By Ayuba Caleb, PhD
Introduction: As Anambra State prepares for its 2025 gubernatorial election, logistical arrangements are largely complete, but a major challenge remains insufficient peace-oriented sensitization among political actors and voters. Peace is the cornerstone of credible and legitimate elections; without it, the process risks chaos, delegitimization, and erosion of democratic trust.
The Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has since 2000 led national efforts in promoting peaceful and credible elections through citizen mobilization and advocacy. Its interventions have significantly contributed to reducing electoral tensions and enhancing Nigeria’s democratic stability.
President Tinubu’s 4D agenda anchored on Democracy, Development, Demography, and Diaspora bears direct relevance to the forthcoming Anambra governorship election. The “Democracy” pillar underscores the need for credible, transparent, and peaceful elections, which serves as a litmus test for the administration’s commitment to democratic consolidation. The “Development” dimension ties into citizens’ expectations that elections should produce leaders capable of driving inclusive growth and good governance at the state level. “Demography” highlights the importance of youth participation and voter engagement, especially significant in Anambra, where a youthful, educated population demands accountability. Finally, the “Diaspora” component resonates with the role of Anambra’s global community, whose remittances and advocacy can influence political and developmental outcomes. Thus, the Anambra election provides a practical stage to test how effectively Tinubu’s 4D principles translate from national policy to grassroots democratic practice.
Nigeria’s Democratic Journey and Its Resilience: Nigeria’s democratic resilience is sometimes tested by politically tense operational environment, and weak institutions. Nonetheless, the nation’s ability to sustain civilian rule for over two decades marks a significant milestone, positioning it as one of Africa’s enduring democracies.
Democracy offers citizens essential freedoms voting rights, participation, and access to justice and provides a framework for curbing corruption. By promoting transparency and accountability, democracy redirects public resources toward social services such as education, health, and infrastructure. However, electoral violence threatens these gains by undermining participation, legitimacy, and public confidence. Ensuring violence-free elections is, therefore, not just a political necessity but a moral and developmental imperative.
The Imperative for Violence-Free Elections: Peaceful elections are the bedrock of good governance and national progress. Unlike the unconstitutional regime changes seen across parts of West Africa and the Sahel, elections represent the legitimate means of leadership transition. The good news is that Nigeria’s democracy is grounded in classical social contract theories advanced by Grotius, Hobbes, Kant, and Gentili, who argued that governments derive legitimacy from citizens’ consent and must guarantee justice and peace. In this context, the prevention of electoral violence is a core obligation of both the state and political actors.
Electoral violence endangers lives, distorts outcomes, and breeds apathy among voters. Thus, ensuring peace during the Anambra gubernatorial election is a collective duty that underpins both democratic stability and moral responsibility.
Peacebuilding Tools and Democratic Consolidation: Sustainable democracy demands proactive peacebuilding strategies that prevent, rather than react to, conflict. Peacebuilding encompasses civic education, media responsibility, community dialogue, and early warning systems.
The IPCR advocates social dialogue as a vital tool for consensus-building. Through dialogue, political rivals can manage differences and prevent divisive narratives. The goal is to replace confrontation with collaboration and exclusion with inclusivity.
As chaos theory suggests, minor provocations such as hate speech can trigger widespread unrest. Hence, preventive peacebuilding is both more effective and less costly than post-crisis reconciliation. Building democratic peace requires deliberate engagement of communities, youth, women, and opinion leaders in promoting tolerance and shared responsibility.
IPCR Recommendations for a Peaceful Anambra Election
1. Detoxifying the Political Space: Political leaders, parties, and supporters must refrain from inflammatory rhetoric, hate speech, and personal attacks. Campaigns should focus on issues, not insults. The media also bears responsibility for conflict-sensitive reporting and should avoid sensationalism that could heighten tensions.
2. Curbing the Proliferation of Arms: The National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) should strengthen surveillance and curb arms inflow into Anambra before and after the election. Controlling weapons circulation is crucial to preventing violence by political thugs or criminal groups.
3. Combating the Influence of Drugs: The NDLEA and NAFDAC must disrupt illicit drug networks that supply substances to political thugs. Drug use often emboldens violent actors; eliminating access can reduce aggression and maintain order during elections.
4. Addressing Vote Buying: Vote buying has become one of Nigeria’s most damaging electoral malpractices. It undermines the sanctity of the ballot, reduces public confidence, and promotes inequality. The IPCR calls for stricter enforcement of anti-corruption and electoral laws and for mass sensitization campaigns to discourage this practice.
5. Ensuring Institutional Neutrality: INEC and security agencies must demonstrate strict impartiality and professionalism. Their credibility depends on transparency and adherence to ethical codes. INEC’s insistence on neutrality among security personnel is commendable and should be rigorously enforced. Collectively, these measures can transform the Anambra election into a model of peace, credibility, and public trust.
The Broader Vision: Building Democratic Peace
A peaceful election transcends the event itself it lays the foundation for sustainable governance and social harmony. Through violence-free polls, citizens can freely choose leaders who reflect their aspirations, strengthening the legitimacy of the democratic process.
Beyond Anambra, peaceful elections contribute to Nigeria’s national unity and reinforce its leadership role in Africa’s democratic landscape. Nigeria’s success sends a continental message that diversity and democracy can coexist without violence. Thus, IPCR envisions a democratic culture anchored on dialogue, persuasion, and mutual respect rather than coercion and hostility. Achieving this requires the collaboration of all stakeholders INEC, security agencies, civil society, religious leaders, and the electorate. Each has a distinct role in embedding peace as a permanent value in Nigeria’s political system.
Conclusion: Nigeria’s democracy, though with its teething challenges, stands as a testament to national resilience. The 2025 Anambra gubernatorial election provides an opportunity to reaffirm this progress through peace and inclusivity. The IPCR’s pathways for a violence-free election stress preventive engagement, responsible leadership, and institutional integrity. By detoxifying political rhetoric, curbing arms and drugs, addressing vote buying, and ensuring neutrality, Nigeria can safeguard electoral credibility. Ultimately, peacebuilding in elections is not just about preventing violence, it is about strengthening democracy and advancing justice, equity, and good governance. If these strategies are faithfully implemented, Anambra State can become a model for peaceful elections in Nigeria and Africa at large, proving that peace and progress remain inseparable pillars of national development.
Ayuba Caleb, PhD, is the Head, Democracy and Development Studies, Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja
