Electoral Violence and Sustainable Development in Nigeria

Global Journal of Applied, Management and Social Sciences (GOJAMSS); Vol.10 September 2015; (ISSN: 2276 – 9013) p.48 - 59 ELECTORAL VIOLENCE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA IKEZUE EMEKA Ph.D Department of sociology Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka & OLOLO KENNEDY Ph.D Department Of Sociology Ibrahim Badamosi University Lapai Niger State Abstract Every nation owes it a sacred duty to provide for its citizens and institutions a smooth, transparent and democratic transaction, which is seen as free and fair. This is ensured through the creation of suitable environment and enactment of necessary electoral laws which serve as a check on abuse during election. Regrettably, elections in Nigeria have before 2007 general elections assume a problematic status. This is a serious National Political Crisis. The 2007 elections could not he said to be better either as opposition political parties, international observers, pro-democracy, non-governmental organizations and political analysts have adjudged' the election of 14" and 21'" April 2007 as lacking in electoral transparency and fairness and are sources to certain violence, which occurred at that period. This study is intended to examine the occurrence of electoral ma/practices in Nigerian politics with reference to the 2007 elections and its attendant violence. INTRODUCTION Democratic experiments in Nigeria, over time, here characteristically been problematic since representative democracy is a legitimate, government freely and fairly elected on competitive political party platforms at regular intervals by the people, it is necessary to note that those saddled with power are supposed to be accountable and responsible (Suavely 2001, lean 1996, ornate, 1995). Democracy does not guarantee security of tenure of office, not withstanding specify such terminal appointment as can be challenged. In accordance with established institutional or legal framework and mechanism (Mega, 2007, Howell 1991) Participation accountability and responsibility constitute care issues in representative's democracy on the one hand, the people determine who rule over them and the rulers are expected to be responsible and accountable to the people. Elections are therefore conducted periodically to achieve part of the goals of democracy. This work is an attempt to examine the monstrous electoral violence in Nigeria and the challenge it posses in ensuring that the theory and practice of democracy are applicable, (Mutualism mutandis* a study of the 2011 general elections. It is also designed to minimize electoral violence and electoral rigging in Nigeria with a view to bruising about peace, enabling business environment and safety of lives and property. At the heart of Nigeria crisis of governance, particularly as manifested in electoral violence is a complex linkage between the state and the youth, who are the prosecutors of the violence regrettably, hundreds of Nigerians have lost their lives in the crossfire or as paid fighters for the country's political leaders. Prior to the advent of civil rule in 1979, scholars (Bangor 1997 Memo: 2000 Yaw: 2000) have established that Nigeria's economic crisis of the 1980s and the attendant structural adjustment programmed resulted in the alienation and marginalization of the masses, thereby exacerbating the whole phenomenal of masses restiveness in general. However, with the advent of civil rule and the rise of electoral violence a lot is yet to be done in understanding the nexus between the youth and electoral violence in Nigeria. Democracy in Nigeria especially 48 Global Journal of Applied, Management and Social Sciences (GOJAMSS); Vol.10 September 2015; (ISSN: 2276 – 9013) p.48 - 59 the conduct of election has always been characterized by pessimism, uncertainty and fears for the safety of people's lives and property. Conflict ridden situations have historically featured in all elections. Conducted in Nigeria since the 1980's , hence issues surrounding the electioneering processes potentially relates to violence and violations of the rights of individual thus rather than serve as a means and process of exercising legitimate political rights, elections in Nigeria have since independence turned out to be a serious political turmoil and threatening the survival of cooperate Nigeria with unprecedented political hussars and uncontrolled violence characterized by wanton destruction of lives and property, election period In Nigeria is best described as warfare (aka 2001, Adequacy 1989, Nolin 1984, 1984) incidence of Intra party and inter party conflicts and violence have led to endemic abductions and assassinations of opponents and innocent victims, flagrant and official rising of electoral result, further violations of established process have invariably transformed election periods in Nigeria as a matter of door-die or a matter of life-and death (Obasanjo 2007 or that of by hook or by crook (Jazz, 2008). This electoral politics has, of course signaled serious dangers of democratic and partisan politics in Nigeria. Associated with the cycle of violence radiating around the polity and within the entire angles and sides of the political divide. Electoral violence in Nigeria has not provided a window of politics of rationality and tolerance which sanctifies maturity of public debate, productive dialogue, negotiations and give and take, compromises based on win-win scenario. Attempt designed to reconstruct the state have thus become a mirage, in Nigeria partisan politics, Politics has eventually been reduced to a violent game of fierce confrontation and repressions. Some of the problems that posed electoral violence in Nigeria are firstly the inability of different political parties to accept the fact that politics is never a do or die affair. Secondly, the agencies involved in electoral process should ensure good and credible election is conducted. Thirdly the education programmed and seminars should be conducted which will educate the general masses of peace, harmony and unity among different ethnic groups. This education is meant to enlighten them concerning political process and the need to vote for their choice of leaders when all those problems are adequately tackled, then a sustainable and suitable democracy will be enhanced. STATEMENT OF PROBLEM The character of the state in Nigeria rules out a politics of moderator and mandates a politics of lawless and extremism for the simple reason that the nature of state power makes the culture of the power of the state irresistibility attractive. The winners in the competition win everything and the loser loses everything. Nothing can be worse than loosing. Nothing better than winning. Given this scenario everyone seeks power by every means legal or otherwise, and those already in controls of it to keep it by every means. What emerges from this is politics which does not know legitimacy or legality, rule independency. Thus those who get it first use it without restraint to put their opponent out of business to expropriate them and even to deprive them of their liberty. 