Contentious elections, political exclusion, and challenges of national integration in Nigeria

Abstract

The roles of hate speech, ethnicity and region were very central to the 2015 general elections in Nigeria. Essentially, the elections created “mobilisational gaps”, built around religion and ethnicity. These factors shaped the pre- and post-election periods and divisions between ethnic groups associated with the incumbent regime (in-group) and other ethnic groups (out-group). This triggered widespread inter-group mistrust and insecurity which have conduced into post-election appointments along primordial lines like religion, region and ethnicity. Consequently, political inclusion and national integration have become elusive. Despite the emphasis of Goal #10.2 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development on political inclusion of everyone irrespective of race and ethnicity, post-election appointments have been divisive. Using qualitative research approach, this paper investigates the link between the outcome of the 2015 presidential election, political exclusion and national integration in Nigeria. It posits that democratisation of politics is the panacea for political tension in Nigeria.

Keywords

• contentious elections
• hate speech
• political exclusion
• sustainable development agenda
• 2015 general elections
• national integration