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Full Project – THE EFFECT OF ELECTION VIOLENCE AND DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION IN NIGERIA

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ABSTRACT

Election has been a major factor in Nigeria’s political development since independence, even in pre-independence era, it played significant role both at the national and regional levels. The beauty, as well as success of democracy begins with free and fair elections. The latter also serves as route to sustainable development. Experience of democracies in developed world showed that election can be a veritable ingredient of democratic consolidation. However, in developing countries like Nigeria, most of the elections have been characterized by crises, which directly impede the sustenance of democracy and development. The project explored and analyzed election violence in Nigeria and its implication on democratic consolidation and development using content analysis method. The findings revealed that indicators of democratic consolidation are conspicuously absent in Nigeria. Conclusion reached by the project is that democracy is yet to be consolidated in Nigeria, as it can only be possible in elections devoid of violence and or conducted in peaceful environment.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background of the study

Election has been defined as the manner of choice agreed upon by people out of many to occupy one or a number of positions of authority (Nnoli, 2003). Elections have always been the legitimate way of transferring power from one regime to another through ballot box. Through election, popular conduct and participation in public affairs is created in the society, Ugoh (2004).

The current global emphasis on democratisation has made election an inevitable process of leadership choice and succession. Obviously, the success of every conditional democracy is tried to the integrity of electoral process while the quality of a representative government is also lived to the capacity of state to evolve viable, transparent, and trusted electoral machinery that will inspire the interest and confidence of broad spectrum of civil society and contending factions of political society (Okolie, 2008).

Regrettably, election in Nigeria since political independence has been characterized by violent action that often results in socio-economic tension and unrest. This has indeed remained a recurring decimal in Nigeria’s politicallife despite efforts at curbing it.

Besides, political violence in the country has been sustained and reinforced mostly by religious, ethnic and tribal diversities of Nigeria. For instance, the political violence that greeted the Nigeria’s first and second republics which eventually led to military intervention and long spell in the country’s government and politics. This had its roots in ethic and tribal considerations.

The Human Right Watch revealed that between independence in 1960 and 1990, Nigeria produced only two elected governments both later overthrown in military coups. Nigeria’s military ruled the country for nearly 30 of 40 yrs of independence. However, in 1999, Nigeria made a transition to civilian rule. The 1999 elections, which brought a retired general, Olusegun Obasanjo to power, were blights by such widespread fraud that observers from carter centre concluded that “it is not possible for us to make an accurate judgment about the outcome of the presidential election”.

Federal and state election in 2003 were again marred by fraud as well as serious incidents of political violence that left over 100 people dead and many others injured. Human right watch found that members and supporter of the ruling party were responsible for the majority of abuses, though opposition parties also engaged in political violence. Most deaths occurred where opposing bands of armed gangs fought each other in an effort to control an area and displace supporters of the opposing party. Human Rights watch documented how ruling party politicians in the oil-rich Niger Delta mobilized and funded armed groups to help rig elections. That led to a sustained increase in political violence and criminality in the region.

Despite the abysmal record of the 1999 and 2003 elections, the government did not correct the problems in the next elections. Observers from the European union described the 2007 elections, which brought Umaru Yar’adua to power, as the worst they had witnessed anywhere in the world.

Human Right watch estimates that at least 300 people were killed in political violence linked to the2007 elections. The 2011 general election process under Attahiru Jega was commended by international and domestic observers regarding major improvements in areas like voter registration excise, accreditation and counting phases of the elections. The 2011 presidential election raised strong domestic expectations, as exemplified by the high turnout rates, especially in the core Hausa/Fulani states of Northern Nigeria, where women living in “KULLE” (a kind of Islamic nunnery) were mobilized on religious ground to vote for Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) New social media tools like facebook, blackberry, Ipad, twitter and Android has aided in the collection/collation, analysis and dissemination of information (open society foundation 2011).

However, the whole electoral process has been criticized for number of reasons ranging from under age voting, campaigning during election, intimidation and political violence. The presidential election was marred by allegations of vote buying, ballot box stuffing and inflation of results most noticeably in South Eastern Nigeria, Jonathan’s stronghold where official results in the presidential election in some rural areas recorded close to 100 percent voter turnout and parts of Kaduna, plateau and Adamawa states with Christian ‘enclaves’. This was greeted with widespread protest which later turn to violence in Northern Nigeria (Human Right Watch, 2011).

