Election Related Violence in Nigeria: The Health, Education and Security Perspectives. A Qualitative Study ()
1. Introduction
Democracy, a system of government that is popular amongst countries all over the world has been said to be reflective of the mandates of the citizens of the country. As explained by Campbell (2008), the democratic system of government ensures that citizens who meet the set minimum requirements have the right to vote their choice of candidates during elections as well as present themselves for elections into elective positions. Taylor (2007) elucidates that one of the hallmarks of democracy is the electoral processes employed in the selection of leaders which ensure that the most popular candidate emerges as the people’s choice. Makinda (1996), in agreement with Taylor (2007), noted that the popularity of democracy as a system of government is mostly dependent on the fact that leadership choices, as well as the choices of political, economic, social and cultural systems, are mostly left in the hands of the people. He further noted that this helps the citizenry get more involved in governance. It is assumed that the elected representatives speak for citizens in their constituencies, therefore, ensuring that their needs and concerns are passed on to the government as a means of securing transparent and effective governance (Campbell, 2008; Taylor, 2007; Makinda, 1996).
Acts of violence experienced in relation to elections are referred to as Electoral Related Violence (ERV). The violence can be prior, during or even after elections and is used to intimidate voters and electoral officers, voters and opposition supporters amongst other victims. Yusuf (2019) noted that while the main purpose of electoral violence is the manipulation of the electoral system to favour particular candidates or political parties through the use of violence, various forms of violence are usually employed by unpopular candidates with the aim of hijacking the electoral process to their favour. Ebiziem (2015) agrees that ERV is one of the main challenges affecting democracy as it tends to affect electoral outcomes as well as the overall quality of governance. Looking at ERV from a diverse perspective, Mollah and Jahan (2018) are of the opinion that ERV is mainly used by incumbents as means to win elections fraudulently in order to hold on to power (Yusuf, 2019; Ebiziem, 2015; Mollah & Jahan, 2018).
Health challenges constitute one of the major consequences of ERV. Various forms of ERV are usually experienced during elections and some of the resultant effects of ERV include hypertension, psychological trauma and limb amputations among others, which are experienced by victims of ERV. Taylor (2018) noted that developing countries especially in Africa constitute a significant percentage of the total number of cases where ERV is experienced worldwide, it is important that effective measures are taken in ensuring a significant reduction and control of ERV as well as the establishment of viable systems that will efficiently handle the health cases that ensue from ERV especially for women and children. In explaining the importance of good health to work performance of employees, Dwomoh, Owusu and Addo (2013) asserted that there is a direct correlation between adequate health policies and improved employee performance, furthermore, Al-Omari and Okasheh (2017) believe that, in addition to favourable health policies and healthcare, adequate working environments may help in improving productivity (Taylor, 2018; Dwomoh, Owusu, & Addo, 2013; Al-Omari & Okasheh, 2017).
ERV has various attendant challenges that have possible negative outcomes such as the destruction of property, loss of lives, weak democratic process and rule of law among others. Reid, Van Engelgem, Telfer, and Manzi, (2008) explained that while various levels of bodily harm and trauma are experienced during elections, there are also continual health challenges that face those who are displaced by ERV. Badmus (2017) agrees, and further notes that displaced people are faced with challenges such as poor access to quality healthcare, accommodation, lack of portable water, proper sanitation and higher possibilities of the outbreaks of communicable diseases among others. Maupeu (2008) has opined that ethnic cleansing is one of the dire consequences of ERV, citing the Kenyan example of a place where ethnic cleansing was used as a form of ERV (Reid, van Engelgem, Telfer, & Manzi, 2008; Badmus, 2017; Maupeu, 2008).
The lack of sufficient education about the electoral process and other essential aspects of democracy by a seizable population may be one of the root causes of ERV. Ross (2006), posits that the provision of the requisite civic knowledge has the potential of reducing electoral violence among the populace, similarly, Anabarja and Aryani (2015) believe that the provision of civic and voter education to members of political parties may significantly reduce their predisposition to violence as means of impacting electoral outcomes. Cohen-Vogel (2019) similarly argued that most developed countries experience low levels of ERV as opposed to developing countries where ERV is popular, in addition, Cruz (2013), explains that various studies have shown that inadequate education among the masses creates insufficient information thereby leaving people to be exploited or used as tools for the perpetration of electoral violence. The provision of quality education with emphasis on voter and civic education especially among the low-income earners in developing countries may abate the spate of ERV currently experienced in some parts (Anabarja & Aryani, 2015; Cohen-Vogel, 2019; Cruz, 2013).
Education is one of the key proponents for unity and progress in most countries especially those with various ethnic and religious backgrounds such as most parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Inter-ethnic and religious differences are some of the major accelerators of ERV. Kirimi and Njuguna (2014) have noticed that the provision of sufficient education has the possibility of creating mass awareness reducing the tension between different ethnic or religious groups thereby reducing the chances of the eruption of ERV during elections. Ogbeide (2013) further added that the chances of using education as a tool for the reduction of ERV are higher if the education is systematic and continuous. Since low income areas are more prone to violence compared to the higher class areas, intentional and intensified efforts should be employed in ensuring that education is both continuous and effective. Efforts aimed at educating the electorates also need to be intensified during election periods as this may help significantly reduce the chances of ERV (Kirimi & Njuguna, 2014; Ogbeide, 2013).