3) The above leadership depends for their survival relevance and self reproduction in dinging tenaciously to political power which remains the only source of live hood. 4) Arising from the above is that election in Nigeria have been devalued and indeed turned into a metaphor for social deprivation, intimidation and disenfranchisement as people are encouraged to vote without choosing. THEORETICAL FRAME WORK In analyzing and explaining the phenomenon of electoral violence in Nigeria, we shall adopt the Marxist theory of the state. This theory arose in reaction to the western liberal theory of the state, the liberal view is that the state is neutral that it merely balances things out between the competing while groups according to this view there is no ruling class as such in society therefore state power is not exercised in favor of any such class because of the apparent inadequacy of the liberal theory of the state to explain this imposing stature of the post colonial state which predisposes it to play the role of a parent state is therefore adopted to guide this study. The Marxist scholarship argues that the state and its officials far from representing the communal interest tend to exploit and oppress civil society on behalf of particular sectional groups thus the state becomes the private property of officials in their struggle for self advancement. According to Ibeanu (2004, 6-7), the state appears as separate or autonomous from the economy 49 Global Journal of Applied, Management and Social Sciences (GOJAMSS); Vol.10 September 2015; (ISSN: 2276 – 9013) p.48 - 59 which is the realm of the private and group (class) interest of all individuals and classes by setting and enriching the ground rules of economic competitions of course behind, this scening neutrality has the dominational of labour by capital. Indeed the actors who control the government generally use their positions to commit acts of dominations and alienations thus, the general trait of capitalist state is the autonomization of dominational and commodiflcations of labour (Okolie, 2005:5). The classical Marxist theory of the state has been further developed to take into considerations the peculiarity of the neo-economical states. For instance, Alevilquated in Ezeani 2005:416 contends that the classical Marxist view of the state is not fully applicable to the post colonial state according to lump. In the post-colonial society the problem of the relationship between the state and the underlying economic structure is more complex than the content in which it was posed in the European society. It is structured by yet another historical experience and required fresh theoretical insight. As Eke we (ibid) rightly point out, the difference between the two forms of capitalist state is thus that whereas the state in the advanced capitalist formations functions to maintain the economic and social relations under which bourgeois accumulations takes place in the periphery of capitalism factors which have to do with the level of development of the productive forces make the state a direct instrument for accumulation for the dominant class or its elements. This peculiar attribute of the neo-colonial state can be traced to the colonial era. The colonial governments in order to secure their economic interest discouraged the emergence of a strong indigenous capitalist class. This they achieved by discriminating against African businessmen in the disbursement of bank loans, award of contracts and other business incentives (Ezeano 2005) due to the absence of indigenous capitalist class strong enough to "establish harmony over the stet at independence, the neo-colonial state such as Nigeria became the main instrument of Economic investment and development. It is within the context of the specific character of the neo-colonial state in Nigeria that one can understand and explain the only incidents electoral violence. Electoral violence can be defined as the illegitimate or unauthorized use of force to affect decisions against the will or desires of others. Electoral violence is all forms of organized acts or threats, physical, psychological and structural aimed at intimidating, harming blackmailing a political stakeholder before; during after an election with a view to determine, delaying or otherwise influencing an electoral process, the table below illustrates the three dimensions of electoral violence. There are three dimensions for electoral violence; 1. Physical - Psychical assault in individual during campaign elections and when election results are released. Assassination of political opponents or people perceived as a threat to one's political ambition, burning down of public or opponent's houses or cars, shooting shoot-outs, killing of individuals. Partisan harrament by security agents, arrest, forceful disposal of rallies, or shooting wounding or killing of people kidnapping and hostage taking, bombing of infra structure, forceful deception by thugs of political and rallies. Destruction of ballot boxes and ballot papers by thugs or partisan secanty agents. Armed raids on voting and collation centres and snatching of ballot boxes and papers from polling agents, free-for-all-fights. 