Foolish cleverness.
On Fri, Nov 13, 2026 at 9:39 PM Cornelius Hamelberg <corneliushamelberg@gmail.com> wrote:
Re - “ and during the Osun Governors elections, Senator Folorunso asked his supporters to kill
all ACCORD party organisers in his constituency and nothing happened to him. “
Senator Francis Fadahunsi has clarified : “I meant, kill accord with votes, not violence”
--On Friday, 13 November 2026 at 13:39:26 UTC+1 Jibrin Ibrahim wrote:
Election Related Risks and the Future of Nigerian Democracy
Jibrin Ibrahim, Deepening Democracy Column, Daily Trust, 13th November 2026
Yesterday, the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic
Studies and the Kukah Centre organised a symposium on political
communication, election security and the future of Nigerian democracy.
It was chaired by Prof Attahiru Jega, the former INEC Chairman. The
discussion centred around the often-deceptive nature of conversations
between Nigerian politicians and voters. The political class is never
shy of making elaborate promises of what they will deliver to
constituents and when they win elections, never try to deliver on
their promises.
Their attitude to voters remains to lie again and again. This has
created a deep breakdown of trust between citizens and the political
class. The radical advocate Aisha Yesufu in her intervention argued
that the real weakness of Nigerian democracy is that the office of the
citizen has not realised its worth and power. If and when it does, it
can easily take over the power the Constitution gives it and elect a
new governing class that works for it rather than for itself. I
completely agree with this perspective.
Meanwhile, the political class is not the only institution failing the
people. INEC has been unable to deliver the quality of elections
Nigerians require and deserve. With the elections just over two months
away, INEC has been unable to present the voters’ register Inspite of
statutory conditions that have stipulated it should have been
presented much earlier. Recent revelations about the interference with
the voter’s register using AI and implicating INEC staff has been
troubling. In addition, the have been other stories about staff in the
FCT Minister’s office having access to the server with the voters’
list have also been very concerning. Nigerians are losing confidence
our Election Management Body and that is worrying.
Concerns were also raised about reckless judicial interventions by
judges that do not appear to be neutral arbiters. The scenario
developing is one in which corrupt judicial officers appear to be
replacing voters as the ones who determine electoral outcomes.
Citizens need to mobilise to re-assert their control over their
electoral mandate. This is required because the other challenge to the
mandate comes from the political class which has been investing stolen
money from the treasury in purchasing votes from citizens with
insufficient political consciousness.
The larger concern is whether the entire country is headed towards a
major political crisis that might compromise the elections. The
concerted attempt by the regime in power to block the major opposition
parties from contesting in the elections is on-going with potentially
disastrous political consequences for the country. Opposition
contestants have been banned from entering a state – Peter Obi in
Benue, Atiku has been removed as a candidate and during the Osun
Governors elections, Senator Folorunso asked his supporters to kill
all ACCORD party organisers in his constituency and nothing happened
to him.
This week, the National Peace Committee released its monitoring report
where it said 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory recorded 109
breaches of the National Peace Accord over 10 weeks of monitoring
between August 19 and October 27. Campaigns for the presidential and
National Assembly elections commenced on August 19, while those for
the governorship and State Assembly polls began on September 9.
Against this backdrop, 19 political parties signed the National Peace
Accord in Abuja on August 18, pledging to uphold 12 standards aimed at
promoting peaceful and issue-based campaigns ahead of the 2027 general
elections. Under the agreement, the parties and their candidates
committed to rejecting violence, threats and intimidation.
Other commitments covered issue-based campaigns, the dissemination of
truthful political information, responsible use of digital media,
inclusive participation, respect for electoral and security
institutions, rejection of the partisan misuse of public authority and
civil communication among political actors.
The report identified: 33 incidents of political violence and
thuggery. 29 cases of misinformation and disinformation. 19 cases of
attacks on political activities and campaign assets.15 cases of
intimidation and threats. 7 incidents of restrictions on freedom of
expression and assembly and 4 inflammatory statements. On the
geographical spread of the incidents, the report identified Kaduna,
Edo, Cross River, Kogi and Borno among the states affected.
Highlighting some of the flashpoints, the NPC report cited the
September 8 obstruction of the convoy of former Anambra State governor
and Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Peter Obi,
near Makurdi, Benue State. In Enugu State, the monitoring documented
repeated armed disruptions of NDC and Peoples Democratic Party
gatherings and party premises between September and October. The
National Peace Committee also documented several incidents of
political violence, including the disruption of PDP consultations by
gunmen in Calabar South, Cross River State, on October 2, and the
reported shooting of an African Democratic Congress supporter during
political engagements in Igueben, Edo State, four days later.
In Oyo State, the NPC said violence during a political procession in
Ibadan between October 14 and 17 claimed one life, while an APC ward
member was reportedly killed days later. It added that allegations
linking a council official to the violence were denied. The National
Peace Committee also raised concerns over the use of religious and
family affiliations to influence political choices, citing an alleged
appeal by an APC-affiliated lawmaker in Oyo State urging Muslim voters
to reject Christian candidates.
One of the most worrying dimensions of the evolving crisis as stated
by INEC is the frequent use by political leaders and the media of the
slogan, ‘Rig and Die.’ The National Commissioner and Chairman of
INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna,
gave the warning on Saturday in Enugu at a forum organised for media
practitioners ahead of the 2027 general election. Speaking on the
theme, ‘Ethical and Professional Standards in Election Reporting Ahead
of the 2027 General Election,’ he said, “Whatever the intention of its
originators, and some insist it targets only those who rig, a slogan
that links an electoral offence to death is dangerous.” He noted that
election officials at polling units, rather than influential
politicians, were often the most vulnerable to attacks arising from
suspicions of electoral malpractice. The emergence of the phrase is an
indication of the belief among many Nigerians that incumbency powers
would be used to rig the 2027 elections. The government in power must
do the needful to reassure Nigerians that it will not rig and that the
elections would be free, fair and credible to ensure that major
violence does not erupt.
Professor Jibrin Ibrahim
Senior Fellow
Centre for Democracy and Development, Abuja
Follow me on twitter @jibrinibrahim17
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