Elite Perception of Election as a "Do-Or-Die” Affair and Its Implications on the Conduct of Free and Fair Elections in Nigeria: the 2007 General Elections in Perspective

Abstract

The paper analyzes elite perception of election as a "do- or- die” affair in Nigeria and in addition examines the likely implications on the public clamour for conduct of free and fair elections. The focus is on the 2007 general elections, which by and large, were adjudged by both local and international election monitors as the worst elections ever conducted in the political history of Nigeria. This was due to unimaginable widespread malpractices that hallmarked the exercise. Using the post colonial state theory as a framework for analysis and secondary data, the paper applied content analysis in evaluating the actions and inactions of different stakeholders in the nation's electoral process. In that regard, it finds that elite perception of election as a "do-or-die” affair affected the conduct of the 2007 general elections negatively and played significant roles in the poor rating of the elections. In order to restore the credibility of election as a competition in which there must be a winner and a loser, the paper recommends a holistic change of perception and attitude towards the conduct of election by the Nigerian elites. It thus advocates that this change in orientation is the most feasible way the conduct of democratic elections in Nigeria can comply with global best practices and be adjudged free and fair by all standards.