POLITICAL ASSASSINATION AND NIGERIA’S 4TH REPUBLIC: 1999-2007 (original) (raw)
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ABSTRACT The emergence and growing waves of political assassination in Nigeria have become one of the security threats confronting the countrys national security. Victims of political assassinations in Nigeria are usually members of opposition parties or members of the ruling party who are at loggerheads with the ruling cabals of the country. This social problem threatens the countrys national security through loss of lives, tension and social instability in the country. Consequently, the inability to prevent the heinous crime of politically assassination has not only become a threat to the countrys political leaders and followers but it is also a threat to the entire social structure on which the countrys democracy is built on. Thus, this paper is an appraisal of the causes of political assassination in Nigeria and how it negatively impedes Nigerias quest for a sustainable national security in the country. The paper which is framed around the Routine Activities Theory by Cohen and Felson (1979), adopted a methodology that relied on the content analysis of secondary data and literature from official reports, journal articles etc. This paper revealed that some of the factors responsible for the manifestations of political assassinations are restrictions on political competition and fragmentation and strong polarization of the socio-political system of the country. Also, this paper established that some of the effects political assassinations are a decline in political participation by Nigerians, intensifying the possibility of the countrys fragmentation, undermine its democratic nature and subsequently threatening the countrys national security. The paper recommended that the government at tiers should eliminate the situations of restrictions on political competition and strong polarization. The paper also recommended that the Department of States Security Services and the Nigeria Police Force should intensify efforts on intelligence gathering to enable them arrest and prosecute political assassins and their sponsors before they strike on their potential victims. Key Words: Political Assassination, Social Instability, Democracy, National Security
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Political Violence and the Sustenance of Democracy In Nigeria
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Nigeria since independence in 1960 has grappled with the problem of consolidating her hard earned democracy. From the post colonial period, elections conducted in the country have been consistently marred by irregularities and unprecedented electoral violence which had undermined our democratic experiments and in extreme cases threatened the corporate existence of the country. This study is therefore an attempt to evaluate the impact of political violence on the survival of Nigerian democratic experience. It equally examines the predisposing factors that fuel electoral violence before, during and after elections in the country. The research work is qualitative as data for this study were got mainly from verified secondary sources such as articles from reputable journals, publications from independent bodies, newspapers, conference and workshop papers. The above sources was supplemented by structured interviews granted to the researcher by political actors and electorates alike, which was designed specifically on the basis of the subject matter. It was found that political violence in Nigeria is as a result of poor orientation on the part of political actors on the purpose for the acquisition and consolidation of political powers. Put differently, politicians perceive elective positions as avenues to skew public wealth for personal aggrandisement, hence politics is seen as a zero sum game; a do or die affair. It is on the basis of this startling revelation that the study recommends for value reorientation among political actors so that Nigerian politics could be played in the spirit of sportsmanship and with a high sense of decorum. This, it is expected, will help in no small way to eliminate electoral violence and consequently enthrone sustainable democracy devoid of irregularities in the country.
ELCTORAL VIOLENCE AND DEMOCRATIC PROCESS IN NIGERIA
LABAR: JOURNAL OF MILITARY HISTORY & PEACE STUDIES (LJMHPS), 2024
Nigeria's political history reveals a longstanding trend of electoral fraud which has escalated so much so that violence is employed to ensure the smooth progress and process of rigging. Since the first election in 1922, there has been an uninterrupted case of rigging with subsequent ones being more organized that the previous ones. Between independence in 1960 and 1991, Nigeria produced only two elected governments both later overthrown in military coups. After nearly 30 years, in 1999, Nigeria made a transition to civilian rule. This paper is titled e violence and democratic process in Nigeria. The research used secondary data. Elites theory of democracy was adopted because it explains the causes of electoral violence which is rooted on elites. The found out that electoral violence was caused by elites who are desperately hungry for power. The research also found out that the offenders of electoral violence are not been punish by the authority concern. Therefore, the research recommends establishment of electoral offence tribunal to deal with such cases, The research also recommend proper education of electorate on the danger of electoral violence in our society.
In Nigeria, elections-the only available process of political leadership choices and succession-do perennially leave a sour taste in the mouths of the electorate. Nigerians haplessly bemoan human and material losses engineered by hoodlums sponsored by rival camps in vile tussle for the control of their destiny. Successive elections have come to depict chaos, violence, and confusion. Almost in all cases where the competition is keen, caution is thrown to the winds, as the competitors revel in orgies of mayhem, arson and killings, and such other conducts which brazenly abbreviate societal peace and progress, sacrifice patriotism and nationalism on the altar of entrenched personal interest. Given such a picture as history has repeatedly painted with grim outlines, elections are often heralded by palpable tension and held amidst open brigandage, culminating in voter apathy which had quite invariably aided endemic mal-administration. This essay contends that Nigerian politicians have routinely succeeded not only in wrecking monumental damage on peoples' psyche, but have also made good governance in the country quite illusory. Yet, aside open confrontation or physical violence, there are collateral losses in the form of psychological and institutional violence unleashed on the whole electoral process, and by implication, democratic governance in the country.
Effects of Political Violence on the Contemporary Nigerian Democratic Process
Al-Hikmah University Journal of Education.2 (2); 115-123.Official publication of the Faculty of Education, 2015
Violence is human and it is as well present in the political process in contemporary Nigeria. This paper seeks to address the effects of political violence on the democratic process in Nigeria. The paper investigates the overview of political violence in Nigeria and also discusses the nexus between political violence and the democratic process. The psychological theoretical perspective is adopted for the study to determine the problem. It is discovered that political violence has brought series of military interventions in Nigeria. And other vices like killing innocent and maiming innocent Nigerians, stealing, social unrest, among others, always accompany political violence. The paper, therefore, recommends that there should be a need to de-emphasize the premium placed on the acquisition of political power. It also calls for an effective investigation by the relevant authorities to look into several cases of political violence and related human rights abuse in the process of elections. It is part of our recommendations that all stakeholders in the political process should be mandated to sign a treaty of peace which they must maintain before, during, and after the political process, particularly during the electioneering period.
VIOLENCE AS A RECURRING THEME IN NIGERIA'S POLITICS
Violence employed as a tool of political engagement is a prominent feature in politics overtime. Similarly, Nigeria, a product of colonialism is also not an exception to this adopted tool of power relations. This paper aims to bring to fore various deeds of violence and also examines the rationale behind its incessant presence in the politics of the country. The study shows that the struggle for power among dis-unified elites in Nigeria is shrouded with economic ends and this consequently makes power play a 'do or die' affair. This results in several political assassinations, arsons, destruction of properties etc. The paper therefore, argues that unless the basis for power struggle which is to gain exorbitant economic advantage is religiously dealt with, that is, making political office holder as no one else other than normal civil servants and also strengthening key institutions of coercion and electioneering, political violence which has become endemic, will only continue to rear its ugly head in the politics of the nation