Effective security constitutes one of the key ingredients for the conduct of safe and transparent elections. One important factor that ensures that the security apparatus is effective is the collaboration between the various agencies that are responsible for providing adequate security during elections, proper collaboration and information sharing among security agents have been known to provide significant control of post-election violence. The absence of adequate security during elections helps provide an enabling environment for ERV, this is in addition to the tension that characterises most elections. Mediayanose (2018), posits that “the role of security is to ensure safety of electorate, electoral materials and electoral officers before, during and after elections.” In agreement, Onapajo (2014) added that the provision of adequate security by competent operatives helps in maintaining peace, ensuring transparency of the electoral process and promptly attending to emergencies in the situations where they arise. However in most cases where electoral violence is obtainable, security operatives have been allegedly known to be involved, they are known to mostly collaborate with political candidates and parties to influence electoral outcomes. Yoroms (2017) agrees, while noting that situations like this tend to promote ERV and insecurity among other consequences, he further adds that if security operatives are to perform optimally during elections, relevant training and retraining have to be conducted for the all the security outfits, as well as encouraging effective information sharing among all security outfits as this will also help curb ERV (Mediayanose, 2018; Onapajo, 2014; Yoroms, 2017).
From the foregoing, it is therefore clear that a peaceful environment devoid of ERV is necessary for the achievement of free and fair elections. It is upon the quest for the attainment of peaceful elections that this qualitative study set out to create a better understanding of the existing knowledge in this area as well as provide a deeper understanding of the health, education and security perspectives of ERV in Nigeria.
2. Methodology
Qualitative research is a unique type of research due to its ability to create a better and deeper understanding of the phenomenon under review, furthermore, the findings from a qualitative study can be applied to populations that share identical features with the study population. The qualitative research approach used to underpin this study is phenomenology. This was mainly because of its ability to analyse the personal experiences and of the respondents as regards the phenomenon that is being studied. For the purpose of this study, thirteen purposively selected participants were interviewed, these participants were all staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) who may have experienced ERV in the course of their jobs. After the ethics approval for the study was obtained from University of Sheffield with approval reference number: 003705, semi-structured interviews were deployed as a means of gathering relevant data. Before the commencement of the interviews, details of the study were distributed amongst the INEC staff who have been directly involved in electoral duties and may have experienced ERV in the course of carrying out their duties. The INEC staff who showed interest were included in a sample frame where a purposive sampling strategy aimed at selecting staff who had prior experience as field officers and had participated in electoral duties that may have exposed them to various forms of ERV was applied in the selection of the staff that were to be involved in the study. The interviews were conducted at the respondents’ selected location and time. For those who indicated interest in participating in the study, prior to the commencement of the interviews a form was administered to the respondents to get their consent, thereafter, their interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim, the research findings were analysed using the thematic analysis approach, the responses that were similar were identified, coded and further grouped into themes after the identification and coding process. In order to ensure anonymity and confidentiality of the respondents, identification details such as names and addresses were not obtained, furthermore, before the offset of the interviews, respondents were informed that they could withdraw at any point they wished to (Aspers, 2009; Brown, 2015; Onwuegbuzie, 2003).
3. Results
A total of thirteen respondents participated in the interviews, ten of them who were male, the remaining three respondents were female. A majority of the respondents who were interviewed were over the age of 50 years and were well educated as they had university degrees as well as the various professional capacities which they occupied such as administration and finance. As regards the years of employment of the respondents, about 28% of the respondents had between five to ten years of service while 25% of the respondents had between eleven and fifteen years of employment. The smallest group was represented by participants with sixteen to twenty years in service. The criteria used for the selection of the respondents that were interviewed were their knowledge of the subject matter as well as experience as field officers who had experienced ERV.
The data presented in this section represents the qualitative results that were used for the purpose of this study. Below are the excerpts of the interviews granted by electoral workers who were used as respondents for this study. The excerpts have been grouped into three major themes: Health, Education and Security perspectives.
The Health Perspective
The provision of healthcare in most developing countries is mostly poor or manageable at best. These fragile healthcare systems found in most developing countries are further burdened with casualties from ERV, in addition to this, access to some controlled medication by people with health conditions that require lifelong management would be hampered further increasing casualties. O’donnell (2007) postulates that a significant population of developing countries have little or no access to adequate healthcare, he added that important services such as emergency medical services are mostly lacking in most of these developing countries. Dahlberg and Krug (2006) argue that the high cost of healthcare associated with violence tends to have significant impacts on a country’s finances. The provision of adequate healthcare for electoral workers will go a long way in ensuring that they perform optimally during elections, in agreement, Antonisse and Garfield (2018) noted that workers are more likely to perform better if they have access to adequate healthcare and polices that ensure their welfare is well considered as paramount by the government (O’donnell, 2007; Dahlberg & Krug, 2006; Antonisse & Garfield, 2018).
