The Typical Electioneering Politics In Nigeria
Nigerian politics is generally a fascinating piece of study. It is an interest whose definition of established political modus operandi begs to defer and practically question the conventional dictates other nations of the world, distinctly known for their adhering political practices, recognize-where it copies its theoretic philosophy. For instance, what is seen as 'free and fair ' is often very vague when it comes to appropriating it in the Nigerian political context.
The political system is characterized by primarily schemes to breach due process and attain victory in an unprecedented manner. A typical example was a statement by a former president of Nigeria who projected in 2007 that the election would be a 'do or die' afffair. See https://allafrica.com/stories/200702110015.html. A democracy that should be hinged on a 'free and fair' Electioneering process has a different twist to it!
Before 1999, Nigeria has been operating majorly on military rule. May 29, 1999 was the official hand-over date from a military regime to a civilian rule. A nascent democracy it was, the civilian rulers were surprisingly retired military generals. With the exceptions of former president Goodluck Jonathan and the late Musa Yar' Adua, (Goodluck Jonathan 2008-2014 and the Late Musa Yar'Adua-2008), the rest have once served in the military (Olusegun Obasanjo-1999-2007) and Muhammadu Buhari (2015-present).
The elections have been characterized by salient massive rigging. Many political office holders get into positions of power without having to observe the freeness and fairness of democracy, in the context of Electioneering. Some Nigerians have questioned the credibility of the process. Hence, lost confidence in the system. A publication by the International Research Gate states in its abstract in part: " The study examined contributions made by the International Election Observers in promoting electoral process in Nigeria. The study argued that transparency, voter's confidence and acceptability are needed to achieve credibility, free and fair elections in the electoral process...' (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334289412_INTERNATIONAL_ELECTION_OBSERVERS_AND_ELECTORAL_PROCESS_IN_NIGERIA_1999-2015 by Louisa Amaechi).
Political oppositions are one of the first interests to raise eyebrows when there is a suspected rigging excercise, instead of the much-anticipated free and fair election. An example was the 2011 election that Muhammadu Buhari, a contestant under the umbrella of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), alleged an electorial fraud. " If what happened in 2011 should happen again in 2015, the monkey and the baboon would all be soaked in blood", Buhari reacted (https://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/05/2015-ll-be-bloody-if-buhari/amp/).
The Nigerian political atmosphere is still relatively nascent and experiencing shortcomings hampering its advancement. However, it is a great wishful thought of looking forward to a better electioneering process in Nigeria.