2. Psychological threat against and harassment by security agents of opponents of the ruling regime or party, which create political apathy. Shoot-in- right orders that breed fear in voter's terror inflicted by political assassinations, which makes people scared to participate in politics or elections publication or broadcast of abusive, insucting or intimidating material or advantages, threats to life through phone calls, text messages etc. 3. Structural: Grecon of citizens by government to register or vote exclusionary acts and policies. Unequal opportunities for political parties and candidates deliberate changes in dates venue or time of events to the disadvantages of others, Partisan delimitation of electoral constituencies and location of pooling booths. Excessive fees for collecting party nomination firms, unfree campaign reliance on money and brute forte instead of moral intensity and competence. Restraints imposed on voters' use of the incumbency factor to give undue advantage to some candidates' announcement of false or fraudulent result lengthy delay in announcing election results. Absence of adequate voting materials and election result forms delays voting, Absence of electoral officers from pooling boots. Partisan behavior of police and other security agents discriminating acts and policies, Electoral Malpractice and political violence: Electoral malpractices in Nigeria has often result to political violence because the state orientation agencies, political parties and candidates had often not done enough to established the people of what is existed 50 Global Journal of Applied, Management and Social Sciences (GOJAMSS); Vol.10 September 2015; (ISSN: 2276 – 9013) p.48 - 59 of them during elections and what politicians have in stock in the light of the above summed(2005)observes that inherent cases of electoral malpractices and electoral bodies to make Nigeria accrued such level of political sensuousness through political educational is lacking in the country's political system and that ignorance and lack of political consciousness contributes largely to electoral malpractices and political violence in the past Nigerian electoral. He therefore called for a re-orientation and intensification of general political enlightment in the country as means of minimizing electoral malpractice and for Ake(1981), democracy is all about popular soveresity in terms (1915), democracy is seen as a political system that operates in the basis of popular elected or appointed representatives to run the affair of the state. Philip's (1921) in Nwoye (2008) notes that democracy is premised in effective representation and participation. Apaporis (1975:137) describes democracy as a system of government under which people (masses) exercise their governing power either directly or through representatives periodically elected by them. From the definitions stated, there are things that come to mind, which stated that democracy is a responsible and representative from of government which has the interest of the people at heart for representation has to do with making of policies that will reflect the wishes of the electorates while a responsible government is one which inflects the decision of the assembly as regards to the interest of the masses when these things are abused and the wishes of the masses are considered immaterial it can lead to frustrating which uncontrolled will amount to oppression otherwise known as violence. VIOLENCE African democracies without doubt, here become associated with violence is not merely an African phenomena but universal. It has become something that universal, it has become something that is used by groups seeking power and by groups in the process of losing power and by groups in the process of power, scholars differ on whether to consider violence as objective or subjective on what to include or exclude as violence and on how to classify the various forms of violence the outcome of this made scholars to come up with many forms of violence. Faun offers a three-fold categorization of violence similar to that things in his 1969 article these are physical structural and psychological violence, physical violence involves somatic injury inflicted on human beings killing of an individual is an example of this structural violence is a conditions of social injustice while psychological violence is injury or harm done to the human psyche which includes brain washing, introduction of various kinds and threats. Similarly, articulates a threefold categorization of violence which are turmoil or mass based, relatively unorganized and spontaneous political violence (demonstrations, riots, strikes and localized rebellion conspiracy that is organized political violence which involves limited participation (assassination coups d e tal and small scale guard avers) and internal war mass participations. (Terrorism large scale guerilla welfare and revolution. Allen chessmen's who studied violence in the 18* and 19th centuries states that violence which is measurable and indisputable is physical violence it is direct injury to persons it has three characters. It is brutal eternal and painful, It is defined by the material use of force violence therefore is an encompassing phenomena. It is organized in nature carried out by the people or government to cause harm or injury in pursuit of a desired objective. It can be argued that despite the contradictions of the country's electoral processes, Nigeria have developed a liking to democracy in spite of the ills if the 1979 2003 and 2007 elections Nigerian still second their wiliness to elect their shared their wiliness to elect their leaders in the 2011 elections to prevent electoral violence during the elections, a meeting of the 36 state governors of the federation which was presided over by the chairman of the Nigeria governors forum (NITF), Bukola Sakari was held on February 8, 2011 at Abuja in which the Governors signed an undertaking to; a. Commit to free fair, credible and transparent electoral process in the upcoming elections. b. Remain inconclusively committed to democracy and the integrity of the electoral process. c. Refrain from using religion and exclusively as vehicle from political campaign. d. commit to promoting peaceful resources and ethnic an existence. e. Do our best to ensure the coming elections are derived of any form of manipulation thuggery violence rigging and any other form of underhand tactics. f. insistently educate and remind our supporters and party members not to do anything or take any action capable of compromising the electoral process. 