This study examines the influence of public awareness campaign on electoral process in Nigeria. The paper used the conflict theory to explain the role of the political elite in the conduct of elections in Nigeria. The writers reviewed contemporary literature and empirical studies on election to bridge possible gap in knowledge between this research and the previous research on election studies. The paper adopted the survey method, and reviewed primary data on public perception of elections in Nigeria. The data extracted from questionnaires and hypotheses were analyzed and tested using chi-square (c²) statistical tool. There would normally be a relationship between public awareness of election and voters’ commitment to the success of the election. This study however, revealed that there was no correlation between public awareness of election processes and voters’ knowledge of their role in elections in Nigeria. So, there will be need for the Nigerian electoral commission to investigate why awareness campaign on elections appears to be ineffective in Nigeria.

Keywords: election, independent national electoral commission, 2023 Nigerian elections, electoral misconduct, voters, Edo state

Nigeria has the largest economy and the highest population of people in Africa. One of the problems of democracy in Nigeria is the poor attention government gives to the conduct of election in the country. Unarguably, elections are rarely credible in Nigeria. This is partly because of the commitment by politicians to ensure that only the government-sponsored candidates win elections in the country. It could be recalled that Nigeria received its political independence from the British government October 1960. Due to bad elections and their attendant consequences, the military overthrew the government of the Nigerian First Republic in January 1966. The country’s second and the third republics also failed as a result of bad elections. The Federal Government of Nigeria would normally desire to ensure that elections are free and fair in the states or regions where the candidates of the opposition parties to government are serving as governors. Whereas, the same government would support the governors of the ruling party to use whatever means possible to ensure that government-sponsored candidates win the governorship elections in their respective states in Nigeria.

Following the improvements, the National Assembly has made on the 2022 Nigerian Electoral Act, it is now relatively impossible for anyone to influence the conduct and the results of an election in Nigeria without the connivance of the Independent National Electoral Commission. This is because once a particular voting exercise is concluded in an election, the results of the election are immediately uploaded into the Nigerian electoral commission’s portal and transmitted to its headquarters in Abuja; so, the chances of anyone altering such results have become almost impossible, which explains the reason for the credibility witnessed in the Edo and Ondo governorship elections of 2019 and 2020 respectively. But for whatever reason, the Independent National Electoral Commission could not upload the results of the 2023 Nigerian Presidential Election from the polling booths into the INEC’s portal. The chair of the commission, unfortunately, could not provide a justifiable reason on why the commission was unable to transmit the result of the election into INEC’s portal. Nonetheless, given the opportunity, many Nigerian politicians would like to rig elections so long the electoral misconduct guarantees the chances of them being elected into governments and parliaments as evident in the elections of some of the key leaders of the 10th National Assembly in Nigeria.

Many African countries and the Global North no longer have problem organizing credible elections except that there have been few cases recently where politicians willfully rejected the results of the elections that were adjudged to be free and fair by the election authorities. For example, former US President, Donald Trump, rejected the result of the 2019 US presidential election, and yet the US election authorities have repeatedly affirmed that the presidential election was credible and its integrity would remain as one of the best elections ever held in the American history. Notwithstanding, the allegations of the electoral misconduct which Trump leveled against the election have now provided the basis for some individuals to cast aspersions on the competence and authority of the US government to criticize the shortfalls in the elections held in the emerging democratic regions like Africa. Political activities across the world provide the philosophical background that explains the direction and social change that constitute the basis in which political parties strive to bring about changes and meet public expectations regarding governance.¹

Paradoxically, the Nigerian model of a credible election relies on the judiciary to endorse flawed election results and make them appear as being credible. Otherwise, much of the conduct and the results of the 2023 Nigerian general elections was characterized with various shades of electoral misconduct. Yet, the Buhari’s civilian administration did not frown on the electoral irregularities that occurred in the elections. The government rather celebrated the results of the election, and asked the individuals who were unhappy with the outcome of the election to seek redress in the court of law as though the Nigerian electoral commission was established to produce the first draft of an election result that will later be improved upon by the judiciary.

For the record, there are 36 states in Nigeria and a Federal Capital Territory in Abuja. The present Nigerian republic began May 1999. Then, the elections of the 36 state governors took place the same day at the commencement of the fourth republic. Now, eight states of the 36 states in Nigeria (Edo, Imo, Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, Kogi, Bayelsa and Anambra) conduct governorship elections in the country on separate days different from the date in the Nigerian Constitution. The changes in the calendar of the governorship elections in the affected states in Nigeria occurred as a result of the inconsistence in the evidence used by the Nigerian electoral commission to declared the winners of the elections in contradiction with the existing provisions in the 1999 Nigerian Constitution. Unfortunately, the leadership of the Nigerian electoral commission does not seem to understand that each time the judiciary rejects the result of an election earlier approved by the commission, the judgement rejecting the result is a vote of no confidence in the competence and ability of the Nigerian electoral commission to conduct credible elections in the country.

