Lawyer Frank Tie-Tie has called for a fundamental change in Nigeria’s political culture, saying elections must be transformed from contests driven by violence and the struggle for power into a peaceful competition based on ideas and policies.
Speaking during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Saturday regarding the Osun State governorship election, Tie-Tie said democracy could only thrive when political contests focused on what candidates intended to do for the people rather than the use of force to capture state power.
“So elections are everything when it comes to democracy. But we have to civilise it. It has to become a game of ideas. Not necessarily a game of war.”
Tie-Tie said the build-up to the Osun election had been marked by violence and inflammatory rhetoric. “Unfortunately, it’s about brute competition for political power, not for the best of reasons.”
He said the enthusiasm shown by voters in collecting their Permanent Voter Cards was an indication that citizens remained interested in participating in the election despite the tension surrounding the contest. “That shouldn’t in any way dissuade the voters, because we’ve seen this unusual enthusiasm in the collection of PVCs by the electorates in the Osun state.”
According to him, political competition should ordinarily be centred on ideas, policies and tangible commitments to voters, rather than violence and the pursuit of political control.
“The tension should have actually been with regards to ideas and visible and tangible promises.”
Tie-Tie also criticised the failure to prosecute people accused of political violence, arguing that the absence of punishment had allowed violent rhetoric to persist in the electoral process. “The reason violent language has festered in the political process, particularly in Oshun state, is simply because there has not been, you know, prosecution of those who are the purveyors of violence.”
He said the security agencies must respond to electoral violence in a neutral manner and avoid creating the perception that they are working in favour of any political party. “So, one would think that as we go on, the security forces will rise up to the occasion in a dispassionate manner, not necessarily in an expression that will give the impression to any of the parties that they are biassed.”
The lawyer also raised concerns about the effectiveness of existing penalties for electoral offences, including violence, intimidation and vote buying, saying the punishments were insufficient to discourage offenders.
“That’s not much of a deterrent.”
He called for stronger mechanisms to deal with electoral offences, including more effective prosecution and judicial arrangements capable of handling such cases promptly.
“And I’m also hoping, and I’ve hoped before now, that INEC could have persuaded the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to one way or the other, you know, issue practise directions for the purpose of, you know, having courts, you know, they may not necessarily function like mobile courts, but like special courts to deal with issues of electoral offences.”
Tie-Tie further criticised what he described as the failure of the electoral body to fully deploy its prosecutorial powers against electoral offenders. “But you see, INEC, over time, has shied away from deploying its prosecutorial powers.”
He argued that political actors should not be allowed to turn elections into battles for control of public resources, stressing that elected officials should be accountable to the people.
“Unfortunately, instead of it to be, I mean, a civilised process where we actually look forward to people making promises, making commitments to the ultimate owners of the state, the people of the state, and then the people who watch them for four years and greet them in an election, we’ve turned it to, you know, a canary process where they, you know, they capture state power, the means for the good of the people, but, you know, to simply control resources.”
On the role of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Tie-Tie said the commission had a major responsibility to ensure that voters could cast their ballots without logistical or technological obstacles. “INEC must realise that people, individuals, have a right to vote, and when they come out to vote, their votes should count.”
He particularly stressed the need for the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, to function effectively throughout the election.
“BIVAS machines must work at all times.”
He said the performance of INEC in the Osun election would also have implications for public confidence ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“INEC is indeed on trial always in every election, but Professor Amofita should not fail.”
Tie-Tie said the electoral body must demonstrate integrity, technical competence and efficiency, especially given the expectations surrounding its conduct of the election. “When you appoint a professor of law who is a senior advocate of Nigeria, you would expect nothing less than a high level of integrity and technical efficiency and competence.”
He also linked the persistence of vote buying to poverty, saying economic hardship had made some voters susceptible to financial inducements during elections. “So if we have allowed so much violent language, if we have allowed so much poverty, so much weaponization of poverty, we should expect something that will happen, will be something like people being persuaded, being unduly influenced.”
Referring to provisions of the Electoral Act, he said undue influence through persuasion, gifts or other inducements amounted to vote buying.
“And it’s just a euphemism for vote buying.”
Tie-Tie said Nigeria would need to change the political culture that had allowed poverty and vote buying to become entrenched features of elections, As I said, we must change it. We haven’t changed it.”
He also warned that a flawed electoral process could prevent capable Nigerians from emerging as leaders, stressing the importance of credible elections to the country’s development.
“And we cannot afford to allow the process of the emergence of those who govern to be so flawed that the worst of us will not govern the best of us.”
Despite the challenges, Tie-Tie said Nigerians should continue to have faith in democracy, while working to improve the electoral system and make political competition more civilised. “But we reached after this election, and we shouldn’t lose faith in our own kind of democracy.”
He maintained that elections should ultimately provide citizens with an opportunity to choose leaders based on their ideas. “So elections are everything when it comes to democracy. But we have to civilise it. It has to become a game of ideas. Not necessarily a game of war.”
Erizia Rubyjeana
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