CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

In Nigerian democracy, election is the best option to change government periodically and it does not only promote leadership change, but it also encourages accountability in leadership. It allows for participation and it helps to reside power to the people. Those whose responsibility is to exercise political authorities in a society perform it with the explicit consent and genuine mandate expressed at periodic intervals by the electorate through an open, free and fair electoral process (Ojie, 2006). This implies that democracy must be a system of government where the people dictate the pace with the general consent of the governed. Unfortunately, Nigeria’s elections have so far thwarted the foundation upon which democracy is built due to election rigging. Election riggings in Nigeria were evident in all the general elections. Between 1999 and 2019, election riggings have accompanied with bloodshed and this has claimed the lives of so many Nigerians, especially popular contestants, and these political killings are executed by hired assassins from wicked politicians who want power by all means. The contemporary political barons in Nigeria impose gullible electoral officers who employ various tricks to win the election for their employers to the detriment of the masses and popular candidates. One of the most intractable social problems of the developing countries has been political instability. Instability is used here to refer to a situation or process whereby society is steeped in overt and covert conflicts which in turn pose serious threats to its social fabric. It should be emphasized from the onset that conflicts, in and of themselves, may have a positive and dynamizing effect on social change. Put differently, not all types of conflict are undesirable for social change. However, if conflicts are not well-managed and ultimately translate into violent confrontation among various political actors, then instability sets in. Instability creates a climate whereby both state and non-state actors end up devoting an enormous amount of energy and resources either escalating or containing conflict situations. Consequently, economic development is sacrificed on the silver platter of political expediency. As economic development fails, poverty becomes acute. Under conditions of poverty, various types of conflict multiply and become uncontrollable. A combination of political and economic conflicts has clearly marked the phenomenal incidence of instability in developing societies. In this sense, it is easy to locate the direct correlation between political instability and poverty in most of these societies. Nigeria, as one of the developing societies, is no exception to the general trend of instability which is generated by multivariate conflicts. Nigerian democratic election aims to ensure political stability and promote fundamental human rights. Elections in Nigeria which should have been a prelude for achieving a stabilize government accompanied by people’s consent have contradicted these standards because of election rigging. This is a serious concern hence the stability and secured environment needed for the success of democracy have been severely jeopardized. Elections conducted since Nigeria’s independence have been played in a do or die affair and this has made the peace-loving Nigerians be dead scared in exercising their voting rights hence the suicidal nature of the politics. Evident has shown that the rate of citizen participation in elections these days have drastically reduced due to the limited choice or lack of qualified candidates. Lacks of candidates with vision have made the electorates politically weak. This quest to win the election, by all means, has also claimed the lives of both the electorates and some popular candidates by some hoodlums who want to control the government by dubious means. As a result, those who have the interest of Nigerians at heart have resorted to shunning politics for fear of facing a sudden death in the process and this has posed a serious threat to Nigerian democracy and its consolidation. Worse still, the electoral body which would have been neutral, and ensure free and fair elections have been biased because in some cases, they are employed by some power brokers to serve as a rescue mission to some illegitimate candidates to the detriment of popular candidates and Nigerian electorates. To ensure that their unpopular candidates emerged victorious in elections, they have seen election rigging as a way out against the general wish of the popular candidates, electorates and the good