51 Global Journal of Applied, Management and Social Sciences (GOJAMSS); Vol.10 September 2015; (ISSN: 2276 – 9013) p.48 - 59 g. Promptly and loudly denounce and even disown any of our supporters engaged in any act that might diminish credibility of the forthcoming elections. h. do nothing that will weaken muscle or distablize opposition parties in our various states and i. Respect the wishes of the electorate as expresses through the ballot box. However, the political campaign process offered opportunity for a text of the governors' commitments. PRE-ELECTION VIOLENCE Less than none days to the general elections for example at least three people were shot in Obanda area of Ondo state in a clash between supporters of the PDF and the killing labour party (LP) in Ado-etiti, the Ekiti state capital, two supporters of the PDP and the ruling action congress of Nigeria (CAN) in Osun state about two people died in clash between supporters of the governorship candidate of the LP and commercial motorcyclists in Ulo, Akwa Ibom, eight people were killed and many were wounded in a face-off between loyalists of the PDP and CAN in Benue state, the campaign turned into a disaster when the convoy of the Benue State deputy Governor, Stewen Lawani on his way back from a rally in Gbajumba, Guma local council ran into an ambush by armed political thugs, while most of the vehicles in the convoy escaped the attack the bus in which the chief press secretary to the Benue state, Deputy Governor Mr Ejembi Ogwuche could not, he was shot in the head and hand while the driver Mr. Inalegwu Ode, had nine gunshot wounds, the face-off in Benue State was between supporters of PDF and CAN. In another development political campaign took a destructive dimension when both Ikot Ekpene and Uyo in Akwa Ibom State were turned into theaters of political war. The CAN had its gubernational campaign rally at Ikot Ekpene while the PDP had its own in Mkpat Enin and Abak local council at Uyo, different versions of the course of the quarrel were advanced but it was certain that the quarrel took place between the supporters of CAN and those of PDP which resulted into the death of many while several were wounded. The president campaign secretary of Good luck Jonathan named Samba situated along Abak road was the blaze, some 127 Peugeot 307 salon cars and 157 Keke Napped tricycles belong to the state government were burnt. About 20 other vehicles belonging to well meaning Nigerian were equally burnt at different locations in Sutlej, Niger State, hand locked explosives were reportedly thrown into the venue of the Niger East PDP senatorial campaign flag off by unidentified persons, in Enugu State Governor Sullivan Dumez narrowly escaped death when an explosive device planted when an explosive and under his sent was discovered by the police before the commencement of his campaign for a second term in office. THE HISTORY OF ELECTORAL VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA It is significant to note that political violence associated with elections and electoral violence in Nigeria started with 1959 federal elections. Because of the 1962 and 1963 crisis, new political alignments were formed. The remnant of the Action Group and the NCNC, together with the Northern progressive front composed of NEPU, an alloy of the NCNC and the United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC) an alloy of the Action Group joined together to form the United Progressive Grand Alliance (UPGA), while the NPC, NNDP, the Mid Western Democratic Front (MDF), the Niger Delta Congress (NDC) and the dynamic party formed the Nigerian National Alliance (NNA) in August 1964. The battle line was drawn for the two major parties to vie for power at the federal level. During the nomination process, and the electioneering campaign that followed, a lot of irregularities were prepared, such as the inability of the UPGA candidates to get nomination papers, or the electoral officers being absent. When UPGA candidate wanted to file nomination papers in the Northern and Western regions controlled by the NPC and NNDP. Dudley (1962:268) describes the conduct of the 1964 general elections in the following words: The electoral officers were terrorized into absconding from their offices, once they reconcile the nomination papers of governing party candidates, leaving the opposition candidates with no opportunity of registering their nomination papers. 80 flagrancy was electoral procedure abused that at the close of nomination, some 88 out of total of 174 NPC candidates in the North had their candidate unopposed. In the West, about 30 percent of the NNDP candidates were supposed to have been unopposed. The situation in the East was not much different. Therefore as envisaged by many people including the proclaimed winners of the 1964 general elections, the results wee not only rejected, but the opposition especially in the Western Region resorted to violence to context what they perceived as the reverse of their mandate by the ruling NPC. The situation gave 52 Global Journal of Applied, Management and Social Sciences (GOJAMSS); Vol.10 September 2015; (ISSN: 2276 – 9013) p.48 - 59 birth to arson, killings, massive, destruction of properties and total breakdown of law and order beyond the control of the central government. The intensity of the electoral violence recorded after the 1964 general elections affected the legitimacy of the newly constituted civilian authority and subsequent military intervention in Nigeria policies on January 15. 