2023: ‘Politicians Campaigning along Ethnic, Religious Lines Threatening National Cohesion’

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) has decried that politicians campaigning  along ethnic and religious lines ahead of the 2023 elections, the development it said threatens national cohesion and also creates animosity amongst citizens.

Its Executive Director, Dr. Chukwuemeka Eze stated this on Tuesday in Abuja during Stakeholders’ Consultative meeting on Peaceful 2023 Elections and Political Transition in Nigeria organised by WANEP in collaboration with ECOWAS Commission’s Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and the Austrian Development Agency (ADA).

He said contemporary challenges to elections and democratic governance escalated by election disputes continue to threaten the foundation of the country’s democracy.

Eze said some analysts have pointed out that this was as a result of the fiercely competitive nature of  elections with negative perceptions and the practice of “winner takes all” which further reinforces party politics along narrow-minded, ethnic or religious lines rather than on ideological basis.

He added that others have highlighted weaknesses or flaws within the institutional mechanisms of  election management with accusations of lack of transparency and independence which gives room for varying perceptions of bias and distrust.

The Executive Director noted that with such perceived and in many instances real structural or systemic defects, situations often arise where underlying conflicts further increase the vulnerability and integrity of the general conduct of the elections.

Eze stressed that it was therefore not surprising that the country  continues to witness and experience violence that undermines the entire democratic and governance structures across the country and in many other countries across the region.

He said in some cases, wider division between the citizens and the political elite had been witnessed leading to partial or wide scale violent protests as an expression of citizen’s distrust of the electoral governance and management systems with devastating effects on the integrity of the electoral processes and outcomes.

Eze stated: “It is even more worrisome that a country like Nigeria with high expectations from the international community to lead the continent into electoral decorum and civility, is continually experiencing high levels of suspicion and lack of confidence in key State institutions that directly or indirectly superintend the electoral process.

“Allegations of partisan security forces, partiality of the judiciary, and lack of independence of the Electoral Commission among others abound. An important dimension with potentials of heating up the polity is the increased cases of identity, ethnicity and religiosity in the body politics.

“Politicians are now comfortably pursuing their agenda along ethnic and religious lines than along ideological lines. This development threatens the growth of formal democracy, national cohesion and development and creates animosity amongst citizens who now view themselves through parochial lenses.”

Eze pointed out that  today, there was an unfolding paradigm shift in the approach to elections and political transition processes, adding that a few years ago, politics and elections were seen as the sole preserve of political actors and gladiators; the State and government agencies but today, the voices of citizens are beginning to echo in the political arena.

According to him, At the centre of all these is the Nigerian youth, with rising political awareness and demand for socio-economic and governance reforms which gained traction following the 2021 #EndSARS nationwide protests. Already, the just ended Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) data reveals that the youth aged 18-34 constitutes 78.7 per cent of 12,298,944 of new registrants. This suggests that the youth demography could potentially decide the outcome of the 2023 elections. Juxtaposed to these challenges is the cocktail of recurrent protests, demonstrations, labour strikes and community agitations, that portends a high risk in the lead up to the elections. It is also instructive that the upcoming election will be organised within the context of widespread concern about democratic regression in the governance landscape of West Africa.

Eze was of the opinion that the seeming enduring and protracted security, socio-economic and political obstacles bedevilling the country ahead of the elections, there was a sense of optimism that Nigeria has the resilient factors and potential to surmount these conundrums to conduct a peaceful election and harness its potential dividends to consolidate democratic governance.

He said to be able to navigate the current dilemma facing the country amid preparations towards the 2023 general election, analysis of the challenges and opportunities for democratic consolidation in the country and its implications to regional stability was essential.