Building Bridges Across Divides

The conduct of the 2019 elections was characterized by contentious identity politics in Lagos and some other states. In the Igbo dominated Okota suburb of Lagos, some host Yoruba people who supported the Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) demanded that the ‘settler’ Igbo people who aligned with the Atiku Abubakar-led People’s Democratic Party (PDP) must subject their voting preference to align with that of the Yoruba.

To enforce this bizarre order in a supposed democratic polity, thugs and miscreants were mobilized against Igbo voters resulting in the seizure of ballot boxes and burning of thumb-printed ballot papers. This affront on democracy also manifested in Rivers, Nasarawa and some other states despite the appreciable level of cosmopolitanism and multiculturalism in Nigeria. Following these backdrops, this edition of Nextier SPD Weekly underscores the need for building bridges across ethnoreligious divides in Nigeria for a more peaceful and inclusive society.

Click here to download report.