1966. Following the prolonged military rule that lasted for thirteen years, the military resolved to hand over power to a democratically elected government in 1979. With the ban on political activities lifted, and the registration of the force mayor political parties namely the NPN, UPN, PRP, NDP'and GNDP. By the Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO), the road was cleared for electioneering campaign to fill the various elective positions under the presidential system. The 1979 elections were relatively peaceful, though not violent free, few cases of violence were recorded in some parts of the countiy, countering the out come of the elections. All along, FEDECO had given the impression that the phrase "two-thirds of all the states" meant 13 states. But FEDECO later announced that in the absence of any legal explanation in the decree, the commission had no choice but to give the phrase the ordinary meaning which applied to it. This decision was seriously contested by the UPN. But the Supreme Court upheld the FEDECO's interpretations and Alhaji Shehu Shagari; the NPN presidential candidate was declared the winner of the election. The 1983 elections both at the federal and State levels were a republic of the 1964 general elections. It was marred by widespread electoral violence. The most violent of the election took place in Ondo State, where it was alleged that the international election was rigged by the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in favour of its candidate. As a result of the violence that ensued, the entire families of the opposition politicians were wiped out; houses were set ablaze including the state headquarters of FEDECO. The reaction of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) national leader, Chief Obafemi Awolowo was inciting and tended to cause or aggravate public uprising. Awolowo who was not happy with the election results in Oyo and Ondo States, where the NPN was declared winner, unequivocally stated that "the people are free to do whatever they feel like in the prevailing circumstances". This statement among others caused unprecended violence in Oyo and Ondo State (Apooyin and Baba Tunde, 1983). This scenario formed part of the problems that tuggered military intervention Nigerian's politics on 31st December 1983. The general Buhari led military regime which took over the reins of power form the civilians who did not have a clear cut transition agenda and was over thrown in a palace coupled by General Ibrahim Babaginda. He later commenced a fruitless transitional programme variously described by commentarians as "transitions" without end". Indeed, the Babangida regime plunged the country into more violence by his regime's announcement of June 12, 1993 presidential election. Babaginda was however faced to step aside in August 1993 by popular protect, and was succeeded by an Eastern government led by Chief Ernest Shonekon. It was a shattered administration which was swept into history by a palace coup led by General Sani Abacha in November of that year. The general died in office while implementing self - transmutation transition programme. General Abdu Salam who succeeded General Abacha, a studied another transitional programme which led to the 1999 elections. Local and international observers reported widespread irregularities in the poles with electoral fraud in favour of one or the other candidates. Chief Olu Falae who was a joint candidate for both the Alliance Yor Democracy (AD) and All People's Party (APP) contended the results of the elections, but did not pursue his appeal against the declaration of General Olusegun Obasanjo of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) as winner of the presidential elections to the Supreme Court (Olukoshi, 2000). The 2003 elections were conducted by the Obasanjo administration; it was characterized by widespread political assassination. The president himself warned early in 2002 that politicians were training private militaries that could make the 2003 elections bloody and indeed it was. There was abundant evidence of large scale rigging fraud and intimidation in many parts of the country (Levis 2003:131). The Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) that monitored the 2003 general elections reported the irregularities thus: Twenty-nine of the registered political parties that either contested or did not contest the elections have variously rejected the results as announced by the INEC, declaring the results as fraudulent. Both domestic and international election observers documented massive irregularities that characterized the elections and refused to endorse the elections as free and fair. Some of the results before the various election petition tribunals and have gone ahead to do so, while others declared "mass action " to pressure a government without popular mandate to abdicate power (lyaji, 2005:1-29). 53 Global Journal of Applied, Management and Social Sciences (GOJAMSS); Vol.10 September 2015; (ISSN: 2276 – 9013) p.48 - 59 The general observation and conclusion of Nigerian regarding the 2003 general election was that no civilian government could conduct a free and fair and transparent election. However, as the 2007 general election drew near, president Obasanjo told Nigerians and the world that the elections would be a do-or-die affair (Nwolise 2007:165). Thus the spate of violence that was recorded in the 2007 elections was frightening and unprecedented. THE MAJOR CAUSES OF ELECTORAL VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA ELECTORAL VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA Leadership succession in Nigeria has before the 2007 election assumed a problematic status. This is so because earlier attempt particularly transition from civilian to civilian ruler ship had often resulted to disputed elections. THe most recent failed transitional election was the 1992 - 1993 election which was ruin by M.O Abiola was subsequently annulled by Gen. Ibrahim B. Babaginda. According to Abu-Bakr (2007) in the forty-seven years of Nigeria as a nation, the dominant political system has not been democracy owing to various reasons and failures in the part of all stakeholders in the Nigerian project, attempt at enthroning and sustaining, democratic political systems in the country were only lasted for a short period of time. Nigerian political history since independence has been characterized by better electoral disputes that eventually lead to the collapse of its several republics. The elections of 1964/65 were alleged to be characterized by malpractices is most part of the nation especially the Western region election of 1963/64 and widespread charges of voting irregularities. Akintola's Nigeria National Democratic Party (NNDP) supported by its Nigeria People's Congress (NPC) ally scored an impressive victory in November 1964 elections. There were extension protests including considerable grumbling among senior army officials at the apparent