A Public Health Approach to Ending Election Violence in Nigeria

The next general elections in Nigeria to elect the President, Vice-President, Senators, and members of the federal House of Representatives are scheduled for February 23, 2023. Six months out, violent rhetoric is already escalating and the polity is heating up. Violence leading to deaths has marred previous elections in Nigeria, but it shouldn't anymore. We are advocating for a public health approach to organizing and conducting elections in Nigeria in order to keep people safe, says public health physician Ifeanyi M. Nsofora and clinician Salami Tijania 

Violence during elections in Nigeria also leads to injury and displacement. In 2008, for instance, in the north-central Nigerian city of Jos, violence during local government elections led to more than 300 people being injured, 11,450 displaced and 60 deaths, according to reports by Nigerian Red Cross Society. In the 2019 general elections, an estimated 626 people were killed spanning over 6 months of electioneering campaigns before the general election as reported by Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room.

Nigerians should feel safe going to cast their votes for the candidates of their choice and go back home without dying in the process. Preventative public health advisories should be shared by the government before elections take place.