Rising National Security Flaws: Its Implications for Nigeria’s 2023 General Elections

A fair democratic election is held in an atmosphere free of mortal dangers and ideally free from vote rigging. However, the approaching general elections of 2023 in Nigeria continue to warrant concerns due to the kind of insecure environment in which it is likely to take place.

The Nigerian state appears helpless in the face of this security decline and reacts to the increasingly impetuous non-state armed groups from a position of weakness. Sadly, the state pays ransom to release kidnapped citizens, as supported by several and even the latest revelation in a BBC documentary which reports that the government paid ₦60,000,000 before the nearly 300 school girls kidnapped in 2021 in Jangebe Zamfara State were released. These developments, which have only gotten worse with the approach of the election year, prompt worries about the security preparedness of the government for the elections. The continuing decline of the ability of the state to repel security challenges under a condition where terrorists, bandits and separatists contest the sovereignty of the state prompts worries that the state appears unprepared in the security sense for the presidential and other imminent national elections.

This edition of Nextier SPD Policy Weekly explores the feasibility of successful free elections in 2023.

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