By Ijeoma Agbafo
A Professor of Communication and Media Studies at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Adepoju Tejumaiye, has identified continuous voter education and improved security as critical measures for preventing violence during elections.
Tejumaiye said in an interview on Thursday in Lagos that educating politicians, voters and youths on the dangers of election violence remained the most effective strategy for ensuring peaceful polls. He noted that many young people were often recruited by politicians to perpetrate violence, stressing that elections should never be treated as a do-or-die affair.
The political communication expert also called for stronger security during elections, urging regular training for security personnel and strategic deployment of officers near polling units to deter violence without disrupting the voting process. He added that intelligence gathering should be strengthened to identify and prevent planned acts of violence before they occur.
Tejumaiye further advocated the inclusion of civic education on political violence in school curricula and urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), government and civil society organisations to intensify public enlightenment campaigns through the media ahead of elections. He also called for greater transparency in governance, saying technology-driven systems would reduce corruption and lessen the desperation to gain political office at all costs.
He expressed optimism that the 2027 general elections could be peaceful if the necessary preventive measures were implemented, stressing that no political ambition was worth the loss of human lives.