Despite the fact that the 2010 and the 2022 Nigerian Electoral Acts have given the Independent National Electoral Commission an apparent autonomy to conduct free and fair elections in Nigeria, yet the federal government still covertly exerts a reasonable level of influence on the leadership of the commission. Nigeria being a country where the majority of the members of the National Assembly and the judiciary still plays a subservient role to the president of Nigeria, one tends to wonder what the public had imagined that the Nigerian electoral commission would have done differently after Buhari voted and showed to the world that he voted for Tinubu. It was illogical thereafter, for the public to have expected that the Nigerian electoral commission would ignore Buhari’s mandate for Tinubu in favor of public mandate in the election. It is important to note that electoral misconduct takes different colorations, depending on the context in which it occurred and the persons involved in it. Politicians often use plain techniques to rig elections in Nigeria. But the government relies on the covert services of election authorities and the judiciary to alter the results of elections in the country. Part of the plain methods politicians use to rig election, include vote-buying and disruption of election processes. The word rigging is synonymous with electoral fraud as evident in the 1959, 1964/65, 1979, 1983, 1993, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015 elections (Forest, 2016).

Rationale/ Objective

The aim of this study would be to review the influence of awareness campaign on election processes in Nigeria. What once appeared as a free, fair and credible governorship election in Edo State may have changed. Some scholars have raised objections over the cases of election violence in Nigeria.^2–7 But none of these studies reviewed the influence of awareness campaign on voters’ knowledge of their role in elections, which explains why this paper focuses on the role of public awareness in violent-free election in Nigeria.

Theory

The conflict theory is the preferred intellectual construct to explain the utility of this study. The theory explains the perception to view workplace relation and the interpretations of events and issues regarding workplace conflicts. Conflict theory was propounded by Karl Marx in 1883. The author opines that social order is usually maintained and sustained by the political class by exerting domination and power, rather than through consensus of opinion and conformity to good norms and values. The ruling elite that controls much of the wealth and power in every society try to hold on to what they have using whatever means possible. They oppress the poor and the powerless members of society whose efforts and services provided the riches owned by the bourgeoises. Conflict theory has been used to explain a wide range of social phenomena, including wars and revolutions, wealth and poverty, discriminations and domestic violence. This theory is therefore appropriate to serve as intellectual construct for this paper that focuses on the use of force and violence in elections in Nigeria.

The primary reason why politicians rig elections in Nigeria is to either gain access to serve in government, or perpetuate themselves in governments having been given the opportunity to serve in elective positions in governments or parliaments. So, the desperate commitment by some politicians to win election naturally breeds violence and attacks on electoral process and on the persons the politicians perceived might obstruct their chances of being elected into governments or parliaments. It is important to note that it is the failure by the Nigerian political elite to establish good governance, forge national integration and promote equity and justice in governance that may have led to the emergence of state-imposed poverty in Nigeria. These conflicts have great implications for Nigerian political stability as some members of the ruling party now use state security apparatus, like the Nigeria Police, to suppress and harass the members of the public that challenge the ruling party position in elections.⁸

Election studies

Indubitably, election and the acquisition of political power provide the keys for carnage. Unfortunately, some members of the ruling party in Nigeria have converted some vulnerable citizens to serve as thugs in elections. What this means is that poverty and the quest for more money have increased the spate for the electoral violence being witnessed in the country.⁹ Today, elections are often characterized with allegations of electoral misconduct that cut across parties, but with a preponderant of the ruling party being the major stakeholder and beneficiary of electoral misconduct in Nigeria. Between 1959 and 1966, there were cases of election rigging, where electoral officials and politicians were found to have compromised the processes of elections in the effort to ensure that certain candidates had the opportunity to serve in governments and parliaments notwithstanding whether or not they won or lost the particular election.

Among the elements politicians explore while facilitating the process of electoral misconduct is the lack of awareness of some Nigerian electorate who have no adequate knowledge of the imports or benefits of credible of elections. Some members of the political class usually offer money to indigent citizens and dictate to them the party and candidates they must vote for in an election. As a follow-up to the 1964/65 elections, which left much to be desired, many elites have continually expressed an unreserved desire to serve in government and parliaments, ignoring the benefits of free and fair elections. The rigging habit of some Nigeria politicians have been of great concern to the public. Elections nonetheless, are essential to democracy and fundamental to the essence a representative government. When elections are free, fair and transparent, they confer credibility and legitimacy on their outcomes. However, Nigeria's electoral history has always been marred by various levels of violence with grave implications for polity. But election has remained an important apparatus that helps to shape the peaceful transition of government from one civilian administration to another. In addition, election is a mechanism through which representatives and political leaders are chosen lawfully by the people,³ being a fundamental feature of a liberal democracy. Elsewhere in the world, an election is regarded as the only acceptable means to either enthrone, or dethrone leaders under a democratic system of government.¹⁰ Since May 1999 when Nigeria began its fourth republic, elections have become more regular in the country.

