In Nigeria, election periods have become a market for thugs to wield their trade for the highest bidders. With the 2023 general election making a headway, desperate politicians would do everything possible to catapult themselves into power. Thereby fuelling the dastardly act of electoral violence.
The merchants of the violence serve as an incubus to Nigeria’s electoral system. With the increasing cases of violence in the country, the cascading, sponsored act of destruction cannot be treated as simple crime anymore. It greatly poses a grave danger to having a free and fair election.
Just within the space of October and December in 2022, a total of 53 election-related cases of violence were reportedly recorded in 22 states, with the latest attack torching the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) in Owerri, Imo State on Monday, 12th December which claimed the life of about five persons.
In another attack of burning down an INEC office in Abeokuta, Ogun State, reports had it that no less than 65,900 uncollected Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs), eight electricity generating sets, 904 ballot boxes, among other materials were destroyed.
Also, in November, 340 ballot boxes, 130 voting cubicles, and 14 electric power generators were destroyed when INEC’s office in Iboko, Izzi LGA of Ebonyi state, was set ablaze.This even came earlier before a similar attack on the INEC office in Osun State.
All these happenings_among other things_are ringing a bad alarm for the feasibility of having a free and fair election process. Meanwhile, in a democratic society like Nigeria, where freedom of speech is guaranteed and the youths make up about 70 percent of the population, one would be wondering if the youths and journalists in the country have a role to play in ensuring a smooth electioneering process.
To begin with, section 22 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended spelled out the obligations and roles of mass media, which are largely operated by journalists_those persons whose job is to collect news/information, and write about it in newspapers, magazines or talk about it on television or radio.
According to the section, the press, radio, television and other agencies of the mass media shall at all times be free to uphold the fundamental objectives of the state and uphold the responsibility and accountability of the Government to the people.
To say that having a smooth electioneering process is not a fundamental objective of a democratic society(where leaders are decided through elections)would be counterfactual. Because no country can thrive without good leadership. Thus, this has made it indispensable for journalists to create a conducive atmosphere for the election process through their rigorous kinds of reporting.
The tallest role of journalists is to serve as the watchdog. While performing this function, they should observe the fundamental ethics of journalism_accuracy, objectivity, accountability, impartiality and independence. Journalists should always seek credible clarification on crucial and core issues that concern the nation to avoid unconfirmed headlines as well as casting sensational deadlines that may sabotage the credibility of the polls.
The journalists have a role of reporting election results and monitoring vote counting, including scrutinizing the electoral process and the management itself in order to evaluate the fairness, efficiency and probity of the process.
Being instruments through which public opinion is shaped, journalists also have a duty of educating voters on how to exercise their democratic right by providing information in a manner devoid of inflammatory language, and helping to prevent election-related violence.
It’s also the role of journalists to feed the voters with the adequate information about the informed analyses on policies, political parties and their candidates so as to allow the citizens make the right choices. More so, it also falls within the duties of journalists to put to test_through investigations_the credibility, eligibility and integrity of various aspiring political leaders in the country. Without journalists covering and safeguarding the credibility and transparency of the whole process, a smooth electioneering process would be difficult to achieve.
Meanwhile, what about the youths in the country? Do they equally also have a script to actin the movie striving for a smooth election process? Yes.
The youths are not only the cornerstone of democratic elections, they also play an unbendable role in ensuring a free and fair election process. Nigeria has the largest population of youth in the world, with a median age of 18.1 years. The youths, under 30, constitute about 70% of the country’s population while 42% are under the age of 15.
Should the Nigerian youths understand their role and significance, the election process would survive the acid of being marred by violence, vote-buying and other forms of electoral malpractices. The #EndSARS nationwide protests by Nigeria’s youths in October 2020 is a clear indication that the youths are capable of changing the bad template for the election processes in the country. Despite the government’s brutal action towards the protesters, they were not moved to shift their grounds.
Remember, the election thugs who always disrupt the process are largely operated by the youths. But, they do not act alone. They perpetrate their dastardly acts under the auspices of desperate politicians. Unfortunately, the hefty men behind the act are never unmasked by security agencies.
This displays a strong signal why the youths should not allow themselves to be used as tools for election-related violence. If the desperate politicians could not get instruments to engineer the process of ringing and unleashing violence, there would be a smooth election process, since they cannot carry out the act themselves.
The educated youths, just like the journalists, also have a voluntary role of educating voters on how to exercise their democratic rights. The youths should in addition serve as watchdog in their various polling units in order to avoid election ringing. This can be done by applying to work as adhoc staff for INEC.
More so, the Nigerian youths should as well exercise their political rights by voting to strengthen the process of choosing a good leader.
The youths, through social media advocacy, also have a role of enlightening the public on the dangers surrounding election-related violence and its effects in contributing to the bad administrative system in Nigeria. There is no doubt that if the youths and journalists perform those roles satisfactorily and not perfunctorily, a smooth electioneering process would be achieved in Nigeria.
Shereefdeen Ahmad