Herd Mentality: How ‘top to bottom’ voting can deny citizens of quality governance
Disruptive, in many ways, could be used to describe Nigeria’s 2023 Presidential election. On the positive side, the election was a hotly contested three-horse race by Bola Tinubu of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP).
Although Tinubu of the APC emerged as the president-elect, it is the first, in the nation’s fourth republic which began in 1999, that a second runner-up (Peter Obi) to poll over six million votes and win 11 states including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. On the other hand, the election was also marred by widespread reports of manipulation of results, violence, and voter intimidation.
Amid the commendable youth involvement in the election, there have been debates about their ‘top to bottom’ voting pattern, the social media parlance popularised by President Muhammadu Buhari,
It is a common practice for Nigerians to vote on ethnic, religious, or political lines. This is understandable as Nigeria is made up of over 250 ethnic groups divided into Northern and Southern Nigeria, and during presidential elections, voters lean towards the candidacy of their kinsmen in the hope that they would get their own share of the ‘national cake.’ As witnessed in the 2015 presidential election, this ethnic-centric voting pattern translates into people accepting the political platform on which their folk is contesting.
In 2015, when the election was between incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan, a Southerner, and Buhari, a Northerner, votes were majorly earned on ethnic lines. While former Jonathan won all the 11 States in South-south and Southeast, Buhari cleared votes from Kano, Kebbi, Katsina, Kaduna, and Sokoto to defeat Goodluck. Buhari’s party, the APC, formed in 2014 by the alliance of four opposition parties, gained dominance in the National Assembly with 60 seats in the Senate and 212 seats in the House of Representatives.
A similar pattern was witnessed in the 2023 presidential election held on February 25, 2023. The euphoria of the ‘OBIdient’ movement earned the Labour Party 40 seats in the National Assembly, as voters, even without knowing the candidate, voted Labour Party from top to bottom (in all the elective offices up for election on February 25). In the Senate, the Labour Party won six seats and secured 34 seats in the House of Representatives, making it the party with the third highest number of legislators at the 10th National Assembly.
However, political pundits are worried that the voting pattern which that likened to herd mentality displayed by voters for not critically assessing the credibility of candidates and voting on party lines.
Dr Robert Ekat, Neusroom’s political analyst said while the 2023 Presidential election showed that Nigerians appear to be moving away from the top-to-bottom voting system, the practice “remains at a level that still causes concern.”
“Party leaders will always push that their parties are voted for from top to bottom. However, citizens need to be enlightened on the need to scrutinize candidates on their individual strengths before making their choices.”
Many Nigerians believe the voting pattern is the reason why popular Nigerian musician Bankole ‘Banky W’ Wellington of the PDP lost to a relatively unpopular candidate Thaddeus Attah of the LP in his second attempt to represent Eti-Osa Federal Constituency of Lagos State at the House of Representatives.
LP’s Donatus Mathew, who is reported to be a former motorcycle rider also defeated the four-term incumbent lawmaker and PDP candidate, Gideon Lucas Gwani, in Kaura Federal constituency of Kaduna State.
“One problem of voting from top to bottom is the excessive concentration on the Presidential and Governorship positions by citizens and the lack of awareness of the impact that the National and State assemblies have on the progress of society,” Ekat said.
It is imperative to note that lawmakers, whether at the National Assembly or State Assembly, through laws they initiate and pass, strengthen the democratic institution of Nigeria. They are the mouthpiece of their constituency, and their electability should be based on character and ability to represent.
Many Nigerians have also argued that the NASS election is as important as the presidential election as they stress the need for electorates to vote lawmakers based on character and ability to represent, rather than by populism which mostly leads to the emergence of incompetent opportunists who ride on the wave of a popular party to win election.