The excerpts presented below represent those respondents whose opinions lean towards the Health perspective of ERV.
The 4th Respondent said:“The trauma is so bad…there was one woman we had,I think she went for the Kogi elections and the experience she had made her vow that she would never ever go for any election activity again…it was really bad…and there was another woman who was locked up where she was,she couldn’t even make phone calls…They took her into the bush…far into the bush,even now when she talks about it you see goose pimples all over her.” (Female Participant, Human Resources, Above 41 Years).
The respondent knows a victim of electoral violence who was kidnapped during an election in Kogi State, the respondent noted that the woman still feels some level of dread from the experience any time she recounts it.
The 5th Respondent said:“I was anxious,I was really terrified it was chilling…there was a moment I thought I would not reach my house I had even called my family to tell them that anything can happen…because I had seen people being killed it’s a mob action,in this kind of things,anything can happen.”(Male Respondent,Human Resources,Above 51 Years).
The respondent was a victim of electoral violence, he states that while he thought he wouldn’t survive to go home and had to call his family to inform them to be ready in the event of any sad news if he couldn’t survive the ordeal.
The 9th Respondent said:“The job…it has been a dangerous adventure…Since the trauma,it has really affected my mental ability… I have been living with it for a while…you know the trauma,until I was advised to seek counselling… I had been depressed,my mental ability has been at a low ebb,if it used to be 100,it had gone down to 40.”(Male Respondent,Administration,Above 51 Years).
The respondent feels that the job of an electoral officer is a risky one as he has been involved in some sort of electoral violence which has since affected his mental capability, he believes that even after undergoing therapy, he still feels he can’t achieve the optimal mental output like what was obtainable before the case of ERV.
The 1st Respondent said:“I remember we were conducting an election in Maiduguri…it was at that time that this Boko Haram thing started… I was aware of many staff that were affected… I knew of a someone who had her whole leg removed completely.”(Male Participator,Administrator,Above 51Years).
The respondent who was an electoral officer in Maiduguri during elections around the time Boko Haram was terrorizing the area, knows someone who was affected by the violence and had her leg amputated as a result of ERV.
The 1st Respondent said:“When I first joined the commission…during one of the elections,we had some problems and I think that problem affected me till today,I collapsed and at the hospital I was diagnosed as hypertensive and up till today I have become a hypertensive.”(Male Participator,Administrator,Above 51 Years).
The respondent stated that his experiences in his earlier days of employment as an electoral worker have left him with some medical conditions that he will have to manage for the rest of his life.
The 4th Respondent said:“You know this can affect family life…for a woman who is always lively and she goes out and experiences this,then she comes home and she’s down…she’s not herself per say…if there is any assignment again the children will say mummy don’t go…it affects the children psychologically too,because it will be like mummy you may go and not come back.” (Female Participant, Human Resources, Above 41 Years).
The respondent states that the experiences of electoral workers in the discharge of their duties especially the violent ones which leaves some forms of trauma on the victims tends to have some after effect on the victims even after the incidence, the respondent believes that trauma experiences from electoral violence usually has some adverse effect on family life.
The 8th Respondent said:“There are a lot of things that can be done,including remuneration for the job…It should give you some feeling that you are doing some work that…and that you are willing to put in your best,because you’re health is more than just the physical,it includes hour housing,your transportation…you know health is a holistic thing.” (Male Participant,Legal Practitioner,Above 51 Years).
The respondent believes that the provision of adequate remuneration, adequate housing, transportation, health care and other important amenities will inspire electoral workers to put in their best in their duties.
The 2nd Respondent said:“The commission has made effort…there is provision for insurance for staff and ad-hoc workers…there some healthcare support for staff but this is mainly at the headquarters,so healthcare support needs to be extended to the states.”(Male Participant,Finance,Above 51 Years).
The respondent thinks the electoral commission has put some mechanism in place to address the health needs of electoral workers by setting up a health insurance for electoral workers and ad hoc staff, he however suggests that the insurance be spread to workers who work outside the head quarters as it is currently restricted t those currently working at the headquarters.
The 1st Respondent said:“I went to the director of admin and I don’t know if it is the first time that they are dealing with the matter and finally,for the first time this year they were paid…but what they were paid,I was amazed…a mere 100thousand…it was at that time that this Boko Haram thing started… I was aware of many staff that were affected… I knew of a someone who had her whole leg removed completely,if you compensate her with 100 thousand… I mean 100 thousand for a deformity?” (Male Participator, Administrator, Above 51 Years).
The respondent is an electoral worker who had to go meet his director to appeal for the workers compensation package for disabilities sustained in the line of duty during elections. The respondent was disappointed that the welfare package was poor as compared to the severity of the disability sustained by the electoral worker.
