.
D.    EFFECTS OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE
Political violence like any other form of violence creates negative consequences, mostly resulting into colossal loss of lives and property. In Gombe State, for instance, the 2011 post-election violence has caused unimaginable hardship and resulted to the death of thirty-six (36) persons. Properties worth N1,524,589,400.00 were also lost during the incidences that occurred in four (4) Local Government Areas across the State. In addition, post-election violence creates suspicion and distrust among people hitherto living in peace with one another. It also leads to the proliferation of weapons among the populace which creates many social vices.
E.    CONCLUSION
    Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my sincere belief that if the recommendations in Section C could be implemented, elections in Nigeria would be conducted with much less acrimony; winners would celebrate their success, loosers would also be guaranteed a respectable space in society, social harmony would be re-enforced and Nigeria would be the overall winner.

Remarks by Gombe State Governor Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo,  Ph.D,  at the 12th Daily Trust Dialogue, held at the Transcorp  Hilton Hotel, Abuja.