By Sunday Ani
Nigeria’s 2023 general elections, comprising the presidential, national assembly, governorship and state houses of assembly elections, might have come and gone, but the echoes of the process may just have started. There is no gainsaying that Nigerians, particularly the youth who trooped out in their numbers to make a change for the first time with their voters’ cards, were totally disappointed at the level of violence that characterized the process. The elections have been described by both local and international observer missions as having fallen below the minimum standard of what free, fair and credible elections should be.
From Borno, Kebbi, Sokoto, Kano, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Kogi to Rivers, Enugu, Abia, Edo, Delta, Ogun and Lagos States among others, the story is the same. There were widespread electoral violence ranging from voter intimidation, and suppression to physical attacks, carting away of ballot boxes and electoral materials, disruption of voting process, as well as holding hostage electoral officers.
Those who are conversant with the country’s political history have argued that Nigerians are not new to electoral violence, as it has been part and parcel of the electoral processes right from 1960 when the country gained her political independence. But, they equally agreed that the violence that greeted the 2023 general elections was unprecedented in the country’s electoral history.
However, for close watchers of political developments in Nigeria, there were clear signs of the electoral disaster that eventually befell Nigerians. Those who hold this view argued that in the run up to the elections, candidates, election officials and politicians were violently targeted by party militias, criminal gangs and other armed groups, who were engaged by politicians to do such dirty jobs for them.
In 2023, some politicians and stakeholders by their actions and utterances encouraged thugs and criminal gangs who engaged in violence to suppress opponents, deter rival candidates from running for certain political positions and influence electoral process. It is common knowledge that even before the elections, some politicians had reveled in campaign of calumny, character assassination, falsehood, as well as ethnic and religious divisions. The campaign also polarized the media and political environment with numerous allegations against partisan outlets and political candidates refusing to attend media engagements. Some candidates were even accused of inciting hate speech and stoking inter-communal tension, at risk of escalating violence in the country that has a long history of electoral violence since its independence in 1960.
Analysts argue that with such a stage already set in motion without anybody being called to order, the violence that happened during the election didn’t come as a surprise to most Nigerians. However, much as analysts agreed that violence has become a proven strategy in Nigeria, to disrupt the voting process, especially in neighbourhoods that traditionally vie for the opposition, they shuddered at the brazenness with which it was visited on Nigerians in the just concluded elections. Violence in the 2023 election went beyond the normal disruption of election, carting away of ballot boxes and election materials, to what is now called ‘a new normal’ where political thugs were seen moving from street to street, warning people not to come out for election if they would not vote for a particular party and its candidates. They did not stop at making such announcement in the open; they went as far as manning some polling units with cutlasses, wooden planks and cudgels, waiting to deal ruthlessly with those who would defy their warning to vote against their preferred party and candidates. The traditional rulers were not left out as some of them were seen moving from one polling station to another to make sure that voters who were not prepared to vote their preferred party and candidates were intimidated, harassed and even beaten into line. Some high profile politicians across the country were also seen moving with thugs and police security details from one polling unit to the other destroying ballot boxes and even taking some away with them.
One of the interesting developments about the 2023 electoral violence was the incident in Lagos State, where the Oro Cult was deployed to intimidate and scare aware voters from going to cast their votes. Members of Oro Cult group were seen in some parts of Lagos in broad day light on Election Day; a development many said was a calculated attempt to prevent people from going out to vote.
In some other places, thugs were confronted by voters who regrouped to face them fire for fire and in the process, some persons were killed. However, politicians have been identified as the brains behind the orgy of violence witnessed across Nigeria, particularly during the governorship and state houses of assembly elections held on March 18.
Daily Sun observed that when they saw that voting was not going their way, they quickly mobilized their thugs to raid the polling units, disrupt the process, destroy the ballot boxes and papers, beat and even injure some voters.
Speaking on the development, the President of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Dr Pogu Bitrus, acknowledged that electoral violence is a norm in Nigeria’s political space, but lamented that what was disturbing is the level it has been taken to during the 2023 general elections, particularly the governorship and state assembly elections across the country.
The implication of the development, according to Dr. Bitrus is that instead of making progress democratically, Nigeria is retrogressing. He attributed the level of violence witnessed during the election to people’s desperation to win at all cost. “People are so desperate that they want to win by all means and to achieve that, they unleash terror on others. If somebody will come with deadly weapons and threaten that you either vote for his party or you don’t vote at all, it is pure terrorism because they are instilling fear in people,” he said.
He traced the history of electoral violence in Nigeria to the first and second republics, but insisted that neither of the two eras witnessed anything close to what happened during the 2023 elections.
He said: “As a young boy, I remembered when we had the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) in the North. You were nobody except you belonged to the NPC in those days. They employed all vices to win elections including emptying the ballot boxes of other political parties into the NPC’s boxes just to win election. I remember what happened in Borno State, where the NPC did what they needed to do to win election at all cost; emptying the ballot boxes of other political parties into theirs. Those were the kinds of violence that were perpetrated then.