The Nigerian presidential election has come and gone, but the ‘credible’ election have been stained by the blood of Nigerians who have their lives in the post-election violence experienced mostly in northern part of Nigeria. According Corinne Dufka, a senior West Africa researcher at Human Rights watch, “the April elections were heralded as among the fairest in Nigeria’s history, but they also were among the bloodiest.

Following the announcement of the result of the 2011 presidential election which saw to the re-election of the incumbent, Goodluck Jonathan, candidate for the ruling people’s Democratic Party, violence began with widespread protests by supporters of the main opposition candidate, Muhammade Buhari, Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) challenging the results. The protests degenerated into sectarian violence and killings by the Almajiri (Sanghaya school students) in the Northern states of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara. Relief officials estimates that more than 65,000 people were displaced while over 800 people are estimated to have lost their lives in the political violence.

Electoral politics began in Nigeria in the 1920s with the introduction of elective principles by the 1922 Clifford Constitution. This constitution was very symbolic as it served as a landmark in the electoral history of Nigeria. Nigerians were, for the first time allowed to exercise their political rights by voting their own candidates during elections (Ezera, 1960). Consequently, other constitution that emanated after 1922 improved on the elective principle. These preceding constitutions further expanded the scope of electoral participation.There is no doubt that election has been a factor in Nigeria’s political development since independence, even in pre-independence era, it played significant role both at the national and regional levels. But the fact remain that post-independence elections in Nigeria have a unique feature of crisis, which has gone a long way in affecting the democratic ideals and developmental ethos (Lawal, 2005).

In May, 1999, Nigeria made a successful post-democratic transition after almost two decades of military authoritarianism and the rule of impunity. The inauguration of the countries fourth republic thus marked a renewed sense of optimism and great expectation by Nigerian citizens and members of the international community. The much awaited democracy was therefore instituted, people had high hopes that this new wave of democratic politics in Nigeria would be characterized by the nurturing of a civic political culture that is conducive for rule of law, respect for human rights, consolidation of institutional transparency, and indeed the political accountability of the elected officials.

Nevertheless, the past fifteen years of democratic experimentation have been characterized by undemocratic tendencies, rather than consolidate the “hard earned” democracy and after elections. This unwarranted attitude (election crisis) has continued to affect generally, the political development and particularly, sustenance of democracy in Nigeria. This ugly trend and perhaps, the implication make this work inevitable.

1.2 Statement of the problem

What appeared to be a free, credible and peaceful presidential election, took on a different coloration overnight. The human Rights Watch reported that the presidential election divided the country along ethnic and religious lines. As election results trickled in on April 17, and it became clear that Buhari had lost, his supporters who are mostly Almajiri and Islamic clerics took to the streets of northern towns and cities to protest what they alleged to be the rigging of the results. The protests soon turned to skirmish which quickly degenerated into sectarian and ethnic blood letting across the northern states. Muslim rioters targeted and killed Christians and members of ethnic groups from southern Nigeria, who were perceived to have supported the ruling party, burning their churches, shops, and homes. The rioters also attacked police stations and ruling party and electoral commission offices.

In predominantly Christian communities in Kaduna and other northern state, mobs of Christian youths retaliated by killing Muslims and burning theirmosques and properties.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The project is set to achieve the following objectives;

To examine the role of election in democratic consolidation
To assess the level of democratic consolidation in Nigeria’s democracy
To identity the causes of election violence in Nigeria
To examine the effect of election violence on democracy and democratic consolidation
To contribute to scholarship on the need for democratic consolidation in developing countries
To make viable recommendations capable of solving election crises and facilitating democratic consolidation in Nigeria

1.4Significance of the Study

The study has both theoretical and practical significance. Theoretically, the study has the potential of contributing greatly to existing body of literature on elections and political violence. This work will provide the student of political science and political history, the needed framework for tackling the issues of political violence in future elections.

Practically, this research work will be of interest to Nigerian government, especially House committee on electoral matters, Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) like the Independent Electoral Commission, National Policy think-tank, States independent Electoral Commissions (SIEC) etc. The findings of this study will also provide valuable information in articulating potential policies that will help address the problems of political and electoral violence.

Finally, to the readers and researchers, this would make useful contributions to any study on same topic or any related topic on elections and political violence.

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Full Project – THE EFFECT OF ELECTION VIOLENCE AND DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION IN NIGERIA

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Full Project – THE EFFECT OF ELECTION VIOLENCE AND DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION IN NIGERIA

Full Project – THE EFFECT OF ELECTION VIOLENCE AND DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION IN NIGERIA

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