As We Sprint towards the 2023 Polls (2) Postscript by Waziri Adio We are exactly 40 days away from the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy and most populous co
We are exactly 40 days away from the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy and most populous country. The conduct and the reaction to the outcome of the presidential poll have implications for physical and economic stability within Nigeria and beyond, especially the West African subregion which has not been particularly stable lately.
But while conducting free and fair elections is a necessary condition for post-election peace, it is not a sufficient one. Today, I will highlight a few of the potentially dangerous trends I see and which I think we need to watch closely and address as we move closer to the elections. The candidates need to check themselves and their aides and followers. It is easy to get carried away in front of the crowd or to submit to the itch to pander to base instincts and sentiments or to strain to prove to be loyal and combative aides. In every campaign, it is critical to have boundaries, to know where the lines are and to rigorously patrol such. Lines become blurry and difficult to police when the principals are the ones zig-zagging across them.
Ahead of the polls, the narrative around potential rigging is gaining ground, and is much stronger than in previous election cycles. This narrative is being pushed directly and indirectly in a number of ways. Those pushing this narrative could be doing it to checkmate those intent on rigging. They could also be using it to try to force the issue or to discredit an outcome that doesn’t favour them. It is difficult to know which is which.
But it is also important to get the political actors to accept the results or seek redress in courts rather than calling their supporters to the streets or looking the other way if some of their supporters decide to resort to self-help. The General Abdulsalami Abubakar-led National Peace Committee will need another set of meetings with the parties and the candidates on this potential threat, including on the need for the combatants to tone down the rhetoric.
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