The 2nd Respondent said:“When you say democracy is expensive,this is the cost…the people that midwife this democracy,they should be made comfortable… There should be a holistic policy on health policy for the commission staff…it should be a document that someone can carry along,not just to lie on the table of the chief executive…it can even be enshrined into the conditions of service.” (Male Participant, Finance, Above 51 Years).
The respondent believes that democracy is expensive and the electoral workers are largely responsible for its efficiency, he thinks electoral workers should be properly motivated with incentives especially with the provision of a viable health policy that can be assessed by the affected electoral workers.
The 11th Respondent said:“There is a big need for a health policy in INEC… I just told you that people lost their arms,some people were disfigured,if there was a health policy in place and on ground…it would address this,they would not need to go through the administrative process of writing for assistance,because they don’t need assistance,it’s a must for the commission to do it…if that policy is in place,all they have to do is to look into the policy and do it…so it’s so painful when it is not being done.”(Male Participant,Healthcare,above 31Years).
The respondent feels that due to the type of experiences electoral workers encounter in the discharge of their duties, there should be a health policy in place to address the various health challenges that affect staff as a result of electoral duties. The respondent further added that the health policies should be easily accessible, devoid of bureaucratic bottlenecks.
The 3rd Respondent said:“INEC should take care of their staff welfare before they leave for the election…whatever the staff are entitled to,their claims,let INEC pay them before they reach their station.” (Male Participant, Finance, Above 51 Years).
The respondent believes that the electoral workers should be remunerated before their deployment to their places of assignment during elections as this will motivate them further to put in their bests in their duties.
The Educational Perspective
Education has been adjudged to be one of the most potent tools that can be effectively used to significantly reduce the challenges of ERV, thuggery among other election-related crimes. Studies have shown a direct connection between heightened violence and poor education in some areas especially within developing countries. Christodoulou and Szakács (2018) believe that education is a viable approach that can be used to curb extremism and similar violence-prone activities. They opined that for education to be effective, it needs to contain vital information dawn from various important sectors of the community such as entertainment, culture, religion and academics among others. Sas, Ponnet, Reniers, and Hardyns (2020) agree that education has the capability of reducing violence, however the requisite education has to be properly targeted, furthermore, the content of this type of education should be properly designed to pass the required information while retaining the interest of the students on the subject matter. (Christodoulou & Szakács, 2018; Sas, Ponnet, Reniers, & Hardyns, 2020).
The excerpts presented below represents those respondents whose opinions lean towards the Education perspective of ERV.
The 5th Respondent said:“Election is a phenomenon of three ingredients,first,there must be education,people must be enlightened,people should know the left from the right…number two,people should have a source of earning a living,if I am earning a living,I should have a right of independent decision,not that I am earning a living through someone who is earning his living through the government and politics…so economic freedom…so as much as education is important,economic freedom is important...and also the transparency of the system,the process should be as transparent as possible so that everybody will know what is going on…in the southern part of the country,you don’t see this as much because people have a means of livelihood.” (Male Participant, Human Resources, Above 51 Years).
The respondent is of the opinion that three main criteria have to be met for the achievement of peaceful, free and fair elections: education, financial independence and a transparent electoral process. Adequate provision of education especially in election related matters, improved financial welfare and a transparent electoral body may likely reduce the incidence of ERV.
The 8th Respondent said: “During the 2003 elections in the north east region,I served as the electoral officer of that region…so the commissioner of police came to report that there was the possibility of violence in one particular…the reason was that the presiding officer had added a zero to the to the score of a particular political party,so the agent had thrashed him.” (Male Participant,Legal Practitioner,Above 51 Years).
The respondent who was an electoral officer during the 2003 elections received information from a state commissioner of police on the electoral malpractice from an electoral worker which had the chances of causing an eruption of violence. The strict adherence and implementation of the current electoral laws would serve as deterrent to those who intend to perpetuate electoral malpractice, furthermore, the proper enlightenment of the masses on the ideals and tenets of democracy will help create more awareness while reducing electoral violence.
The 1st Respondent said:“They really need to work on literacy level… enlightenment level…people need to know what democracy is all about…what roles you need to perform on election day and after the election…and what to expect from the people you voted in.” (Male Participator, Administrator, Above 51 Years).
The respondent asserts that for elections to be peaceful and transparent, there needs to be an increase in the education and sensitisation of the public on electoral practices and importance of democracy as a system of government. The respondent also opines that the availability of education will also enlighten the masses on how they can hold their elected leaders accountable.
The 12th Respondent said:“As an electoral officer,you have to be a leader,you have to be a counsellor,you have to be a mediator…so on. in most cases,you have to listen,deal with the one that you can deal with…what you do is that you meet with the stakeholders…the party leaders,in the presence of the security agents…you have to be seen as transparent,you tell them what the situation is on the ground and how you intend to address it.”(Male Participant,Security Personnel,Above 50 Years).
