DEMOCRACY AND NATIONAL INTEGRATION: PERSPECTIVES FROM ELECTIONS AND ELECTIONEERING IN NIGERIA

The discourse to build a nation out of Nigeria has been very old and continues. There is no gain saying that a united and integrated Nigerian state is a veritable instrument for nation-building. This paper is on democracy and national integration. It is aimed at examining the reasons behind the problems of national integration. In the analysis, the theoretical framework applied is the Integration Theory. We also utilized content analysis. The paper notes that there are many factors that lead to national disintegration, but the focus of the paper is on election and electioneering in Nigeria. Elections in Nigeria are known to be replete with violence, destruction of lives and property, rigging and hate speech. As these unwholesome activities and attitude go on, they develop centrifugal factors that set the ethnic nationalities apart. In the face of these, the paper contends that it would be a herculean task to build a nation out of over two hundred and fifty ethnic nationalities. It recommends that one of the major steps to building Nigeria for development and unity is by getting our electoral process right, free and fair and all inclusive for all ethnic groups. The paper also recommends that fines should be imposed on defaulters