The recent threat by Nigeria’s Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to the FCT Senator, Ireti Heebah Kingibe, regarding her possible future defeat in the 2027 re-election, highlights a broader issue: many African leaders are reluctant to change their approach to governance and electoral engagement. Desperate to cling to power, African leaders and political parties often use illegitimate tactics – threats, ethnic division, violence and vote-buying – to suppress voter turnout, disenfranchise sincere voters and rig elections. It is no wonder that voter turnout continues to dwindle on the continent. These leaders and political parties fail to understand that Africans are not fixated on simply changing who is in power; they yearn for a leader who will actually deliver on their promises.
What’s democracy without participation?
After the 2023 presidential election, Nigeria was ranked the second worst country in the world for voter turnout, behind even war-torn Afghanistan and Libya, according to Picodi. With a national turnout of 29 per cent, the last election had the lowest participation rate in Nigeria’s six decades of independence. When you think about it, the 71 per cent whose votes did not appear on the ballot papers voted anyway. They cast a vote of no confidence in the system, expressing their loss of hope in the nation’s ability to protect them on election days and their exhaustion with promises made and broken.
In the same Africa, Rwanda recently achieved a record-breaking voter turnout of 98.63 per cent and a 99 per cent vote for the ruling party. The stark difference in voter turnout between Nigeria and Rwanda raises important questions about the factors that drive civic engagement and whether political parties shouldn’t invest in delivering on their promises rather than violence. Despite criticism of Kagame’s government for restricting political freedoms, Rwanda’s high voter turnout reflects a deep-seated confidence in the government’s ability to deliver services, stability and economic growth. This contrasts with Nigeria, where a history of unfulfilled promises, electoral violence and ethnic politics has undermined public confidence in the political process.
Scholars agree that low voter turnout is generally attributed to the government’s inability to fulfill its social contract with the people, loss of confidence in the electoral process, election-related violence, voters’ inability to exercise their franchise in a tense environment where their votes would not count, and voters’ absolute lack of interest in political activities. The Buhari administration failed to deliver on its campaign promises term after term, Nigeria’s economy and security were at their worst under the past administration, and the Nigerian people expressed this through their lack of interest in participating in the elections.
Africans can argue about voter turnout in Rwanda all they want, but the truth is that the atmosphere that attracts high voter turnout is created by the laudable public service delivery of the leadership. According to the 2022 Chandler Good Government Index, Rwanda is the best performing low-income country in the world. At the top of the list is Finland, which saw its best voter turnout since 2000 in the 2024 elections. Singapore, in third place, had a turnout of 95.81 per cent in its last election. The contrast with Nigeria and other countries that fail to deliver public goods further underlines that effective governance and public trust are crucial for high voter engagement, something Nigerian leaders need to understand in order to improve their electoral and governance system, assuming they want to do so.
The example of Rwanda shows that an effective leader or party does not need extensive intrigue and plotting to stay in power. Effective performance motivates people to come out en masse to ensure that their benefits are preserved, especially in countries that have experienced the consequences of poor leadership. This example underscores the importance of genuine leadership and effective governance in fostering civic engagement and ensuring a loyal and active electorate. Nigerian leaders must learn from this to rebuild trust and encourage higher voter participation in future elections.
The rulers who do not care about the approval of the people, but continue to use their usurped positions to satisfy their selfish agendas, hoping to use the same divisive politics to discourage voters and rig elections, will one day bring their nation to a boiling point that they will not be able to handle. Nigeria’s leaders must recognise that oppressive politics and self-serving governance are unsustainable. To move forward, they must commit to transparency, accountability and genuine service to the people. Only then can Nigeria hope to achieve the levels of civic engagement and trust seen in countries like Rwanda, Singapore and Finland. When this transformation occurs, citizens will return to the polls to support the good governance they value, even if it means repeatedly supporting the same party or leader.
Effective governance, coupled with a sincere commitment to delivering on campaign promises, is the cornerstone of a thriving democracy. Nigerian leaders have the opportunity to transform the political system by prioritising the needs and aspirations of the electorate and fostering an environment where voter engagement is driven by trust and confidence in the political process. The future of Nigeria’s democracy depends on the willingness of its leaders to embrace these principles and act in the best interests of the nation.
