Elections and Political Violence in Nigeria: Past Mistakes and Challenges Ahead
Keywords:
Elections, political violence, NigeriaAbstract
Elections in Nigeria over the years have become much more than a democratic process of acquiring political power. We have for some time now witnessed escalating political violence in different parts of the country, with increasing loss of faith between the electorates and politicalleaders. During the last general elections of April 2011, there were charges and counter charges by the political parties of rigging and general abuse of power at the federal and states level. Riot, arson, murder and looting became widespread in many states particularly in the northern part of the country. This paper intends to look at the process of conducting elections in Nigeria and how it caused political violence and make recommendations on how to bring to an end the increasing wave of violence in the electoral system. This is significant because as 2015 draws nearer, there is increasing fear and apprehension about possible political violence across the country. Fundamentally, there is need for political education and youth’s empowerment to convert election violence in our polity.
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