SOURCE:

Faculty: Arts
Department: History & International Studies

CONTRIBUTORS:

Okezue,O.P;
Chukwu, D.O;

ABSTRACT:

The task of organising a free, fair and credible election has been, among other things, the main constitutional responsibility of election management bodies in Nigeria between 1958 and 2015. By this important and challenging function, the electoral management bodies have become an institutional platform for the nurturing of democracy in Nigeria. It is, therefore, or at least expectedly deemed to be, an umpire which must demonstrate high moral standard, honesty, neutrality, impartiality, accountability and integrity in their discharge of the responsibilities. Accordingly, they owe to the people of Nigeria the best global practices in every conduct of elections, no more and no less. This study, therefore, seeks to assess the performances of these electoral management bodies between 1958 and 2015 with a view to establishing their score-card against the backdrop of public opinion that they have largely failed. What may have caused or contributed to this? Is there any foreseeable way out? The answer to these critical questions, and indeed many more, forms the thrust of this research. Altogether the study has adopted both the quantitative and qualitative approaches in the interpretation of issues raised.The use of qualitative method for the research is obvious, given the quantum of data and statistics employed. On the other hand, the quantitative approach has been very useful in expressing in elucid language the ideas raised in the study. The role of the military as ‘democracy road-blocks’ also throws light on the emergence of the various election management bodies since 1958. As pointed out in the study, the military gave the various election management bodies most of their names; they established and foisted most of the election management bodies on Nigeria, and are fingered mostly for failed democratic transitions and institutions. Consequently, with one of their arms tied behind their back, most past chairmen of all successive election management bodies – from Mr. Eyo Esua (1958) to Professor Mahmood Yakubu (2015) – it has remained an endless inglorious tale of suppressive interference which has rendered the “independence” of the electoral management bodies to be more apparent in the constitution than real in practice. This challenge, coupled with political pressure from the highest levels, lack of internal democracy among political parties, unrestrained influence of ‘god-fatherism’ and money-politics, have added up to pose a sustained threat to the electoral process in Nigeria. Besides this challenging operating environment, weakness in the internal institutional structure, policy and personnel are also examined to underscore the foundation of the problem that bedevil electioneering in Nigeria since independence. In all, this study posits that the success or failure of electoral process is all-inclusive – involving the electoral management bodies, voters, political parties and their candidates, security agencies, traditional rulers, the media, civil society organisations and such other related stakeholders. The study, therefore, examined the role of these electoral management bodies and the electoral process in Nigeria between 1958 and 2015, and established their score-card against the back drop of public opinion that they have largely failed.The answer, as presented in our concluding chapter, shall open up more question for further research in this highly illuminating political discourse. Be that as it may, this study posits that nearly all successive election management bodies failed to lived up to their public expectations since 1958.There are, however, a few exceptions, especially since 2015 general elections which, as presented in the the study, has heralded a new dawn of rebranded electoral body, at least substantially different from the ones before it.