2027 GENERAL ELECTION: RISING CASES OF VIOLENCE

Politicians must guard against taking Nigerians down a familiar violent road

For decades, elections have always been a major source of insecurity in Nigerians.  Many of our politicians often resort to desperate means either to access power or to retain same. The ongoing campaigns of violence ahead of the 2027 general election provide ample illustration of such desperation. In what is increasingly becoming an established pattern, there is a growing number of violent attacks on persons, party offices and political gatherings. Ordinarily, being the eighth in a series of successive general elections, 2027 should demonstrate to what extent Nigerians have internalised the fundamental principles of democratic engagement in almost three decades. But if the morning, as they say, shows the day, the omens are not good.

With the primaries of the political parties scheduled to commence in the next few weeks, the current trend is worrisome. While the 2027 polls will come and go, the ideals of responsible citizenship will suffer if Nigerians are made to believe that there are no rules of engagement in the matter of competition for public office. The unnecessary bitterness and hate that would arise and linger long after the elections portend ill for peace and national unity. We must guard against that.

Part of the expected benefits of the National Peace Accord initiated by former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, and Bishop of the Catholic Church of Nigeria, Matthew Hassan Kukah since 2014 is the promotion of peace and justice. The Peace Pact often signed by major contenders before every election enjoins decorum in the use of language during campaigns, as well as visible indications that there would be no recourse to violence before, during and after the votes are cast, counted and the results announced. Despite their pledge, available evidence suggests that all is not well, in terms of solemn commitment to these ideals.

The problem persists because the authorities have been collaborators. In a television interview in 2022, then Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello confirmed that those who seek public offices in Nigeria often employ the services of thugs who eventually become a menace to the larger society. “When politicians begin to stop the use of thugs, touts, or some other group of criminals, that is when we will begin to have safety and security in our land,” said Bello who added that because these miscreants are usually dumped after elections, they are left with no other options than to become “hydra-headed monsters”.

Bello must have been speaking from experience. It is a notorious fact that most of the criminal elements who terrorise innocent people are well known to many of our political gladiators. Therefore, smashing these gangs of sundry criminal elements in our society will only require the willingness to act on the part of critical stakeholders at all levels.

We are worried because the current pre-election violence may just be a natural extension of the general insecurity prevalent in our society. People are being killed in droves. Property is being torched, and homes are razed. While a virtue of democracy is freedom of movement, Nigerians are increasingly being curtailed by banditry, kidnapping and routine transactional abductions. There are virtually no consequences in terms of law enforcement or judicial sanctions. In an environment of political conflict, the impunity of violence is likely to intensify. Incumbent governments that see political opponents as adversaries may not see the need to invoke the law or security instruments to control the violence that they initiate.

There have been talks about enacting laws or creating some tribunals for electoral violence, but we believe that there are enough laws in the country to deal with this menace. What has always been lacking is the political will. But we do not believe that an election should generate the kind of desperation that we have witnessed in recent weeks. The audacity of present general violence and insecurity can only embolden campaign and election time violence. Therefore, beyond signing peace accords, we need to invoke sanctions against existing violence in the society. A society that brooks violence, impunity and criminality cannot reasonably control violence in a struggle for power.