Political Violence and Democracy in Nigeria: A Study of 2019 General Election in Taraba State

Abstract

This paper explores the connections between political campaigns and electoral violence, arguing that political parties lack ideologies and manifestos that force candidates to base their campaigns on primordial sentiments of region, religion, and ethnicity as core campaign factors rather than issue-based approach. Political campaigns are synonymous with political and electoral violence in Nigeria, and Taraba State in particular. The 2019 general elections came with a character of their own in the context of prevailing political dynamics and the security atmosphere exacerbated by kidnappings, farmers/herders conflicts, rising youth restiveness, and political thuggery in the State. The absence of clear ideology and manifestos is blamed for electoral violence, or for the political gladiators' use of ethnic militia, political thugs, INEC officials, and security agency manipulation in electoral campaigns and wins. Secondary sources of data were used as the methodology for data collection. Results showed that political campaigns, in particular, were the primary source of the majority of political violence incidents. The issue was especially evident in Taraba State during the 2019 election. The study found that, among other things, voter illiteracy, offensive campaign speeches and slogans, intimidation, and ethno-religious and regional issues are the main drivers of the phenomena. Therefore, the article suggests that political parties should be ideologically grounded and well-spoken in order to avoid electoral violence in modern politics.