perversion of the democratic process. In the sixth month after the election estimated 2,000 people died % in violence that erupted in the Western region as a result of the malpractices. In the face of disorder, the beleaguered Balewa delegated extra ordinary powers to the regional government to deal with this situational and by this time, Azikiwe and the Prime Minister were scarily on speaking terms and there were suggestion that Nigeria's armed forces should restore and due to the brigandage prevalent, it was tagged operations we tie. This led to the 15th January coup that terminated the first republic according to Obiukwu (1989) Gen. Obasanjo's Military region supervised the General election conducted in 1979 which ushered in Nigeria's second republic. It was evidently alleged that the military establishment handicapped the president because of the allegation that it rigged the election in favour of National Party of Nigeria (NPN) as a result of the alleged military partnership, the election was seen as not been free and fair resulting to some degree of protest. The 1983 election were named by pre-election and post election disagreement which led to the eventual takeover of the government by the military authorities were manipulations which involves the slanting of rules and regulations in favour of government party, massive vote rigging through ballot box stuffing, inflations of collated result, use of government resource to the disadvantage of the opposition and the commit use of money to induce voters (Abel 2002). It has turned politics in Nigeria to do or die affair for which many politicians of all parties are seriously establishing private armies to execute in that respect easy access to drugs serious general poverty at the grassroots level and youth unemployment in particular are providing many foot. Soldiers ready for recruitment at a cheap rate he said. The sources of violence in the Nigerian electoral process have been discussed by several philosophers and scholars. Justice saves in his judgment in the treasonable felony against Obafemi Awolowo and his accomplices observed that on the evidence before me. It would appear that politics generally in Nigeria has been conducted with a certain amount of bitterness it appears that a person belonging to a party becomes an enemy of another who belongs to a rival political party. Political parties are equivalent to warning camps elections are conducted with party things protecting the campaigners and this state of affairs has been described to have been assume a pitch that no method would be appeared however vindicate or extreme by any rival political party as against another in order to score over one or another coifed in awesome (1982:23). Professor Billy huddle a Nigerian political scientist observed that in Nigeria, the show... out to affluence and influence is through politics. Politics means money and means politics to be an open avenue to government patronage deals and the Ake (1961:21) the implications of this are as follows the 1992 elections was also alleged by the military jenta to have been flawed leading to its subsequent annulment. Arthur Azeribe who claimed to have written the annulment script said AU presidential aspirant rigged but the biggest rigger wins. This lanker worm of violence again which its ugly lead in the present republic which took off in 1999 that was saw president Olusegun Obasanjo elected and re-elected in 2003 as flamed a charade and daylight robbery yet it was a child's play. The persons who purposely 54 Global Journal of Applied, Management and Social Sciences (GOJAMSS); Vol.10 September 2015; (ISSN: 2276 – 9013) p.48 - 59 won were in actual sense selected and sworn in 2007 April elections things changed from bad to worse. The April 2007 elections have come and gone, the outcomes have been generating heat and the polity is at the receiving end political parties trading accusation to one another of rigging election to their benefit. CAUSES OF ELECTORAL VIOLENCE Ethnic politics thus has gained added salience in Nigeria politics and the multi ethnic opens an aperture for politicians to deploy ethnicity in the political fray process, the colonist who ruled the country in the past as I have earlier mentioned stocked ethnic discord and tension playing the ethnic group against the other. For example in 1951 election in Kano the colonial administration tried hard to frustrate Northern of Southern opposed to the candidates of the Emirs that brought Good luck Jonathan in some disgruntled elements rise up in the North chanting Bemuse assort of rejection of the president because he is not from the North. Unemployment: Unemployment also contributes immensely to electoral violence in Nigeria, many unemployed people becomes ready fools in hands of politicians beat in realizing their political ambitions at all cost while a section of the unemployed also engaged in the electoral process for private democracy. International Politics: In the time past, political offices did not attract money as it does today the government has made politics move financially attractive through the blunted parks awarded political office leaders that no body wants to engage in any other professional other than politics for example the Senators receive 4,06621245800 the 350 members of House Representatives receive 114965233330 the 36 state House of Assembly receive 17,129,465 sat 99 while about 600 councilors receive 74,766 486,000 per annum this huge benefit ... the political ambition of many Nigerians who ordinally have no business being in politics to seek elective position which logically explain the contest in the political turf. a. Pretenders politics in which political office is sought primarily office for the agreement of self family members' associates and cronies tend to become a preoccupation of the vast majority of the politicians and electorates. b. Patron-client relationship becomes extended in the polity and economy. c. The logic and desire to belong to government party undermine the sustainability of viable opposition. d. Instrumental use of violence by both ruling and opposition parties as instrument of retaining of capturing power at elections indigently contempt of electoral clauses of the citizens at the poll. According to Billy Dudley, once the