The Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan has called on the Federal Government and electoral stakeholders to restore public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process, warning that growing voter apathy could threaten the credibility of the 2027 general elections.
The Catholic cleric, who spoke on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State, said the declining voter turnout in recent elections was a reflection of widespread distrust in the electoral system. He stressed that the trend must be urgently reversed.
He said democracy could only flourish where elections were free, fair and credible.
“True democracy is built on free and fair elections. No democracy without free and fair and credible elections can produce good governance. Elections have consequences. Bad elections begat bad governance and bad governance begat misery amongst the people.”
Many Nigerians may not participate in the 2027 elections if they believe the outcome of the election is already determined, Onaiyekan warned. My worry is that if it is very obvious to Nigerians that, regardless of what happens, the APC will win, then most people will not even bother to go to the election. And even if the government, the real power, wins it will not be a real victory. There’s no way to deliver good government.”
The Cardinal said that Nigeria had not yet had what he called a truly free and fair election, and that restoring confidence in the electoral process should be a priority for both government and electoral bodies.
“I think it is in our interest and in the interest of the government which has all the powers to make sure that the trust of the people in the electoral process is restored so that we can get at least 50 per cent of Nigerians voting. “If the electoral field is seen to be fair and equal for everybody, then people will know that their votes will count,” he said.
He noted that unlike military governments, democratic governments derive their legitimacy from the people and must therefore be accountable to the people through credible elections.
“We didn’t discuss elections while we were under military rule and the military boys ruling us didn’t say they were ruling in our name. Now we are under democracy and the rulers say they are governing in our name. “We can’t be silent when people say they are working in our name and they are not,” he said.
The former Catholic Archbishop of Abuja also reiterated his call for broad electoral reforms, arguing that the conduct of security agencies is important to credible elections, not just the independence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“Even if INEC is neutral, the outcome of the election is also influenced by the activities and performance of the security agents who claim to be securing the election but often times intimidate people.
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He also called for a review of the process of appointing the leadership of the INEC, saying the current arrangement raises questions about the independence of the commission.
“We know that the government in power is the one that appoints INEC. We have to find a way around that because if the government in power appoints INEC, then it is difficult to have a fair contest unless you have a very strong INEC chairman who decides to stand up against all pressures,” he added.
“We have seen in the past that even with peace accords, there has been violence during elections,” said Onaiyekan, who recently led the National Peace Committee in facilitating the signing of a peace accord by political parties on the August 15 Osun State governorship election, but stressed that they were still necessary.
He called on political actors to behave peacefully and let voters express their democratic rights without fear or intimidation.
“We are just praying and hoping that peace will prevail and that the ordinary people will be allowed to cast their votes while politicians hold back and do not destroy the whole process because of their own political ambitions,” he said.