The respondent believes that adequate conduct on the part of electoral workers will help ensure the smooth running of the electoral process while ensuring transparency at every point of the electoral process as a way of improving the confidence of the voters on the electoral process.
The 13th Respondent said:“Education can play a big role in enhancing the capability of staff… To be more efficient in the training and this will help in withstanding the stress and risks of election…to some extent we have seen the use of NYSC has helped a lot because of their background,they are able to absorb the training and this will mean that they will follow the procedures.” (Male Participant, Human Resources, Above 41 Years).
The respondent believes that education plays a very important role in elections, he explained that masses that are educated tend to understand electoral concepts and practices better, he further made a case study of the National Youth Service Corps members who are used as ad hoc staffs during elections, due to their educated backgrounds, they tend to fit into the role and perform efficiently during elections.
The Security Perspective
Security is of predominant importance during elections. The absence of adequate security could lead to the breakdown of law and order, theft and hijack of election materials, among other forms of electoral violence. Yaki and Kennedy (2019) assert that it is very important for electoral bills to contain adequate security guidelines to ensure peaceful elections especially in developing countries, they further noted that the failure of security agencies in ensuring peaceful conducts of elections portends a threat to the electoral process and democracy at large. Similarly, Dunne (2015) believes that security personnel play very important roles in the conduct of free and fair elections however, it is important security operatives also understand the scope and importance of the roles they play in ensuring free and fair elections and follow laid down guidelines in resolving conflicts that may come up during elections (Yaki & Kennedy, 2019; Dunne, 2015).
The excerpts presented below represent those respondents whose opinions lean towards the security perspective of ERV. The italicized sentences that are in quotes represent the exact words of the respondents.
The 7th Respondent said: “When I was admin secretary in one of the states in the north,one senatorial candidate… He came to the office bragging,that if the Electoral Officer does not do what he wants,he will kill…he was just bragging… and the Electoral Officer collapsed…he said he doesn’t want to be Electoral Officer…he said,Oga you don’t know this man,if he says something,he will do it!”(Male Participant,Security Personnel,Above 50Years).
The respondent was a witness of a scenario where an electoral officer was threatened by a political candidate, the threat was supposed to induce fear and make the electoral officer act in whatever capacity the electoral candidate requires in order to provide favourable electoral outcomes. The provision of adequate security and implementation of relevant security measures will reduce the incidences of threats during elections as well as improve confidence among electoral workers even in the face of threats.
The 4th Respondent said:“It’s not really palatable…it’s not good at all,It’s terrible they’re made to compromise by threats by the politicians…they waylay them with thugs…with guns…with machetes…some they even waylay them,kidnap them and make them do what they want.” (Female Participant, Human Resources,Above 41 Years).
The respondent opines that the electoral officers experience various forms of intimidation and violence especially from electoral candidates. The provision of well researched security measures and full implementation of the available laws will address the safety of electoral officers.
The 9th Respondent said:“They were swooping in to grab the materials,so I turned to the security and told them to hold on because these people were aiming for the material…they held on but they came and pressed him and even tore his uniform…then I turned round and saw a vehicle…I thought that was a rescue vehicle,we ran into it with the police and the orderly and we were saying oh thank God,you people have saved us,but before you know it,they veered off into an un tarred road…moving fast,so I said where are you going,they said,my friend shut up!…that’s when I knew we were captive.” (Male Respondent, Administration, Above 51 Years).
The respondent experienced a situation of electoral thugs disrupting elections and perpetrating various forms of election malpractice, complicity of security officers and kidnap among others. Proper training and retraining of security officers, deployment of highly specialized technology and techniques as well as the deployment of intelligence among other measures will ensure that elections are safer as well as lower occurrences of electoral malpractice.
The 2nd Respondent said:“I happened to be in Bauchi for the 2011election,it was after the presidential elections,it didn’t even happen during the elections,they had gone back to their corpers’lodge and the hoodlums attacked them and killed them,nine died on the spot,the tenth person had serious burns…she was later transferred to national hospital where she died.”(Male Participant, Finance, Above 51 Years).
The respondent was a witness of electoral violence that claimed the lives of ten corps members who were ad-hoc electoral staff, a better security apparatus would have prevented or controlled extreme violent situations similar to this which would in-turn prevent needless loss of lives.
The 5th Respondent said:“Even the house of the Emir of Zazzau,Emir of Zaria who is the highest traditional ruler in the area was razed to the ground…he too he had to be rescued,he had to leave his palace…people from the street just ran into his house looking for him…it was really violent… I saw people being killed… I saw buses being set ablaze… I had to disarm myself and pretend I didn’t know anything about elections,all the election materials,I jettisoned them and threw them into the bush because under no circumstance could I be found with them or that will mean the end of my life.” (Male Participant, Human Resources, Above 51 Years).
The respondent who is a security operative had to disarm himself and appear like a civilian, he also noted that in Zaria, the Emir’s house was burnt, and he had to be whisked away from his residence when his house was invaded by thugs. This scenario depicts the effects of sub par security measures during elections. The provision of an improved security system will address severe lapses in security as well as control electoral violence as a whole.