The Independent National Electoral Commission have conducted seven general elections in the Nigerian Fourth Republic. They are the 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 2015, 2019 and 2023 general elections. Although elections across the African region are usually accompanied by violence, recent experiences have shown that much improvement has been made in election in few African countries as evident in the outcome of the 2022 Kenyan Presidential Election. Raila Odinga, former Prime-Minister of Kenya, and William Ruto, former deputy president to President Uhuru Kenyetta, contested the election. Ruto defeated Odinga. As usual, Odinga rejected the result of the election. The Federal Supreme Court of Kenya reviewed the results of the election and confirmed that Ruto was the actual winner of the election. Peace has since returned to Kenya after the election, which was commendable of Odinga’s maturity in the manner in which he responded to the court judgement on the election. Across Africa, attention is being given on the need for politicians to paid close attention to the establishment of the conditions conducive for the conduct of credible and peaceful elections.¹¹

Former Nigerian President, Shehu Musa Yar’ Adua, initiated the reformed process for free and fair elections in Nigeria when he set up the Justice Uwais Committee in 2007 to review the 1999 Nigerian Electoral Laws which culminated in the 2010 Nigerian Electoral Act.¹² As part of history, former Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, was arrested for leading a protest against the victory of a People’s Democratic Party’s candidate who was allegedly involved in an electoral misconduct.¹¹ Since 1999, every general election in Nigeria has always been accompanied with violence.¹³ Electoral violence refers to the use of force by politicians to achieve their aims and objectives in a given election process. The violence that occurs during election, include arson, abduction, assault, violent seizure of electoral materials and destruction of sensitive electoral documents, and the use of intimidations by politicians according to.¹⁴ Virtually, every geo-political zone in Nigeria has a memory of the psychological trauma it suffers each time the people of the region lacked the support of the federal government in a given administration. This is notwithstanding whether the people of the region voted for the ruling party in power. The offence of the region for being neglected by the government might just have been the geo-political space where the region is located in the Nigerian political landscape, which partly explains the dysfunctional implication of religion and ethnicity in the Nigerian politics.

Ethnic and religious sentiments are usually spread across Nigeria; thus, making the electoral process an acrimonious and violent in nature.¹⁵ Due to the political realities on the ground in Nigeria, elections are often held under tight security, and yet there are usually loss of lives and property in every election in the country. Consequently, there is the need for the Nigerian government to have an enabling and a peaceful environment where the rights of its citizens to vote, and be voted for are acknowledged and recognized by governments; otherwise, it might be relatively difficult to ever witness free and credible elections in Nigeria.¹⁶ Similarly, Fortes and Pritchard opined that those who study the implications of centralized authorities are more abreast of the status of kings and classes in society, the roles of administrative officials, the privileges of rank, the differences in wealth and power, the regulation of tax and tribute “the rights of subject and the obligations of rulers alongside the check on their authority” have become essential matters for public discussion.¹⁷

Election is often seen as a process used for the selection of leaders into governments and parliaments. But when it is viewed from a higher intellectual pedestal, election is more than a mere process, it also includes the transfer of the political sovereignty of all the adult citizens of a given country into a legal sovereignty as the citizens cast their votes and elect deserving individuals to preside over state affairs in governments and parliaments on behalf of the entire citizens. Nwolise,¹⁸ views election as the process of selecting the officers or representatives of an organization or group. Such an election may be for the appointment a university vice-chancellor, or a corporate organization choosing a chairman, a political party conducting its primaries to choose its standard-bearer for a presidential election, a nation choosing the person to become its president, or an international organization selecting its secretary-general. Akzin¹⁹ however noted that elections have technical and social significance. In a technical sense, an election entails the process through which an office or a post is assigned to a person by an act of volition that requires the simultaneous expression of a vote of acceptance by the beneficiaries of the office. In a social sense, an election is the process by which a person may be linked to an office through the due participation of the people who will bear the weight of his or her authority. It is this social aspect of elections that generates the idea of what it entails for government to govern a society with the consent of the governed, and this boils down to democracy, and distinguishes election from other shades of selection processes.¹⁹

