Election rigging is not new in Nigerian politics. It has been present in Nigeria before political independence. Starting from the 1959 elections to those elections after political independence in 1960, the level of election rigging has increased over time.
By Olakunle Agboola – Elections in Nigeria have always been marred by ugly incidents of electoral malpractice dated for more than 60 years, and it looks like it will not end soonest. The political class has not stopped playing ‘do or die’ politics which has now become a dangerous political culture in Nigeria.
“Do or die” politics is the readiness of a politician to use all means, any means including diabolical, manipulative, violent, and criminal means to ensure victory in an election. All the machinery for the enforcement of law and order and maintenance of peace are entangled in the network of electoral malpractices, thereby making the entire electoral process a sham.
Election periods have become a festival of war, vote suppression, de-enfranchisement, manipulation, thuggery, and intimidation with an expected outburst of violence in different parts of the country, either due to electoral fraud or to perpetrate electoral fraud.
Politicians during election periods have always played the card of tribalism while they swing this to their advantage. They care less about the consequence of instigating tribal or religious wars, and they kept mute while many lives are destroyed including properties. Politicians come after the election to start preaching peace and healing while nothing is done to those who instigate war.
A noticeable consequence of ‘do or die’ politics is that it suppresses people’s choices and never favors the right aspirants. The wrong candidates usually emerge as winners of elections, a phenomenon that explains the nation’s record of poor leadership, political stagnation, and economic backwardness. It has become a thug of war in Nigerian politics to have the right candidates with a great capacity to lead.
The Nigerian experience has shown the contest for elective positions by politicians is perceived as an investment – the returns of which must be recouped once they win elections. There is a high tendency for heightened shoplifting from the public treasury and this is difficult for democratic dividends to be delivered to the electorate.
The money meant for public projects is diverted into private pockets as rents, pre-bends, and rewards to ‘godfathers’ who sponsored the public officeholders. This pattern unquestionably will continue to jeopardize Nigeria’s quest for a consolidated democratic heritage.
The Nigerian government can win the war against election rigging and that will be a change in the attitude of playing ‘do or die’ politics. There are laws against election rigging, vote buying, bribery, or violence but the problem is they are weak and not effective. There is hope that a day will come when the right leaders will emerge and make the system work, while all laws against election rigging and manipulations would be obeyed, and any deviance will not go unpunished.
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