Electoral Violence and Democratic Consolidation in Karim Lamido, an Analysis of 2019 General Election
CHAPTER ONE
Aim and Objectives of the Study
The aim of this study is to investigate the electoral violence and democratic consolidation in Karim Lamido in Karim Lamido LGA, Taraba state. Specifically, the study has the following objectives:
- Examine the factors that triggered electoral violence in Karim Lamido LGA, Taraba state
- To discuss the nature of electoral violence in Karim Lamido LGA, Taraba state.
- To explain the degree to which electoral violence affect democratic consolidation in Karim Lamido LGA, Taraba state.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORICAL FRAMEWORK
Introduction:
This chapter contains the review of related literature. The review will be focused on the objective of the research providing an assessment on previous related literature on the concepts of election, electoral violence, democracy, democratic consolidation. a theoretical framework would be presented in the last part of the chapter to support the study objective.
The concept of Election
Ginmin and Norton (1992) argued that election is the process of choosing a person for public office or accepting or registering a political proposition by voting. They argued further that an election is one of the means by which a society may organize itself and make specified formal decisions adding that where voting is free, it acts simultaneously as a system for making certain decisions regarding the power relations in a society and as a method for seeking political obedience with minimum of sacrifice of the individual’s freedom. The essence of democratic elections is freedom of choice.
Elections offer opportunities for the masses to engage in the electoral process by choosing persons who should represent them in government through the ballot box. The electoral process serves as an evaluative mechanism where the legitimacy and credibility enjoyed by a government or public office holder is tested. Invariably, elections are the litmus test for governance and by extension any democratic system (Omotosho, 2008; Ibrahim, 2007).
Nwolise (2007:157) asserts that elections are purposely geared towards producing legitimate government, accountable and responsible for the plight of its citizenry but may result in legitimacy crises if not properly conducted and managed. The democratic system though consists of other parts that make for its functioning are synonymous with elections because elections are germane to the consolidation of democracy in modern societies. Simply put, election is a core manifestation of democracy, it provides an avenue for the masses to aggregate and articulate their opinions concerning issues of governance and it is a means of social conflict management (Hoglund, 2008; Sisk, 2008). More importantly, elections allow for the orderly transfer of power and facilitate communication between the politicians and citizens (Rapport and Weinberg, 2001).
According to Ezeani (2005:414), elections is about making choices agree to by a group of persons, which infers that elections are intrinsically linked with choice, because in actual sense elections are about choices either between issues or personalities. Elections have been conceptualized in the technical and social sense. In the technical sense, elections are processes by which a position is assigned to persons willingly involving the simultaneous aggregation of many peoples’ views. On the other hand, in the social sense, elections generate the notion of societies being governed by consent of the majority (Sisk, 2008).
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
Broadly, two major approaches/methods to data collection and analysis exist in the social sciences. These are quantitative and qualitative approaches. The qualitative research is mainly concerned with developing explanations of social phenomena (Hancock, 2002). On the other hand, quantitative research is mainly concerned with investigating things which we can observe and measure through numerical and statistical methods. Such observations and measurements can be made objectively and repeatedly. Therefore, this study employed the quantitative approach in the collection and analysis of data.
Area of study
Karim Lamido is a Local Government Area in Taraba State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Karim Lamido at 9°18′00″N 11°12′00″E. It has an area of 6,620 km2 and a population of 195,844 at the 2006 census. The southern border of Karin Lamido is the Benue River and it is traversed by several tributaries of that river. The postal code of the area is 662. Karim Lamido has various ethnic groups, including Fulani, Jenjo, Wurkum, Karinjo Bambuka, Munga, and Dadiya. It contains about 11 political wards, some of which are Jen Ardido, Jen Kaigama, Muri A, Muri B, Muri C, etc.
Sources of data
And also the bulk of data used in this research shall be derived mainly from primary and secondary sources.
Primary Data:- The primary data is the first hand information which the study gathered of this primary data is questionnaire distributed to some selected areas of Karim Lamido LGA, Taraba state. This is done in order to avoid delay and problem of accessibility. The questionnaire is designed in a simple form in which respondent choose among alternative suggestions (Moti, 2005)
Secondary Data:- Secondary data is second hand information collected mostly from documented source which include published books, journals, magazines and newspapers (Moti, 2005).This has gone beyond expectations in helping the researcher in terms of loss and time.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
Introduction
This chapter present the analysis of the study, however, out of the 50 questionnaires distributed, only 46 were retrieved, out of which 2 were not properly answered and 2 were not returned. The information in this chapter is therefore premised on the above Percentage %. The chapter will present the data on tables and percentage %, the discussion of the findings will also be presented at the last part of the chapter.
Table 4.2.1 above shows the sex distribution of the respondent, the table shows that 27 respondent representing 58.7% were males while 19 of the respondent representing 41.3% were females. These inclines that most of the respondent sampled were males.
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
This is the final chapter of the work. It focuses on the summary, of the study. Some reflection on the major findings of work and the conclusion drawn from the findings of the study are also presented.
Conclusion
A major conclusion is the fact that although several factors accounted for the occurrence and subsequent rise in electoral violence, the selfish interest of the political class is very vital in understanding the unending nature of this violence in Nigeria. most of these factors whether institutional or procedural cannot exist independent of the inordinate ambitions for power and crass materialism among the political elites in the country with the high value placed on politics in the country with devastating effects for the democratic project.
The conduct of this research also understood that the nature of electoral violence in Karim Lamido LGA, Taraba state is intense as considering the magnitude of some violence. and also it is concluded that electoral violence leads to disrupts of unity of citizens thereby creating hatred among them and it also affect democratic consolidation because the violence lead to destruction of properties which also include electoral materials thus creating a weak electoral process.
It is also understood that the lack of sincerity of purpose by politicians in contesting in an election which involves the sponsoring of thugs to unleash their elicit activities against their political opponent is also responsible for electoral violence in which the violence need democratic consolidation.
Recommendation
Consequently, there is the need to put in place certain measures aimed at curtailing these tendencies. In the first place, there is the need to reduce the attractiveness of political offices. If the package of political offices are reduced and made less attractive, it will perhaps bring about changes in the manner politicians play the political game. Importantly, there is the need for attitudinal and behavioral changes both among politicians and the citizens at large. Political education is of essence in realizing this goal. And the Non Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) can be very instrumental in this regards and on a sustained basis by championing the course of political education and enlightenment of the people.
Again, the issue of the weakness of the economic foundation of democracy itself needs to be addressed. The socio-economic and welfare needs of the people which include employment and health, shelter, education and other means of economic well being must be adequately taken care of Nigeria is blessed with abundant resources (both human and material resources) that can be optimized to achieved this goal and overturn the economy. But good governance and effective leadership is lacking in Nigeria which is essential to the strengthening the institutional capacities of the various agencies connected with the administration of election in Nigeria. The Electoral Act 2010 has spelt out the role of both security forces and INEC in the various provisions governing the conclude of elections, what remains is the political will to implement them.
From the study, cases for further research are established. In the first place there is a need for more comparative analysis of electoral violence across national boundaries. For instance how and why factors such as poverty/unemployment aid the proliferation of electoral violence in some countries while in others the situation is different. For example, Niger Republic is a poor country compared to Nigeria yet the levels of electoral violence in that country is very insignificant compared to a country like Nigeria and Ghana or even Ivory Coast in the West African sub regions.
Therefore more research could be focused on the political economy of electoral violence, including its democratic play off over and above compliance with the electoral laws. This may help to unravel the historical, political and economic undercurrents of electoral violence as it affects democratic stability in Nigeria.
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