“If you also go back memory lane to the days of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), when the party wanted to win all over the country by all means, you will notice that similar scenario played out. The party went around making efforts to ensure that all the states became NPN controlled. The situation is worse now because then, it was just manipulating the electoral process. Today, it is intimidation, coercion and full-fledged violence. It happened in Kogi, Nasarawa, Lagos, Port-Harcourt and so many other places. It is an unfortunate development that is taking us back to the primitive ways of doing things.
“It is an unfortunate situation and we pray that Nigeria will learn a lesson from what has transpired. We cannot live in a primitive kind of environment in a modern world. It started with the Boko Haram and now, the political class is doing it. It is unacceptable. It should be stopped.” He blamed the state institution for the level of violence that characterized the 2023 elections, particularly the police, who were alleged to have collaborated with politicians and given backing to the criminal gangs that terrorized and intimidated, maimed and injured voters during the process. “As I earlier said, it is the weakness of our institution that has brought us to this sorry state. The police can be bribed; the military can be bribed, and people who have money and who are in authority can do whatever they like with impunity. The institutions in this country have to be strengthened to be able to stand on what they have been established to achieve, so that these things can be checked, otherwise we are heading to a serious doom in this country.
“I don’t know whether this election can stand or not; only God knows, but the development in terms of violence and intimidation in the electoral process is uncalled for, and is taking us backward in our political development. It is unfortunate,” he noted.
Also, in his submission, the National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dr. Alex Ogbonnia, gave a preamble to the development, saying the constitution of the members of the election management body was the genesis of the whole crisis.
He picked holes in a situation where the executive arm of government has the sole responsibility of choosing who becomes a member of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), saying, “First, it is difficult to find a country where the executive arm of government constitutes the electoral management body of any country. For example, the president nominates all the members of INEC, and at the state levels, the governor nominates members of the state electoral body. With such a lopsided arrangement, how do you expect credible elections, when the body is already a partisan entity? The credibility of an election is a function of how members of the electoral management body emerged. INEC is a product from a faulty process and what they will do, will definitely be faulty.”
He also stated that electoral violence has become part and parcel of Nigeria’s electoral process but lamented that genuine efforts to address the monster have never been made by any government. “It happened during the era of President Shehu Shagari and it is still happening. Unfortunately, in the next four years, they will begin to be sanctimonious and generate entirely new electronic slogans and nomenclatures to cover everything and deceive Nigerians and people will still believe them. It is only a mad man that expects a different result doing the same thing over and over again.
“Coming to the violence in election, particularly the ones that were witnessed in Lagos, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has condemned the intimidation, violence, maiming and harassment, as well as burning of market where the Igbo ply their trade. These are not how things are supposed to be done in this millennium. It is a setback, not just for the Africa as a continent but also for the entire world. “INEC made Nigerians to believe that everything will be electronic but unfortunately, we can see ballot papers flying around everywhere, meaning that things did not work according to the impression they gave us, and also according to their expectations, in spite of the billions of Naira that went into the process. So, there is no doubt that in a few places they got it right, but in most of the places, they failed woefully. It is a very unfortunate development,” he said.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari, like Agama lizard that fell off a tall tree who said he would praise himself if no one else did, has said he is satisfied with the electoral process. He said he was proud of the Nigerian electorate who have realized their power and ultimately decided who won or lost. The President maintained that he was completely satisfied with his role in the election process as he neither meddled nor interfered with it.
But, the United States of America, as well as numerous other international communities have condemned the voter intimidation and increased violence that characterised the governorship and state houses of assembly elections on Saturday, March 18.
The US in a statement on Tuesday lamented that despite the massive deployment of security agencies in many strategic locations, there was still widespread violence in many states across Nigeria.
Although the US said the March 18 elections appeared to have had significant operational improvements from the February 25 presidential election, as polling stations generally opened on time and most results were visible on an electronic viewing platform in a timely manner, there were still increased violence in Lagos, Kano, Rivers and other states.
However, it commended stakeholders who spoke against the violence and intimidation meted out to voters, adding that it was a sign of respect to democratic process.
“Nigeria carried out the second round of its electoral process with gubernatorial and state assembly elections on March 18.
“The United States is deeply troubled by the disturbing acts of violent voter intimidation and suppression that took place during those polls in Lagos, Kano, and other states. Members of the U.S. diplomatic mission observed the elections in Lagos and elsewhere and witnessed some of these incidents first-hand.
“The use of ethnically charged rhetoric before, during, and after the gubernatorial election in Lagos was particularly concerning.
“We commend all Nigerian political actors, religious and community leaders, youth, and citizens who have chosen to reject and speak out against such violence and inflammatory language, affirming Nigerians’ commitment to and respect for the democratic process,” part of the statement read.
The US went a step further to issue a threat of sanction on the perpetrators, even as it called on the Nigerian government to probe reports on election violence.
“We call on Nigerian authorities to hold accountable and bring to justice any individual found to have ordered or carried out efforts to intimidate voters and suppress voting during the election process. The United States likewise will consider all available actions, including additional visa restrictions, on individuals believed to be responsible for, or complicit in undermining the democratic process in Nigeria,” the statement noted.