A Professor of Political Science, Prof. Adelaja Odukoya, has advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and law enforcement agencies to treat electoral infractions with seriousness for the nation’s democracy to thrive.
Odukoya, the Dean, Faculty of Social and Management Sciences, University of Lagos, said it was regrettable that many alleged electoral offenders were not prosecuted.
This, according to him, has encouraged more people to observe the law largely in breach and escape justice.
He spoke on Thursday in Abeokuta during the 2023 Colloquium of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Ogun chapter.
Odukoya delivered a lecture on “Pluralism and Public Opinion Management: Challenges and Prospects for Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria.”
He said that “the kid gloves treatment of electoral infractions must stop, if we must have a democratic order.
“Our leaders are too alienated from the people and self-centered.
“They must change or the people should vote them out,” he said.
He, therefore, admonished political office holders to always endeavour to get closer to the people.
He said that it would be counterproductive for them to fail to identify with the people’s continued agitation for good governance in the country.
The don called for positive measures by government at all levels to check the current drift in the country to disunity.
“Criticism by the people is the tonic that nurtures democracy and development,” he said.
In a remark, the state Chairman of NIPR, Seun Boye, charged civil society organisations, the media and Nigerians at large to continue to promote the values of democracy.
Boye also said that achieving a sustainable democracy requires the collective efforts of all sectors of society.
