Transition and Civic Engagements in Nigeria: What does 2015 Portend?

Abstract

Nigeria as a country returned to civilian rule in 1999 after marathon years of military dictatorship. Since then, the country had conducted four general elections which have all been disputed as being below democratic standards. The quality and efficacy of these elections have progressively declined, thus begging the question of democratic transition and citizens’ role in the electoral process. Independent international and domestic observers however noted that despite numerous challenges like violence, disenfranchisement, poor organization of the elections, etc., the 2011 general elections witnessed a slight improvement from the past elections, as results in certain parts of the country reflected the citizen’s choice at the polls. However, Nigeria’s general elections scheduled for March and April, 2015 will be more contentious than previous ones. There exist tensions within and between the major competing parties, claims and counter-claims between northern and Niger Delta politicians, religious/ethnic politics, the escalating attacks of Boko Haram Islamic sect and the increasing political tension in many northern and southern states, coupled with the poor preparations of the electoral commission and the likely bias nature of the security services,  all allude to the fact that the country is moving toward a “grave and volatile political contest”. The paper, therefore examined the causes and implications of rising tension in the nation’s political system and how the current situation can be handled to avert full blown political crises during and after the elections. This study adopted archival analysis. Data for the analysis were drawn from newspapers publications, journals, workshop papers, books, as well as publications of non-governmental organizations. The primary significance of this study is that it will awaken the consciousness of the electorate on why they should play major role in the electoral process and avert the political crises that have characterized majority of the elections conducted in Nigeria. Analysis made in this paper will serve as a useful political literature for policy makers, political leaders and the reading public seeking lucid information on the subject issue. This paper thus argued that as Nigerians prepare for the 2015 general elections, serious attention should be paid to the role the electorates play in transition processes through their civic engagements. The paper therefore recommended, among others, that the electorates should be seen as the “transitory agents” as well as the electoral body conducting transparent and credible elections to increase citizens’ confidence in the electoral process. The paper, however, concluded that transition and civil engagements will be meaningless in Nigeria, if the citizens’ whose duty it is to accelerate the process are not fully integrated into the democratic process.

Keywords: Civic Engagements; Disenfranchisement; Elections; Electoral Violence; Transition