politicians recognize or know the profitability of having power, the party (and the individual members) naturally uses the same governmental machinery becomes a self recruiting regularly and no self recruiting has been known to tolerate opposition to itself (1965:24) in the circumstance violence becomes instrument for seeking and retaining political power the nature of Nigeria state and regime contributed to endemic violence in the electoral processes. According to Clause Ake (1996:72) the state is in effect privatized. It remains an encores force but no longer a public force, no longer reassuring presence guaranteeing the rule of law but a formidable threat to all except the few who controlled it actually, encouraging lawless and with little capacity to mediate conflicts in society. Group of people come together and sponsor candidates for election for the benefit that is deprivable in the event of electoral success. The individual or group goes to any length to mobilize all available resources at his or their dispose to ensure victor of a manipulations and circumventing of electoral process to ensure victory. e. Poor electoral values: The outcome of the last election has aptly depicted our valueless system. The result of 2007 election did not reflect the will of the people. It was not about the laws but about the people who are suppose to operate the system. The problem of absence of political will to implement the law cannot be solved enacting more laws but by identifying the factor that militates against individuals. The history of elections and electoral practices in Nigeria is that, they have failed to promote the emergences of a democratic culture indeed each set of elections seems to deepen the culture of awarding undeserving vote to a candidate or party abuse of human right, corruption preparation lack of privacy in voting, intimidation. f. Desire for change, peoples strong desire for change, culture of impurity bad government and inciting political statement were among the principle major courses of electoral violence in Nigeria in which hundred of people were killed, headed a 22-member panel which conducted investigations in the states affected by election violence, including Kaduna, Adamawa and Akwa Ibom of which were given to the said delegation lemu said the 55 Global Journal of Applied, Management and Social Sciences (GOJAMSS); Vol.10 September 2015; (ISSN: 2276 – 9013) p.48 - 59 controversial PDF zoning arrangement and desperation by politicians to win election at all cost were among the factors that changed the nature of the presidential election into an etho-religious content particularly in the North. Speaking after receiving the report Jonathan expressed the desire of the Federal government to complement the report but noted he was none interested in the preventive aspect of the recommendation than the punishment aspect, yes people who commit offences must face the laws of the land but how to do we prevent subsequent occurrence is the key thing that is dear to me. Lemu earlier said the future by successive regime to implement report of previous investigations committee facilitated the wide spread sense of impurity in the culprit and perpetrators of crimes and violence in the Nigerian society. Similarly general insecurity of life and property in people houses and on the high ways and kidnappings are fuel to the fire of disappointment, g. Another major cause of violence and disturbances is the manner in which political office iiolders have created their respective position at the expense of the whole nation the panel discovered that the remunerations and allowances of the members of the legislative in particular are considered by stakeholders who addressed us or write to us about the issue to be outrageous. In a speech at the report presidential, Lemu said the desire for change as result of frustrations of people regarding the failure of successive regimes to solve the nation's problem was one of the major causes of the post election violence. The major causes of the recent electoral violence widespread desire for change as a result of frustrations and disappointment of many members of the general public regarding the inability of the successive past regimes to solve the problems of electricity power failure nation wide, deplorable state of Federal government roads throughout the nation, bribery and corruption which have virtually been legalized in all affairs of our nation he said. The committee exonerated retired general Mohammed Buhari of accusation of inciting the violence, adding that the CPC presidential candidate was also a victim because his property was destroyed during the crisis. Lemu send provocative utterances by many individuals and the widespread charge by prominent politicians including the CPC presidential candidates to the electorate to guard their votes appeared to have been misconstrued by many voters to include recourse to violence which they did. However a long interactive session was held been the CPC presidential candidate and five-member delegation of the panel, led by the chairman, in the office of the CPC presidential candidate in Kaduna on 14th September 2011. It was discovered that he himself was a victim of the violence and of the destruction of his property the photographs the majority of citizen to decide. b. The power of the incumbent government The government in power has had their own design and use the instrument of the state. The manner those in authority use power are unassuming, the ruling party does anything possible to ensure victory or as to continue in power. This was exhibited when the president himself proclaimed that the election wars going to be do-or die affair, the development appear to suggest that the country is also fracturing out its own brand of democracy. c. Monetization of politics with each succeeding election, the financial states are raised to such a level that only those who have previously exercise state power or worked in close collaboration with the state in the process of the primitive accumulation of capital are able to back their political claims not only to have budgeted but infact, to have expended billions of naira in the elections. This claims that political office holders are now contribution to their campaign funds running