Sensitization of Secondary School Students towards Sustainable Electoral Process in Nigeria: Nigeria Independent Electoral Commission as a Focus

Abstract

In the development process of any nation, voters' education occupies a key position in the scheme of things. It is the bedrock of every nation's economy and is an indispensable instrument for catching the young electorates for sustainable and democratic governance in the 21st century political and national development. The role of voter education in any electoral process cannot be underestimated. It is very crucial that voter education commences on time in order for election to be successful. Since the attainment of independence, electoral fraud has remained a knotty issue. The first three attempts at democratic experiments were truncated on account of electoral fraud and poor election management. Also, the 1999 general elections that heralded the current democratic dispensation were reportedly characterized by widespread and monumental electoral malpractices, and irregularities. Since the enthronement of the current democratic order, there has not been enough emphasis on educating the Nigerian electorates on voters' education. Almost all the elections in this country, with exception of the immediate past one have been characterized by huge electoral violence, intimidation, manipulation of electoral commission and security agencies, election rigging, multiple voting, hijacking of ballot boxes, vote buying, accusation and counter accusation. The thrust of this paper therefore, is to investigate the strategies for implementing voter education by INEC on Nigerians and its implication for hitch-free political education and participation. This paper concludes that voters' education is very essential in any democratic system as proper orientation of the secondary school children on the essence of casting one's vote and involvement in democratic system of our country, will not only bring about high level of motivation, encouragement in the school children but will also make them have confidence in the government. This method will no doubt lead to a sustainable democratic system in our country, Nigeria.

Keywords: INEC. Voters Education, Secondary Schools, Electoral Fraud,
Democratic Election, Sustainable development