It was a dialogue among experts and citizens dissecting the topic from their diverse perspectives. That must have resonated well with the objectives of the organisers who have gathered stakeholders, including the political class, the media, civil society organisations, political parties, security agencies, students and religious groups, to ponder on how to rebuild trust in the electoral process, institutions, and elections in Nigeria.

A Cross Section of the High Table

Unlike some other gatherings where the Independent National Electoral Commission would have received all the knocks and blame for lapses in the electoral process, the roundtable was honest and far-reaching in apportioning blame to other state and non-state actors down to the ordinary voters who agreed to sell their votes. The INEC Chairman represented by Prof Ayobami Salami, Lagos State Resident Electoral Commissioner with every humility, was receptive to the feedback from the gathering and promised to improve its processes and procedures in the next round of off-cycle elections.

The roundtable dialogue was organised by the International Press Centre on Monday, with funding from the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria Programme Phase 2 and component four. An earlier edition took place in Abuja in January and there was a clamour by some of the participants that it should be taken to one or two other geo-political zones for the programme to simmer down to the grassroots.

Yuuf Dantalle, IPAC National Chairman

Honourable Yusuf Dantalle, the National Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), called for the inclusion of the people at the grassroots to deepen in the plans of Nigerian Democracy. He claimed that only a few Nigerians at the local government level are benefiting from the national policies, adding that such a situation does not depict a democratic society.

He said rebuilding trust should not terminate with national institutions only. He said the local government level is often ignored and that is why the population is. He said the various State Electoral Commissions have to make democracy work in the local government areas submitting that it is wrong to declare the ruling party in the state as winners of all chairmanship and Councillorship seats in the local government elections. This weakens trust in the process, he said. He appealed to state governors to allow democracy to thrive in their states. “Democracy is not existing at the local levels because the state governments usurped their rights to have independent choices,” he said.

Identifying why trust may have broken down so much, Alhaji Yusuf Dantalle said that politics is seen in Nigeria as a form of business. Political office transforms the economic status of political office holders. Therefore, a lot of investments go into winning elections by the politician. The politician having won the election would concentrate on how to recoup his investment. Therefore, the expectations of the electorate may not be met by the politician in terms of service.

He forthrightly blamed some of the security challenges in the country on the actions of the political class equipping persons they engaged as their thugs during the electioneering process but had no means of recovering the arms and ammunition from them after the elections.

To deepen democracy and cater to the interests of disadvantaged groups, the IPAC has made room for the inclusion of minority groups such as women, youth, and persons with disabilities by creating directorates for them at the IPAC secretariat.

In his contribution, the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Operations) Lagos Command ACP Emmanuel Oyewole, urged the stakeholders and the citizens to take security as a general responsibility that should not be neglected.

ACP Emmanuel Oyewole

To address the insecurity challenges during the elections, the Inspector General of Police, whom he represented at the occasion, he said has started the process of creating a special department and units which will focus on electoral matters and also address issues bothering the electorates.

Dr Mustapha Adedeji Tukur, Lagos Director, National Orientation Agency (NOA) spoke against the menace of vote-buying during the polls, calling the political elites and political parties to refrain from encouraging members of the public to sell their votes during the elections. He added that the government, Civil Society Organisations and the media must work with the agency to eradicate vote buying during the elections in the country.

Ajanya of Kukah Centre

Addressing the need for peace in the country, especially during the electioneering process, Ezrom Ajanya, the Programme Director at the Kukah Centre, stated the need for peace is more regional than the national outlook given to it.

Mr Ajanya stated that cases of electoral violence are triggered by different reasons in different regions of the country, adding that even though the outcomes of violence are similar, the causes must be approached differently. He also urged the political parties to embrace the paths of peace and avoid sensitive actions that can trigger electoral violence in the country.

Calling for women’s inclusion in the electoral process, Peluola Mary, a representative of Women Advocates Research and Research Centre (WARDC) said for trust to be built in the electoral process, there is a need for credible, free and fair elections. She further explained that for elections to be considered fair, women must be included in the process.

Mrs Mary Peluola of WARDC

Mrs. Peluola asked the policymakers to always put women’s rights into consideration, adding that this will give more room for women in leadership positions in the country. She also called for active women’s participation in the electoral reform process, indicating that it would make their voices to be more heard.

Ms Florence Jimoh Austin from the Centre for Citizens with Disabilities urged the electoral commission to ensure that the PWDs are not left behind in the critical discussions to promote the country’s democracy and electoral process.

Commending INEC in the past election, Ms Austin acknowledged the past efforts of the electoral commission in providing a conducive atmosphere for the PWDs to exercise their voting rights in the past general elections; however, she called for more improvement.

In his submission, Bishop Theophilus Ajose, the Director, of the Directorate of Politics and Governance (DPG), Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Lagos State chapter, asked for more participation among the citizens to hold the government accountable at all levels of government.

He also called for grassroots participation among the Nigerians, calling the citizens not to create the gateway for the politicians.

Mr Adeola Soetan said the trust has broken down in the electoral process because policymakers don’t walk their talk. He called on INEC to always promise what it can deliver because trust is affected when it promises to do something and eventually fails to do it.

With more persons still itching to speak and make their contribution, it became obvious, the topic needed more than a day’s treatment. Thanks to the experience and dexterity of Prof Ibeanu as Chair of the event for his strict time management and proficiency in summarising comments and suggestions during the dialogue session. The question is where does the train move to next?