Election Violence in Nigeria: The Experience of 2003 to 2015 General Elections

Abstract

The problem of election violence in Nigeria is not new and has always engaged the attention of scholars but while some conclude that the problem is symptomatic of ethnicity or tribalism, others argue that the problem is caused by religious differences. However, it is the contention of this paper that the wide spread of violence across the country, during the 2003 to 2015 general elections, makes it plausible to assert that election violence is not and cannot be caused by ethnicity, tribalism or religion in Nigeria. The analyses in this paper are on the basis of the six geopolitical zones of the country, the North Central, the North East, the North West, the South East, the South South and the South West. The violence that occurred in each zone, among the same ethnic group, tribe, religion, cannot possibly be caused by ethnic hostility, tribalism or religious intolerance. Rather, the paper argues that intra and inter party crisis, occasioned by the crisis of in-cohesive dominant class more than any other problem creates bitter divisions among the people, who are followers of the belligerent factions of the dominant class, which is why a losing group does not accept none favourable election results and will take to violence.