Benue State University, Makurdi

Post Election Peace Building and Democratic Consolidation in Nigeria

Member George-Genyi

Abstract

Electoral violence and other irregularities have been entrenched and sustained within the Nigerian electoral system since after independence. This paper investigates and identifies the postelection peace building efforts as they affect the 2015 General election. While it is _ germane to note that the last national elections may have been a departure from the previous ones, suffice to say that there were some hitches here and there. However, there is a general consensus that the 2015 general elections represent a giant leap in the democratic consolidation project of Nigeria. The heat in the polity led many to conclude that Nigeria would disintegrate.in 2015. Going by these realities, it was incumbent on all actors and stakeholders (internal and external) to pursue, craft and apply peace building strategies that could calm the fraying nerves of potential conflict hot beds. Several peace building efforts including the Abuja Peace Accord were utilized to achieve peace. To examine the post-election peace building and democratic sustenance, the paper adopts the social rules systems theory as its theoretical framework. The paper found that peace building efforts by the Independent National Electoral Gommission, civil society, other partners and most essentially, President Goodluck Jonathan's acceptance of defeat led to the relative peace experienced especially after the elections. It is without doubt that the success of the 2015 elections has helped to further deepen and consolidate Nigeria's democracy. To continue to sustain and improve peace and by extension Nigeria's democracy, the paper recommends that all democratic institutions and civil societies should be encouraged by government and other stakeholders to play by* the rules and laws establishing them.

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