In adherence to the qualitative research paradigm, a thematic analysis was applied to the responses obtained from the respondents with respect to the health, education and security perspectives of the ERV. It emerged that the activities of political parties and political candidates were mainly blamed for the cases of ERV experienced within Nigeria.
The 7th Respondent said: “When I was admin secretary in one of the states in the north, one senatorial candidate… He came to the office bragging, that if the Electoral Officer does not do what he wants, he will kill…he was just bragging…and the Electoral Officer collapsed…he said he doesn’t want to be Electoral Officer…he said, Oga you don’t know this man, if he says something, he will do it” (Male Participant, Security Personnel, Above 50 Years).
The 1st Respondent said: “The problem of violence occurs as a result of lack of enlightenment…people are not fully aware of their role…the perception that the office is so lucrative and people want to fight and get into office… You want to win by all means…to be a senator…a governor…so those things bring up violence and a lack of enlightenment.” (Male Participator, Administrator, Above 51 Years).
“I served as the electoral officer of that region…so the commissioner of police came to report that there was the possibility of violence in one particular…the reason was that the presiding officer had added a zero to the score of a particular political party, so the agent had thrashed him.” (Male Participant, Legal Practitioner, Above 51 Years)
Another theme that emerged from the study as a major catalyst for ERV was the lack of sufficient political education amongst a significant percentage of the population.
The 5th Respondent said: “Election is a phenomenon of three ingredients, first, there must be education, people must be enlightened people should know the left from the right”. (Male Participant, Human Resources, Above 51 Years).
The 1st Respondent said: “They really need to work on literacy level… enlightenment level…people need to know what democracy is all about…what roles you need to perform on election day and after the election…and what to expect from the people you voted in.” (Male Participator, Administrator, Above 51 Years).
The 13th Respondent said:“Education can play a big role in enhancing the capability of staff… To be more efficient in the training and this will help in withstanding the stress and risks of election… (Male Participant, Human Resources, Above 41 Years).
The analysis of the responses of the respondents showed that a prominent theme that emerged from this study was the health challenges that victims of various forms of ERV suffer as a result of their experiences.
The 4th Respondent said: “You know this can affect family life…for a woman who is always lively and she goes out and experiences this, then she comes home and she’s down…she’s not herself per say…if there is any assignment again the children will say mummy don’t go…it affects the children psychologically too, because it will be like mummy you may go and not come back.” (Female Participant, Human Resources, Above 41 Years)
The 3rd Respondent said: “Your blood pressure may raise…your sugar level may be affected…but if adequate preparations are made, some of these may be prevented.” (Male Participant, Finance, Above 51 Years).
The 1st Respondent said: “When I first joined the commission…during one of the elections, we had some problems and I think that problem affected me till today, I collapsed and at the hospital I was diagnosed as hypertensive and up till today I have become a hypertensive.” (Male Participator, Administrator, Above 51 Years).
The 12th Respondent said “The psychological trauma…it affects you…a colleague that was rejected by his people due to his role as an electoral officer was under a lot of stress…and that aggravated his high blood pressure, in fact for three months, he wasn’t coming to the office.” (Female Respondent, Administration, Above 41 years).
The thematic analysis of the responses provided by the respondents who participated in this study showed that some of the main factors responsible for ERV in Nigeria include the actions of political parties and political candidates, inadequate and ineffective political education among a significant percentage of the masses as well as poor access to viable welfare packages by electoral officers. The analysis further showed that victims of ERV tend to suffer from some form of physical or emotional trauma from their experiences.
4. Discussion
Findings from this study show that the actions of politicians and political parties are some of the main causes of ERV in Nigeria. It further showed that the use of ERV as a tool by politicians and political candidates was aimed at influencing election outcomes in their favour via the use of various forms of ERV.
Nwolise (2007) noted that the high cost of elections in the country and high rewards among other benefits were responsible for the do-or-die attitudes towards coming out victorious in the polls by politicians and political parties. This situation often puts political candidates and parties in desperate situations where they have to play dirty to win elections as failure to win the elections will leave the parties or candidates in huge debt after the elections are over. In a similar study, Egobueze and Ojirika (2017) noted that political parties and candidates arm and empower youths to rise up against their political enemies as well as the disruption of the electoral process if they are not able to influence the result in their favour, furthermore, they explained that the politicians who already occupy public office make use of the police to oppress their opponents. A similar finding by Fjelde (2020) also showed that politicians and political parties engage in various acts of violence during elections as a means of intimidating voters or disenfranchising them especially in areas where the opposition is popular. Using this strategy, political parties and candidates ensure that their opposition do not get large voter turn out in the areas where they are popular. For a healthy democratic system of government to be successfully operated by any government especially in countries within the African continent such as Nigeria, the challenge of ERV has to be addressed. This will also help in checking the major and commonly known side effects of electoral malpractice: the emergence of unpopular candidates as the choice of the people during elections, various forms and levels of violence that tends to affect some areas leading to poor attendance, disruption of elections, destruction of lives and property among other effects of ERV (Nwolise, 2007; Egobueze & Ojirika, 2017; Fjelde, 2020).