into billions of naira. d. Presence of Godfather: The risk of Nigerian Godfathers can be attributed to general historical developments the first is what can be called the ethnic security dilemma. The second is to use politics as a business machines for churning profit. This is a situation where a in the circumstance where the state is privatized those in power will use violence and state repressive apparatus to retain power. The people excluded from governance especially in a society where politics is a license to oppress other citizens and to rob the public treasury with impurity will report to violence in their quest for office. Nigeria political parties and politicians employ fraudulent and violent means. The political Bureau reported that Nigerian politicians and parties rigged elections in most Bitnet fashion - violence, corruption, arson and brigand were employed in the mad desire to win and retain power both in the region and at the centre report of the constitution drafting committee (1976) observes the country's politics is primarily geared towards securing opportunity to acquire wealth and prestige to be able to distribute benefits in 56 Global Journal of Applied, Management and Social Sciences (GOJAMSS); Vol.10 September 2015; (ISSN: 2276 – 9013) p.48 - 59 the form of jobs contract scholarship and gift of money and so on to due's relatives and political allies. Electoral violence in the country can be attributed to the actions and inactions of several actors who are determined to secure or retain political power without adhering to the rules of democratic competitive elections and consideration for the long term negative effects of electoral fraud and violence on national interaction security and actions that precipate electoral violence are: a. Law makers who are unwilling to make law that will promote credible elections because they are beneficiaries of legal complies and the weakness of the legal system and command of the security and law enforcement agencies. b. Elected politicians in the executive area of government who manipulate electoral law. Election management bodies and security agencies to subvert the free and fair elections. c. Politicians and executives of the state who induce and coerce the legislator to prevent them from making laws for credible elections. d. Politicians who come and corrupt delegates to party primaries to forestall free choice of candidates. e. State executive president governors and Local council chairman who abuse their power and incumbency privilege by threatening opposition with arrest and prosecution treason for alleged threat to national security and sovereignty. f. Politicians who deploy corrupt practices for ethnic religious and regional sentiments organize and arm political thugs. g. Politicians and incumbent executive who propagate the idea of politics and electoral victim as do or die affairs. h. Citizens and community members who employ primordial sentiment (ethnic resources regional and ender) to undermine free and fair choices of competent candidates to occupy political position in accordance with democratic electoral principles, i. Incompetent corrupted and partial electoral officer, j. Incompetent under equipped, under remounted corrupt and partial security agencies, k. Security agencies and personnel which see themselves as properties of the ruling political parties and incumbent president and governors. Conclusion Therefore, having x-rayed the nature and demands of the study, it becomes obvious to note that political violence and democracy are two way concept in that political violence is a veritable instrument of democracy what this means is that democracy which by implications is the government of the people. It is believed that such government commands legitimacy and authority so when the government falls to adhere to the needs of the people calamity becomes imminent. Thus from the afore stated argument, political violence could be considered good or bad in a democratic setting owing to the way it is applied when the peoples values are fought for, it becomes a parameter and mechanism for measuring the popularity of a government and making it adhere to the demands of the masses, but when it is wrongly applied, may be for selfish reasons, it can pulldown a state thereby chattering the future of democracy in Nigeria, especially in Oyi local government Area. RECOMMENDATION The extent of this academic journey (exercise) have really exposed us to the midinents of the demands of this study, we have taxed our hypothesis and come to a conclusion that political violence has a relationship with democracy based on the way it is applied when it is applied wrongly, it can bastardize a state and when it is applied to ensure a common course it can cause a government to respond to the demands of the masses, but the bordering problem remains how political violence can be averted to ensure the future and sustenance of democracy in the land? To that extent, we recommend as thus, 1. That democracy can hardly be consolidated in a polity of poverty, linger unemployment, mismanagement and economic injustice largely prevalent in Nigeria thus the socio-economic problems must be addressed and alleviated so that the masses will made to live above poverty line. Poverty - strickened person forgets or his rights so if poverty is defeated democracy will have its way. 2. There is need for investment in human resources successive governments in the federal have not actually laid a lot of emphasis on the need to develop the human person. The scarcity of food today and hunger that is being 57 Global Journal of Applied, Management and Social Sciences (GOJAMSS); Vol.10 September 2015; (ISSN: 2276 – 9013) p.48 - 59 pervasive and the influence of the government to the protracted strikes in the educational sector testify to this contrary to popular thinking. 3. The political process needs to be democratized to the enable decent people participate and contribute to the democratic process, the civil society and public opinion should be activated and encouraged by the government. 4. The masses need re-orientation in the right and proper form to aid in shutting their violence attitude and longaged practices of causing mayhem and chaos. 5. 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