By Chukwudi Ebele
Human Rights Lawyer and Social Critic Sir Ifeanyichukwu Ejiofor Esq has given another warning concerning the upcoming general election after observing the trail of attacks recorded especially when opposition political parties were embarking on campaigns
which have led to loss of lives and property.
In his article titled ‘2027: NIGERIA MAY BE HEADING FOR ITS MOST VIOLENT ELECTION IN HISTORY — THE WARNING SIGNS ARE ALREADY HERE!’ Ejiofor warned that political violence should not be normalized.
According to Ejiofor, there is a gathering storm over Nigeria’s electoral landscape, and unless the ominous indices of violence presently manifesting across the country are decisively dismantled, the 2027 general elections could degenerate into one of the bloodiest electoral seasons in our nation’s history.
“The warning signs are no longer speculative. They are increasingly visible. From Cross River to Sokoto, Kebbi, Enugu , and Katsina, disturbing reports of political attacks, intimidation, violent disruptions and the mobilisation of hostile political foot soldiers are emerging with alarming frequency. In Katsina, for instance, the police confirmed the arrest of three suspects following an incident in Yankara, where a vehicle was set ablaze and political posters destroyed in what they described as suspected political thuggery. Reports from other states are equally troubling.
History, unfortunately, offers Nigeria no comfort. The 2023 electoral cycle recorded 586 election-related violent incidents and 348 fatalities across 274 local government areas, according to the International Election Observation Mission. Are we deliberately preparing to surpass these dreadful statistics in 2027?
What makes the present situation particularly frightening is the apparent normalisation of political violence. Our politicians seem increasingly prepared to turn desperate political calculations into a recruitment exercise for uninformed, impressionable and easily expendable young men, some of whom are armed and deployed as instruments of political intimidation. The sponsors remain comfortably insulated while the foot soldiers and innocent citizens bear the consequences.
The security architecture is under enormous pressure. Yet, the gravest concern is that security institutions cannot effectively confront politically sponsored violence if those responsible enjoy protection, influence or complicity within the very corridors of power. A government cannot credibly claim to defend democracy while tolerating the intimidation of those who seek to participate in it.
My candid advice to Nigerians, particularly the impressionable youths being recruited into these dangerous political enterprises, is simple: Do not mortgage your life for another man’s political ambition. The man who gives you money to carry a weapon will not surrender his own child to the bullet. When the political contest is over, the sponsors will retreat into their mansions, leaving you to confront the graveyard, the prison cell or a lifetime of regret. Never fight another man’s political war with your own life.
A word is sufficient for the wise: when the roof is on fire, it is folly to begin arguing about who owns the house.
What we are witnessing may well be a foretaste of a more dangerous political season. If the present trajectory continues unchecked, 2027 could witness violence of a scale and geographical spread that would make previous electoral crises appear comparatively less extensive.
This is not an inevitable outcome; it is a preventable national emergency. INEC, security agencies, political parties, the National Peace Committee and the Federal Government must act decisively, before the warning signs become irreversible tragedies.
God forbid that we should wait until the dead begin to outnumber the warnings before we acknowledge that danger was staring us in the face,” said Ejiofor.
About Author