The lack or absence of adequate political education among the masses was one of the reasons why ERV was commonplace during elections as shown by this study. The lack of adequate voter education amongst the masses ensures that a significant population of the masses are not aware of essential information such as their right of suffrage as well as the various stages of the electoral process and the importance of their votes among others and may be easily influenced to sell their votes or engage in acts of ERV, etc. Finkel (2014) explains that voter education which is one of the key areas of civic education has been used since after the Second World War to sensitize and educate the masses on the principles and conduct of elections, it has also helped significantly reduce the rate of electoral violence experienced in some cases, improving the transparency of elections while building a stronger democracy among other impacts. Similarly, Friedman, Kremer, Miguel and Thornton, (2011) believe that education is an effective way of creating enlightenment among the masses, increasing the acceptance of the democratic system of government and enlightening the people on ways by which they can hold their elected leaders responsible, Fafchamps and Vicente (2013) also concurred that voter education campaigns have a high possibility of reducing electoral violence by enlightening the masses on democratic principles and practices, they also noted that voter education is more effective if the target audience is put in perspective in the planning and designing of the messages. Factors such as age, previous educational background and financial standing should be taken into consideration in the planning of an effective voter education campaign. In the Nigerian context, the use of voter education to reduce or prevent ERV has not been hugely successful due to various reasons. Lessons drawn from similar climes where it has been effective would provide a better planned, improved and continuous voter education system, especially prior to elections as these may have significant impacts in the control and prevention of ERV. (Friedman, Kremer, Miguel, & Thornton, 2011; Finkel, 2014; Fafchamps & Vicente, 2013).
The role of adequate security in the achievement of violence-free elections cannot be downplayed, the findings from this study showed that security personnel was somewhat ill-equipped, had insufficient training and in some cases were complicit in the perpetration of acts of electoral malpractice which may include some forms of ERV. Since security is one of the key factors responsible for the conduct of free and fair elections and the achievement of a healthy democracy. The use of effective and modern security measures will help in the attainment of successful, free and fair elections. Olurode (2013) opined that security officials would perform better if their welfare and terms of terms of service are improved, they further stated that the presence of an effective security set up on ground will help increase confidence, voter attendance and fair play during elections especially in developing countries. Afolabi and Avasiloae (2015) noted that a well-trained security outfit will have the ability to assess violence-prone areas or situations during election and decide on what approach will be effective in handling violent scenarios, he also noted that there needs to be a cohesive relationship between security personnel and the members of the public as this will greatly improve intelligence gathering and security in general. The adequate training and welfare of relevant security outfits will ensure non-partisanship of security; this will also decrease the possibility of security operatives accepting bribes from political candidates or parties, According to Rao (2014), “The professionalisation of police, military and other security services to plan and respond to violent incidents, in a non-politicized manner. This requires timely training, coordination with all security actors, and broader security planning”. Since security plays a very important role in elections, the Nigerian perspective shows some lapses in the area of security as elections within the country are still characterized by pockets of violence, the upskilling of the security operatives actively used during elections as well as the deployment of modern security measures during elections has the potential of reducing the occurrence of ERV. (Olurode, 2013; Afolabi & Avasiloae, 2015; Rao, 2014).
The poor implementation of the punitive measures included in the electoral acts was one of findings that emerged from this study as the reason why cases of ERV exist in Nigeria during elections. Electoral laws by design are supposed to ensure that elections are free and fair and carried out in a peaceful environment, the laws are supposed to also ensure that only popular candidates emerge successfully from elections. The inability of the government to properly enforce electoral laws is one of the enabling factors for electoral violence. Aniekwe and Kushie (2011) explained that the punitive measures enshrined within the electoral laws are feeble, regardless; the failure of the government to enforce these laws has increased the spate of ERV during elections. Oladimeji, Olatunji & Nwogwugwu (2013) also believe that the strict enforcement of electoral laws has the ability of reducing the various levels and forms of electoral violence, they further stated that if the existing laws are enforced effectively, they would serve as deterrents to people who had the intention of perpetuating ERV. Similarly, Giessmann, Galvanek and Seifert (2017) opined that electoral laws are important in the prevention and control of ERV, they further added that electoral laws, because of its importance should be reviewed frequently to reflect the most current and efficient democratic practices obtainable around different parts of the world. The existing Nigerian electoral acts have the potential of reducing significantly, the spate of electoral violence that trails most elections in the country if only the penalties for various electoral crimes were enforced, the punishment will act as deterrent for some popular electoral crimes (Aniekwe & Kushie, 2011; Oladimeji, Olatunji, & Nwogwugwu, 2013; Giessmann, Galvanek, & Seifert, 2017).
