Beyond The Ballot: Let Nigeria Win A Call For Peaceful Elections, Responsible Citizenship and Leadership That Delivers

By Dr. Lolu Ojo

Nigeria has once again entered that familiar season when the air becomes thick with promises, posters and predictions; when old alliances are rearranged, new movements are born and political pronouncement grows louder than the everyday anxieties of the people. Elections are here, Osun Governorship election just concluded, and the country is preparing to choose those who will exercise public authority in its name at the national and regional levels. Yet beneath the rallies, slogans and calculations lies a question more consequential than which party wins: will Nigeria itself emerge victorious?

This is the question that must trouble every candidate, institution and citizen. An election may produce winners without producing progress. It may satisfy the timetable of democracy while leaving its substance unfulfilled. Ballot papers can be counted correctly, yet the people can remain unheard. Offices can change occupants while hunger, insecurity, unemployment, failing infrastructure and public distrust retain their permanent seats. Therefore, the coming election must be approached not merely as a contest for power, but as a national examination of our character, maturity and collective purpose.

Democracy is founded on disagreement, but it cannot survive the destruction of community. Political opponents are not enemy armies; they are fellow citizens offering competing answers to common problems. No ambition, however legitimate, is worth a human life. No office is so valuable that a neighbourhood should burn for it. No candidate who truly loves Nigeria should need intimidation, ethnic suspicion, religious hostility or violence to obtain the people’s mandate. The leader who climbs to office over broken bodies and broken communities arrives morally diminished, even if declared legally victorious.

The ballot must not become a bullet

The first responsibility of this election season is peace. Peace does not mean silence in the face of injustice, nor does it demand passive acceptance of electoral misconduct. It means that grievances must be expressed through lawful, disciplined and constructive channels. It means campaigning vigorously without dehumanising opponents, voting courageously without attacking neighbours, and challenging disputed outcomes through institutions rather than through destruction.

Electoral violence is especially irrational because its victims are rarely the politicians whose ambitions provoke it. They travel with protection; their families are often far from danger. It is the ordinary citizen, the trader, artisan, student, driver and small-business owner, who bears the cost when streets become unsafe, markets close, transport is disrupted and property is destroyed. Those recruited as political foot soldiers are too often abandoned after the contest, while the architects of division reconcile in comfort. Young Nigerians must learn from previous experiences and refuse to become expendable instruments in another person’s journey to power.

Political leaders who sign peace accords must do so with solemn commitments binding their speech and conduct and not simply as ceremonial photo ops and publicity stunts. They should restrain supporters, reject hate speech and publicly condemn intimidation even when it appears to favour them. Traditional and religious leaders must resist the temptation to convert moral influence into partisan weapons. Security agencies must remain professional, proportionate and politically neutral. Their duty is to protect citizens and the process, not to confer advantage on any contestant.

The media also carries grave responsibility. In an age when an inflammatory falsehood can cross the country before truth has found its shoes, verification is an act of patriotism. Journalists, broadcasters, influencers and administrators of online platforms must distinguish legitimate criticism from incitement. Citizens, too, should pause before forwarding provocative messages. Every phone has become a small broadcasting station; with that power comes an obligation not to manufacture fear or spread hatred.

A credible election is the foundation of peaceful legitimacy

Peace cannot be sustained by sermons alone; it also requires justice and institutional credibility. People are more likely to accept defeat when they believe that the rules were clear, the referee was impartial and every lawful vote was treated with equal respect. Electoral institutions must therefore understand that transparency is not a public relations favour. It is the oxygen and core measurement of legitimacy.

Nigeria’s Constitution declares that sovereignty belongs to the people, from whom government derives its authority. That principle is not decorative language. It means the electorate is the employer and public officeholders are temporary trustees. Election administrators must prepare competently; logistics must be reliable; results must be handled transparently; security personnel must act impartially; and the judiciary must determine disputes with courage, consistency and fidelity to law. When institutions appear selective, delay becomes suspicious, procedure loses authority and rumours occupy the space abandoned by official credibility.

Political parties must also improve their internal democracy. A nation cannot expect democratic governance from organisations that select candidates through coercion, imposition or opaque bargains. The quality of a general election is affected long before election day, during party membership, congresses, primaries, candidate selection and campaign financing. If internal processes reward only wealth, patronage and proximity to powerful godfathers, the electorate is eventually asked to choose among products of a defective factory.