Going down the memory boulevard, the history of electoral reforms in Independent Nigeria could be traced back to 1960 with the Westminster system of government which had a titular head of state and president whose powers were generally ceremonial. The situation, however, changed with the adoption of a new constitution in 1963. The 1st Republic which features included regionalism also covered the military interregnum of 15 January 1966 with the ensuing civil war from 1966-1970. Enter the 2nd Republic 1979-1983 and then 3rd Republic 1993.
Since 1999 when the 4th Republic birthed, Akwueh, E., (2023) noted that Nigeria has recorded three electoral reforms. First in 2002 resulting in the Electoral Act that was used to conduct the 2003, 2007 elections. Next is in 2010 which midwifed the 2011, 2015, 2019 polls.
Lastly, in 2022 with the new Electoral Act which made provisions for financial autonomy of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Sections 3 (3) and early conduct of party primaries with submission of candidates’ lists Section 29 (1). Others include substitution of dead candidates Section 34, power to review results declared under duress, Section 65 (1) and disqualification of political appointees, Section 84 (12).
Having navigated the trajectory of electoral developments, it is trite to now interrogate a few conceptual frameworks. Though Hannon, M., (2022) in his treatise “Are knowledgeable voters better voters?” opined that the most politically knowledgeable individuals tend to be the most partisan, it is widely believed that democracies require knowledgeable citizens to thrive. This was why Benjamin Franklin said a learned blockhead is a greater blockhead than an ignorant one.
Likewise, in “What Americans Know About Politics and Why It Matters,” Carpini, D., and Keeter, S., (1996) asserted that democracy functions best when citizens are politically informed. If informed voters are needed for democracy to flourish, then a well-known threat to democracy – according to Brennan, J., (2016) – remains political ignorance.
Which brings us to the issue of reformed minds. Who are they? Essentially, a reformed mind is one that has been renewed by deeply understanding the difference between right and wrong. Ironically, some associate the terminology with spiritual transformation. So, how do we navigate the waters?
Joshua, T., (2018) in his exposition on the topic in torreygazette@gmail.com, avowed that since man is by nature a social animal, he is disposed, from natural instinct, to cherish and preserve society. Talking about political involvement. Surfing the web on an academic voyage, it was an upsetting discovery that the percentage of ‘reformed minds’ neither exist for Nigeria or elsewhere. Nonetheless, Nigeria’s literacy rate in 2024 is estimated to be 59.57%.
X-raying the subject of the academic abstraction in question is by no means a walk in the park. Truth be told, electoral reforms in Nigeria represent a major leap towards deepening the nation’s democratic culture. However, as laudable as they appear, it remains to be seen if it is yet Uhuru in the quest for improved electoral process in Africa’s most populous nation.
Tackling the subject of Nigeria’s Unresolved Electoral Reform Issues in a Paper he presented at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference, Lagos, 27th August 2024, Samson Itodo has advocated reform of INEC and attitudinal change among politicians as very critical.
Just as the right to vote requires additional legal and administrative protection following suppression of voters in some states, Itodo proposed amendment of the 2022 Electoral Act which contains some inadequacies that predispose the electoral process to susceptibility of manipulation.
If anything, institutional re-engineering in the absence of a corresponding behavioral change of the populace in terms of mindset resetting falls short of the highly desired goal. How do we leverage on institutional reform processes to achieve the political re-engineering of the electorate with a view to restoring public credibility in outcome of polls? That is one riddle the 10th National Assembly would do well to solve in its 2025 legislative year.
