Former President Goodluck Jonathan and ex-INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, have expressed concerns over Nigeria’s electoral system, blaming flawed elections on political actors, the judiciary, and the electoral commission.
Speaking at the Reflection Conference on Democratic Elections in West Africa, organised by Yiaga Africa in Abuja, Jonathan emphasised the need for judicial accountability and electoral reforms, while Jega warned that the desperation of political elites, security threats, and corruption are putting democracy at risk in Nigeria and across West Africa.
Jonathan underscored the judiciary’s crucial role in ensuring credible elections, noting that corruption weakens the system and enables electoral malpractice.
“If elections must be done properly, then the judiciary must always play its role,” Jonathan said. “Every human being has the tendency to cheat. Even if you are born from heaven, as long as you are human, the feeling that you must exploit, you must cheat, is there. But if the environment does not permit it, then you become careful.”
Using a sports analogy, the former president compared governance to football, stressing that election authorities, like referees, shape the conduct of political players.
“Like I always compare the situation to football: if you have a referee and a VAR that tolerate nonsense, the players play anyhow. But if you get the no-nonsense referee, that means the INEC, which plays the role of the referee, and the judiciary look the other way, then the politicians will do whatever they like because they want to win by all means,” he said.
Jonathan shared a story about a judge who stood firm against political pressure.
“Somebody told me about a judge when a very senior politician and tough person called him to say, ‘You must do this,’ and he said, ‘I will not do it, even with a gun to my head.’ That is the kind of people we need right now,” he added.
Reflecting on elections across West Africa, Jonathan noted that while some nations have made progress, others still struggle with electoral violence, fraud, and weak institutions.
He pointed out that despite Nigeria’s peaceful transition of power in the February 2023 elections and the introduction of BVAS and IReV to enhance transparency, the process faced logistical failures, delayed voting, violence, and technical issues.
Narrating his own experience, Jonathan recalled an incident from his time in office.
“When Jega was there, he introduced the card reader, but during the election, the card reader rejected me and almost set the country ablaze. Because the card reader rejected me, rejected my wife, rejected my mother,” he said.
Jonathan highlighted Sierra Leone’s 2023 elections as another example of mixed results, with biometric voter registration failing to prevent allegations of voter suppression and ethnic tensions.
He praised Ghana, Liberia, and Senegal for conducting peaceful elections, particularly acknowledging President George Weah’s concession to opposition candidate Joseph Boakai in Liberia.
He emphasised that while technology plays a role in election transparency, human commitment remains the deciding factor.
“The deployment of technology, no matter how elaborate or sophisticated, may not deliver the desired outcomes without the proven will of the authorities and the citizens to do the right thing,” he said.
Calling on Nigeria to lead by example, Jonathan stressed the need for independent electoral bodies and professional security forces to safeguard democracy.
“The success or failure of any election lies in the hands of two critical agencies, which are the electoral management body and the police,” he stated.
Jega, in his remarks, raised concerns about the independence of Nigeria’s electoral body, urging reforms to protect its integrity.
He cited numerous challenges facing electoral commissions, including interference from desperate politicians, weak legal structures, and external disruptions like insecurity and misuse of technology.
“In West African countries, the modern history of representative elections is as much a tale of authoritarian manipulations as it is a saga of incumbency abuse to suppress opposition and control the media,” Jega said.
He warned that the failure of democracy to curb corruption and elite exploitation has fueled public discontent and created opportunities for coupists to return to power.
“The continuous exploitation of citizens by governing and ruling classes, combined with their exclusion from politics, has hastened democratic reversal, as seen in Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Niger since 2020,” Jega noted.
Linking these setbacks to growing security threats, Jega pointed to the aftermath of Libya’s civil war as a catalyst for arms proliferation and insurgency in the Sahel region.
He argued that colonial-era “divide and conquer” tactics continue to influence political divisions, fueling sectarian conflicts and exclusionary politics.
Jega described the political elite across West Africa as reckless, accusing them of sidelining voters and leaving governance open to manipulation.
He warned that the region’s democratic gains are at risk unless these challenges are urgently addressed.
“The reversals of democratisation gains, occasioned by these persistent challenges, have provided excuses for coupists to stage a comeback. This dangerous phenomenon could engulf the region unless addressed urgently,” he added.
