* THERE ARE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS: NIGERIA MUST NOT DESCEND

There is something increasingly unsettling about Nigeria’s political environment as we approach the 2027 general elections. Political competition appears to be giving way, gradually but unmistakably, to political intolerance. Threats, intimidation, bullying and open hostility are becoming disturbingly familiar features of our political discourse. This should worry every Nigerian.

The campaign season may only be gathering momentum, but some of the language and conduct already on display suggest that the political temperature is rising dangerously.

One of the early signals came from Ebonyi State, where the Governor, while addressing newly sworn-in local government chairmen, was reported to have warned them not to permit defeat in their respective constituencies. The message appears to have been taken seriously by some of the beneficiaries of the new political order. One of the newly sworn-in chairmen, Eze Paul Ituma of Ohaukwu Local Government Area, was reported to have declared that he would not allow anyone to “take garri from his mouth”, promising to do whatever was necessary to secure victory for his principal and party.

Whether such statements were intended as political rhetoric or something more sinister, they should neither be encouraged nor normalised in a democracy.

The latest development generating national concern is the reported denial of entry into a State to one of the presidential contenders. What is even more troubling is the absence, so far, of a sufficiently convincing public explanation from the authorities responsible for governance in that State.

Whatever the eventual facts may be, the incident provides another opportunity to ask an important question: Are we becoming so intolerant of political opposition that we are prepared to deny our opponents even the basic freedom to visit a State in the Federation? That question deserves a clear answer.

Our political history is littered with painful examples of what happens when political competition degenerates into hatred and violence. Operation Wetie in the South-West of Nigeria remains a grim reminder of the consequences of political intolerance during the First Republic. The elections of 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023 were similarly marred, in varying degrees, by violence, threats, intimidation and the tragic loss of lives.

By now we should all be aware of minimum requirements for democratic conduct. Political opponents may disagree fiercely on policies, principles and ideology. They may expose one another’s failures, challenge one another’s records and campaign vigorously for the confidence of the electorate. But there must be limits.
We must not descend below those limits.

Nigeria is bigger than any political party or any election. One thing remains clear –
political office is temporary. The consequences of political violence, however, can last for generations. This is why our politicians must be reminded of a simple but fundamental truth: an election is not a war, and a political opponent is not an enemy of the State.

May I remind politicians that the 2027 campaigns should be about issues. It should be about what those who are currently in office have achieved in the last three or four years and what those seeking to replace them intend to do differently.

Nigerians should be presented with competing ideas, policies, programmes and evidence of performance.
Let those with the best argument and agenda win and let the better programme prevail. It is the people that should have the final say.

What we must not do is intimidate the electorate, silence opponents, restrict legitimate political activities or create an atmosphere in which violence becomes the price of political participation. And this warning is not directed at one political party or one section of the country. It applies to everybody.

Those who are in government today may be in opposition tomorrow and those enjoying political power today may one day need the very democratic freedoms they are tempted to deny others.

We must also place a note of warning that there is also a responsibility on political supporters. Loyalty to a politician does not require hostility towards his opponent. Defending a candidate does not mean threatening those who disagree with him. Your political mobilisation is to persuade, and not to terrorise.

We must stop fuelling problems and engineering crises in the name of winning elections. The tragedy is that those who create political fires often imagine that they can control them. History teaches otherwise. Once the fire starts, it does not ask which political party you belong to before consuming you. The political class must therefore lower the political temperature now!

The Independent National Electoral Commission, security agencies, political parties, civil society organisations, religious and traditional leaders and, indeed, every Nigerian have a role to play in ensuring that the 2027 elections are conducted in an atmosphere of peace, tolerance and genuine competition. But the greater responsibility rests with those who seek political power.They must be told that if they cannot tolerate their opponent, then they are not ready to govern in a democracy. If they cannot allow their opponent to speak, then they have no moral basis to demand that Nigerians should listen to them.

My advice to all the politicians is that they should campaign hard; let them disagree passionately and expose failures and defend achievements. In challenging one another, they are advised to present facts and ideas. Please let us not destroy the country in our desperate quest to govern it.

Fortunately we have managed our democracy, with all its imperfections, from 1999 till date. Therefore, we must not now descend below the minimum standards of democratic behaviour that have grudgingly kept the Republic together. Such intolerant behaviour of intimidation, threats and bullying should be put to a stop!

This is a timely plea and a warning. Nigeria must not descend.

• Ubani is a Legal Practitioner and Policy Analyst.

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