Electoral violence therefore, according to Olagbegi,²⁰ has a faceted process not open to a singular explanation, but unfortunately tending to reproduce itself in a series of socially disruptive behaviours. Basically, electoral violence can be said to be any behaviour involving or tending to involve the use of physical force to cause damage to property, maim or kill an individual or persons in order to secure the office or position being contested. Whereas, IIufoye²¹ believes that electoral violence is a limited aspect of the political violence that is associated with elections. This is because political violence often occurs before, during or even after elections. Jegede⁸ agrees that there are different manifestations of electoral violence, which includes murder, arson, abduction, assault, and violent seizure and destruction of electoral materials. These acts are perpetuated by individuals or groups with the intention to benefit from the violence. Igwe²² provides more insight on the meaning of election violence. According to the author, election violence connotes any forceful act intended to compel a re-direction of an election outcome. The writer maintains that election or political violence may or may not involve actual bloodshed. Election or political violence may entail the application of extra-judicial measures to return the political pendulum to normalcy. According to Nnoli,²³ “violence has both functional and dysfunctional implication depending on its utility.

Null Hypotheses

H_O: There is no significant influence of awareness campaign on voters’ knowledge of their role in election in Nigeria.

H_O: Awareness campaign does not have impact in the reduction of attacks on election officers and sensitive election materials in Nigeria.

H_O: Awareness campaign does not have significant impact on the number of court cases arising from elections in Nigeria.

H_O: Awareness campaign does not have impact in the reduction of electoral irregularities in Nigeria

Design

The study adopted descriptive survey as its research method, and reviewed public perception of the local government elections conducted by the Edo State Independent Electoral Commission in 2011 and 2019 in Uhunmwonde, Orhionmwon, Egor, Ikpoba-Okha, Oredo, Ovia South West, Ovia North East in Edo South Senatorial Zone. In addition, the study reviewed the elections held in Esan Central Local Government Area located in Edo Central Senatorial Zone. It became necessary to review its election because of the contentious nature of the election. 240 respondents comprising junior and senior staff of the local government councils constituted the elements for the study sample. Nonetheless, 219 questionnaires were retrieved from the target audience. Five-Point Likert Scale response categories of: agreed, strongly agreed, disagreed, undecided and strongly disagreed was used to elicit public view on the influence of awareness campaign in the outcome of elections in Nigeria. The Chi-Square Statistical Tool (2) was used to analyze the null hypotheses formulated on the presumed role of awareness in election. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for the data analysis of the study.

Data presentation and analysis

1. There is no significant influence of awareness campaign on voters’ knowledge of their role in elections in Nigeria.
2. Awareness campaign does not have significant impact in the reduction of attacks on election officers and sensitive election materials in Nigeria.
3. Awareness campaign does not have significant impact in the number of the court cases arising from elections in Nigeria.
4. Awareness campaign does not have significant impact in the reduction of electoral irregularities in Nigeria

Findings shown that awareness campaign does not seem to have any significant impact in the outcome of elections in Nigeria based on the findings from the review of the impact of awareness on the 2011 and 2019 local government elections in Edo State in Nigeria. One of the reasons why awareness campaign is ineffective in Nigeria is because it is usually not audience-based in nature. For example, aside from Oredo and Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Areas, the other local government areas reviewed in the study are located in the semi-urban and rural areas in Edo State in Nigeria. So, there is the need for the Nigerian electoral commission to employ rural-based communication skills and techniques in communicating the responsibilities and duties of citizens to free and credible elections in Nigeria. It is pointless for the Nigerian election authorities to use English Language as medium as communication while relating to rural dwellers on their duties and responsibilities to free and fair elections in Nigeria. The other reason why awareness campaign on electoral processes may have appeared to be insignificant is the motivation and benefits politicians attached to electoral misconduct in Nigeria. As noted earlier in the study, government-sponsored candidates rig elections freely in Nigeria being confident that the judiciary will endorse the flawed elections results and make them appear as being credible, thus justifying the Nigeria’s model for credible elections. Disappointedly, not much is likely to change in the subsequent elections in Nigeria until the federal government sees the need to respect public mandate in elections. Violence and electoral misconduct are like the two sizes of the same coin, in that once a politician perceived that he or she is likely to lose an election in a ward or constituency, the use of violence becomes a possible option to change the direction of the election result in favor of the government-sponsored candidates in the elections. Electoral fraud is related to violence and criminality. This was collaborated in an earlier study by.²⁴ It is worth noting that the psychological and structural causes of electoral violence is often centered in the delayed in announcing of the results of elections in Nigeria. This issue should be promptly and urgently addressed to increase voters’ confidence in election results. The Nigerian electoral commission should ensure that perpetrators of electoral violence in Nigeria are sanctioned to serve as deterrent to other people (Appendix).^25,26

None.

The author has no conflicts of interest to declare

None.

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