By Uangbaoje Alex, Kaduna
Professor Abubakar Siddique, Director, Centre for Democratic Development Research and Training, Zaria, has warned the election management bodies against manipulation noting that the patience of Nigerians should not be taken for granted.
He said despite the inconsistencies in the Nigerian election processes, the country is lucky that the military did not takeover government as seen in other countries in Africa.
Prof. Saddique, made the submission in Kaduna on Thursday when he chaired a “Multi-stakeholders dialogue on rebuilding trust in the electoral process and elections in Nigeria” organised the International Press Centre (IPC), under the EU-Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN II), Support to Media.
He recalled that at various point in the Nigerian history, the military intervened whenever people are agitated over election outcomes and law and order broken down, saying the military has also learnt her lessons since their interventions did not bring the required change.
“Whenever the political leaders do not manage the processes very well, it leads to anarchy and the military capitalises on it to intervene and we have been very lucky.
“Though that is no longer fashionable, but we most not take it for granted, if politicians continue the way they do; the level of corruption, election ringing, manipulation of results, mobilisation of thugs and the people are fed up”. The Professor added.
He therefore called for correction of all anomalies in the election processes and ensure that the processes are transparent and fair to allow for trust to avoid violence and anarchy.
On his part, the keynote presenter at the meeting, Prof. Dung Pam Sha, of the Dept of Political Science, University of Jos, Plateau State, said the roles being played by the political actors is dwindling trust of the electoral management body.
“The roles played by many stakeholders in the process have created a situation whereby trust is dwindling. In the last election for instance, transmission of results became one of the major issues.
“I think political parties have played very negative roles, their lack of internal party democracy has also created a lot of problems for confidence in the process. Where they imposed candidates to run for elections and how some of them captures the party machineries, that has also created a lot of problems.” Prof. Pam, noted.
He commended the youths for their activeness since 2015, noting that though the outcome of the 2023 election demoralised many of the youths, adding that there’s need to honestly address the problem.
In his opening remarks, Executive Director, of IPC, Mr. Lanre Arogundade, expressed confident that the dialogue will ensure that the right answers to all the questions regarding how to regain trust in the election institution are provided.
Lanre, who was represented by Ayo-aluko Olokun, Editor, Nigerian Democratic Report (NDR), explained that while the last elections recorded commendable landmarks, particularly in terms of meticulous planning and the use of voting technology via BVAS, it also had challenges some of which have created doubts in the minds of sections of the electorate.
“Indeed, what can be deduced from the various comments and opinions is that trust and confidence issues about the electoral processes, electoral institutions, and elections have to be urgently addressed because they are essential for ensuring the desired participation of citizens in activities that can lead to credible elections.
“Therefore, how do we continue to build trust in the electoral processes? How do we ensure that citizens go out to register and collect their PVCs? How do we ensure that they vote even after collecting their PVCs? What are our roles and responsibilities in providing the enabling environment for popular participation in elections as critical stakeholders?
“The challenge of finding answers to these questions and perhaps many other ones is the main reason for our gathering today under the auspices of Component 4b: Support to Media of the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria, phase two project (EU-SDGNII). He started.
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