As evidenced by the findings of this study, electoral workers will perform better with proper training and periodical re-training to up-skill them on modern techniques required in the achievement of optimal and efficient performance at their jobs. Electoral workers play a very important role in the achievement of successful and transparent elections; they are mostly responsible for ensuring that voting is carried out properly. They also perform tasks such as the collation and transmission of results among other services. For electoral workers to perform optimally, effective and frequent training is essential as it enables them stay ahead of the curve in the current best practices in elections all over the world. Hall, Quin Monson, and Patterson, (2009) agree that electoral officers require continuous training and retraining to improve their capacity especially in the handling of equipment and conducting of elections. The knowledge and application of latest technologies such as electronic voting will help increase transparency while reducing the incidences of ERV. Claassen, Magleby, Monson, and Patterson, (2013) also believe that electoral workers play a very important role in elections and could provide valuable insight into the formulation of relevant policies capable of improving the electoral process. The availability of continuous training and retraining of electoral workers would also improve their interactions with the members of the public; this may have a direct impact on the reduction of ERV. The Nigerian scenario shows that the electoral officers may perform better with additional training, especially in the deployment of modern technology to the electioneering process. The perception of some section of the citizenry about the complicity of electoral bodies in influencing the elections for particular parties or electoral candidates may be corrected with better training for electoral workers (Hall, Quin Monson, & Patterson, 2009; Claassen, Magleby, Monson, & Patterson, 2013).
Poor access to comprehensive health policies as well as effective welfare packages have been highlighted by the findings of this study as some of the factors that enable ERV. A study by Al-Ali et al. (2019) shows that there exists a direct relationship between the welfare or job satisfaction of workers and their performance on their jobs. Workers who have access to generous welfare packages as well as other value-added benefits tend to be more productive than disgruntled workers. The availability of a comprehensive health policy for health workers who by the nature of their duties, are vulnerable to violent situations in addition to proper welfare packages will help motivate electoral workers to work diligently while ignoring acts of electoral malpractice. Katsuro, Gadzirayi, Taruwona and Mupararano (2010) agree that proper working conditions and other added incentives will increase motivation and job satisfaction among workers. They also stated that more employers are adopting the provision of adequate healthcare packages. Gbadago, Amedome, & Honyenuga (2017) further noted that employees with access to efficient and comprehensive occupational health and safety welfare plans tend to be more productive. While there may be limited information on the impacts of welfare improvement and a comprehensive health policy for electoral workers, the results of the studies explored showed that there was improved productivity among workers who enjoyed better welfare packages; these results may also have positive effects if applied to electoral workers. Electoral workers in Nigeria do not enjoy the welfare and health package benefits available to their counterparts in some other more developed countries, this may be one of the reasons why there are still cases of electoral malpractice that can allegedly be traced to electoral officers, the provision of comprehensive healthcare packages may influence their disposition to their duties positively as well as a review of other benefits and welfare packages to reflect the level of risk or danger these electoral officers face in the execution of their duties (Al-Ali et al., 2019; Gbadago, Amedome, & Honyenuga, 2017; Katsuro, Gadzirayi, Taruwona, & Mupararano, 2010).
5. Conclusion
This qualitative study was carried out with the main aim of exploring the health, education and security perspectives of ERV in Nigeria. The results of the study showed that ERV in Nigeria can be attributed to the unwholesome activities of political candidates and parties, and the paucity of voter education among a significant percentage of the country’s population. Others include: inadequate training and sub par performance of electoral officers, inadequacies in the security apparatus currently available in the country, lack of implementation of some relevant provisions of the electoral act and the absence of comprehensive health policies. This study also examined data from other countries where ERV was experienced and effectively controlled with the main aim of drawing inferences on the approached that have been found to be effective in addressing the challenges of ERV with the intention of applying them to the Nigerian setting and effectively controlling or preventing ERV in Nigeria.
The actions and activities of political candidates and parties have to be properly controlled and coordinated for ERV to be contained, furthermore, the provisions of the electoral laws of the country will have to be properly implemented as a deterrent for perpetrators or ERV, and this is in addition to widespread civic education drives amongst the masses. Since electoral workers play a very important role towards the successful conduct of elections, it is important that they have access to efficient and well-funded welfare schemes as well as proper training and retraining at regular intervals. Finally, security personnel who maintain the peace and safeguard the electoral process should work in harmony; this is in addition to periodic trainings and provision of equipment that are necessary for effective performance at their jobs.
The limitations of this study are mainly derived from the sampling strategy adopted, which may not be representative of the adult population in Nigeria However, this is mitigated by various strengths of the study, which include a robust pre-testing of the survey instrument, as well as the reasonable sample size used. Furthermore, long-term conditions such as hypertension and diabetes were identified as some of the healthcare outcomes associated with ERV. This emerging theme was not however followed up therefore, their incidence and prevalence could not be accurately determined using the questionnaire. Further studies building on this work can however use other relevant methodologies, for instance, a measurement tool that can undertake biomedical assessment. This can provide a more accurate exploration of these associations.