Anytime there is going to be elections in Nigeria, there will be one form of violence or the other. Whether the violence is low-level or intense in nature, elections has always posed a threat to the security of our country. Violence during elections not only threaten the rights and values that are cherished at the level of the individual, but most times, it constitutes a threat to the corporate existence of the country.
Bill Thrall et al in the book TrueFaced, state that eventually all our masks will be cracked and inevitably, our true selves will be exposed. I concur with this view particularly if one examines Nigeria’s economic crisis and the attitude of most politicians. Nigeria’s economic crisis, though legendary, has certainly caused the masks of many politicians to crack and crumble.
The pain for many politicians who perceive they will lose elections and those who actually lost has been unbearable after spending huge sums of money to occupy juicy positions in government. But for election malpractices, the struggle many of our politicians’ face could not have happened to them.
Who are those behind electoral malpractices and violence occasioned by massive election rigging? Who are the masterminds of snatching and burning election materials, maiming and killing of political opponents? They are politicians with cracked masks!
Politicians are to be blamed for all malpractices and rising intolerance during elections. If all politicians won elections, their masks would have protected them. And the electorate would not know the true identity of their politicians. True identity in terms of character.
Bayelsa and Kogi States gubernatorial elections are over but as usual some of those defeated may end up in election tribunals. It is when election petitions are taken before appropriate tribunals that some of us will understand why “one man’s struggle is certainly another’s salvation.” In spite of the controversies that election process throws up, challenges and opportunities democracy offer, and elites’ interests that they project, the overwhelming body of opinion suggests that democracy is the best form of government.
“Democracy depends on strong institutions. It is about minority rights and checks and balances including freedom of speech and freedom of expression and a free press and the right to protest, and petition the government and an independent judiciary and everybody having to follow the law,” according to Barrack Obama.
We should stop pretending that we are a democratic country because we hold elections. There is more to democracy than elections. Elections must be free and fair. The rule of law must be restored. Elections in which the opposition is harassed and prevented from talking while the winner gets all the votes without counting is not democracy but banausocracy. One may argue that we need electoral reforms. Yes, but where are the reformers? (Refer my article in this column titled Reforms without Reformers.)
Over time, political scientists have emphasised that one way in which democracy can enhance security is through cultivation and development of a democratic political culture. The argument here is that if we want to reduce violence and conflict before, during and after elections to the barest minimum, we must develop a political culture. Political culture refers to the beliefs, values, and dispositions regarding politics that are held by the elites and masses in the country. Certain values which are assumed to be crucial to a democratic culture have been identified by many contemporary scholars in the field democracy studies include but not limited to:
“Belief in the legitimacy of democracy; tolerance of opposing parties; a willingness to compromise with political opponents; trust in the political environment, and cooperation, particularly among political competitors; moderation in political positions; civility of political discourse; and participation based on principles of political equality.”
It would be extremely difficult to find a polity that exhibits above stated values and beliefs among African countries whose citizens, for decades, have been politically socialised under assorted authoritarian regimes. Developing a strong political culture is going to be herculean in a society where more than 35 percent of the adult population are illiterates.
If past and current democratic regimes in Nigeria were x-rayed, it can be seen that the level of intolerance among competing political elites is rising, while the inability to accommodate divergent views and opinions is gaining grounds. The citizens will express their displeasure if a state governor does not pay workers in the state for nine months. The masses will grumble when highways are in a state of disrepair. Nigerians will not accept poor roads as the standard from those in the government.
Over time, I have observed that divergent views national issue is often perceived as incorrect by government officials. If words are not cleverly chosen, such a view may be regarded as “hate speech”. Democracy where freedom of expression and human rights should be the propelling forces is gradually being destroyed by some politicians who preferred that no one speaks on any matter pertaining to governance in the country.
The elections in Kogi and Bayelsa have brought out the need for us to develop a strong political culture. We cannot continue to have Ad hoc staff of INEC missing during elections while political chieftains and supporters are murdered. If we do not have a strong political culture, voter apathy will continue as polling booths are now turning to war zones – where violence is perpetrated by hoodlums in line with their battle plans. The risk is too high when one goes out to exercise his or civic responsibilities to vote in most polling booths.
Without a strong political culture, good people with democratic character will continue to distant themselves from politics. While the political landscape will be occupied by shenanigans who will not bother to do anything meaningful to improve the lives of people.
We need a democratic environment that will facilitate a process of political socialisation in which values, beliefs and attitude that are accommodative and tolerant of opposition are cultivated. If democracy will endure, there is need for strong opposition political parties. Regrettably, I cannot find any strong political party in opposition to the party in power. This is rather sad. The pathology of intolerance among political elites must stop forthwith. Thank you!
MA JOHNSON
