CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Since 1999, when the military finally left the political scene by handing-over the reins of political power to civilians, after a cumulative 37 years of authoritarian rule, almost all the general elections that have been conducted (2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019) in Nigeria have been fraught with election violence. Election violence involves the unwholesome activities of supporters of political parties who use dangerous weapons such as cutlasses, arms and ammunition to intimidate, beat, and in some cases kill political opponents before, during and after elections. For ease of understanding, we can divide election violence intro three categories, namely: pre-election violence, violence during elections and post-election violence. Pre-election violence occurs when political opponents clash during campaign rallies ostensibly to intimidate or weaken the other parties. In the build-up to the 2015 general elections, several cases of pre-election violence were reported. For instance, on 2nd day of March 2015, supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and those of the All Progressives Congress (APC) clashed in Remo North Local Government in Ogun State in South-West Nigeria resulting in the wound of several people and the burning of vehicles in Iperu Remo, in Remo North Local Government of Ogun State.
On the other hand, violence during elections or on election days involves the use of dangerous weapons such as guns, cutlasses, sticks and others to intimidate and chase away voters so that such hoodlums could hijack election materials ballot papers and result sheets to thumbprint and fill for their parties. Because of the high stakes involved in political contests, violence during elections usually leaves in its trails bloodshed, deaths and destruction. This point is rightly portrayed by Onike, R. (2007) when he averred that “…the fact that politics deals with power acquisition and allocation of resources, the instinct and urge for political violence becomes an inescapable reality of social engineering”. However, the most recurring dangerous decimal in our national politics is the incidence of post-election violence which usually occurs after election results have been announced. In a few cases such violence is premeditated, and is caused by bad losers, and in others, it is spontaneous reflecting that the perpetrators feel that the elections were rigged in favor of those that have been declared winners. A good example is the violence that erupted in some states in the northern parts of Nigeria, especially in Bauchi and Kaduna States, no sooner than President Good luck Jonathan was declared winner of the 2011 presidential election by the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega. The riots led to the gruesome murder of innocent people, including electoral officials and the destruction of properties running into several billions of naira.
According to Obakhedo (2011), electoral violence is one of the greatest obstacles in Nigeria. Mostly, election violence occurs within party (intra-party) and outside the party (inter-party), this affects the quality of election (outcome) results in the electoral system, the rule of law and democratic practice in Nigeria. Furthermore, violence affects the stand of elections being free and fair, as well transparent by foreign observers.
According to Sesan, (2012), electoral violence has really discouraged citizens’ participation in the political process in many states including Ogun State. It was noted that Nigerians participation in 2015 and 2019 general elections in many states in Nigeria including some Local Government Areas (LGA) in Ogun State recorded low turnout, that less 50 percent of the nearly 4 Million registered voters took part in the general elections due to the fear of violence (Sesan, 2012). This development portends serious danger to Nigeria’s democracy because without sufficient turnout, elections would not reflect the people’s preferences. It is on this basis that this study seeks to investigate the causes, effects and possible solution to the election violence in Nigeria by using Remo North Local Government Area of Ogun State as a case study.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Election is one of the indicators of a democratic state. It is a mechanism through which candidates compete for political positions in a country. This trend has a mixed reaction in Nigeria as a whole and Ogun State in particular. The heterogeneous nature of the Country and the clientele practice of government businesses have made election a challenging phenomenon to parties involved in adhering to the ideal practice of democracy. General elections of 2011 and 2015 are not an exception rather happened in different modes, for it attracted political violence before, during and after election and announcement of the result. This study is aimed to examine some of the causes, effects and possible solution to the election violence in Nigeria by using Remo North Local Government Area of Ogun State as a case study.
1.3 Research Objectives
The objective of this study is to examine some of the causes, effects and possible solution to the election violence in Nigeria by using Remo North Local Government Area of Ogun State as a case study. The specific objectives are:
i) To understand the prevalence of electoral violence in Remo North Local Government Area
ii) To investigate the impact of political intolerance to violence in Remo North Local Government Area
iii) To study the impact of ethno-religious politics on political violence Remo North Local Government Area
1.4 Research Questions
The following are some of the questions which this study intends to answer:
i) What is the prevalence of electoral violence in Remo North Local Government Area?
ii) What is the impact of political intolerance to violence in Remo North Local Government Area?
iii) What is the impact of ethno-religious politics on political violence Remo North Local Government Area?
1.5 Research Hypothesis
Ho1: There are no significant causes of election violence in Nigeria.
1.6 Significance of the Study
The research is vital, because it exposes some factors that cause political violence in Remo North Local Government Area as well suggest to the government the importance of given attention to the problem to avoid reoccurrence. It will also contribute to the stock of knowledge on political violence with particularity to Nigeria.
1.7 Scope of the Study
This study investigates the causes, effects and possible solution to the election violence in Nigeria by using Remo North Local Government Area of Ogun State as a case study. Therefore, the study will be carried out in Remo North Local Government Area of Ogun State.
1.8 Limitation of the Study
The researcher encounters some constraints which limited the scope of the study;
Finance: Due to the nature of location within the scope, the researcher spends a lot of money on visiting, traveling from one location to another, and even had to repeat a visit more than three times to seek for information, all these involves money considering the financial constraint of the researcher and limited resources available to him.
Time: Time constraint has been another vital limitation and obstacle towards effective realization of the main objectives of this study. Time was really not on the side of the researcher since the researcher has to combine the little time left with my academic work and preparation.
1.9 Definition of Terms
For a proper understanding of this work, key terms used are defined based on their conceptual relevance to this study
Election: the formal process of selecting a person for public office or of accepting or rejecting a political proposition by voting. It is important to distinguish between the form and the substance of elections
Electoral violence: it means any act of violence perpetrated in the course of political activities, including pre, during and post election periods, and may include any of the following acts: thuggery, use of force to disrupt political meetings or voting at polling stations, or the use of dangerous weapons to intimidate voters and other electoral process, or to cause bodily harm or injury to any person connected with electoral processes
Violence: an act of physical force that causes or is intended to cause harm. The damage inflicted by violence may be physical, psychological, or both. Violence may be distinguished from aggression, a more general type of hostile behaviour that may be physical, verbal, or passive in nature.
