University of Nigeria Journal of Political Economy

Inclusive Democracy or Political Exclusion? Examining the Participation of Persons with Physical Disabilities in Anambra State’s Democratic Process

Confidence Onyeka Chukwuemezie, Ezeh, Gideon Ugochukwu — Sun, 09 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Democracy is expected to ensure inclusion, equal participation, and fair representation for all
citizens. However, the experience of persons with physical disabilities in Anambra State shows
that these ideals are not fully achieved in practice. This study examined the extent of their
participation in the democratic process, with specific focus on their involvement in elections and
governance, as well as the barriers that limit their engagement. A qualitative approach was
adopted, using in-depth interviews and secondary data from policy documents, electoral
guidelines, and relevant literature. The data were analysed thematically to identify key patterns
and issues. The findings reveal that while many persons with physical disabilities are politically
aware and participate in voting, their overall level of engagement remains limited. Participation
beyond voting, such as involvement in decision-making and leadership, is very low. The study
identified several interconnected barriers, including inaccessible infrastructure, transportation
challenges, especially during election-day movement restrictions, negative societal attitudes, weak
implementation of inclusive policies, economic constraints, and lack of political representation.
These challenges reflect structural and social limitations rather than individual incapacity. The
study concludes that although Nigeria has made some progress in promoting inclusive democratic
frameworks, meaningful inclusion of persons with physical disabilities is still limited. For
democracy to be truly consolidated, there is a need for stronger implementation of policies,
improved accessibility, and deliberate efforts to promote active participation and representation of
persons with disabilities in all aspects of political life.

Geopolitics and Nigeria's Political Emancipation: External Influences, Strategic Interests, and the Struggle for Sovereign Autonomy

Emmanuel Selome FASINU, Kehinde Olakunle COKER, Olukayode Adepoju ADEGOKE — Sun, 09 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

With an emphasis on external influences, strategic interests, and the quest for sovereign autonomy,
this study investigated the relationship between geopolitics and Nigeria's political emancipation.
Nigeria has been formally independent since 1960, but it still has to deal with complicated regional
and international forces that limit its ability to make independent decisions. The study focused on
government documents, policy statements, and academic literature using a qualitative research
design and a case study approach to examine how transnational actors—such as global powers,
multinational corporations, and international financial institutions—interact with domestic
governance structures to affect policy outcomes. The analysis was guided by the complex
interdependence theory theoretical framework, which emphasised the multifaceted and negotiated
nature of sovereignty in a globalised environment. The results showed that whereas external
pressures offer diplomatic and developmental opportunities, they frequently result in dependency
that restricts political liberation. However, Nigeria must strike a balance between ambition and
compromise since strategic interests, especially in regional leadership, oil resources, and security
cooperation, act as both sources of influence and constraints. Realising true autonomy is made
more difficult by internal governance issues, such as institutional inefficiencies and inconsistent
policies. The study emphasised that political emancipation depends on the relationship between
domestic capabilities and foreign pressures rather than being absolute or static. By connecting
theoretical ideas with empirical realities in Africa and providing conceptual and practical routes
for promoting sovereignty through institutional development, diverse alliances, and coherent
policy alignment, the research advances global knowledge. Scholars, decision-makers, and
practitioners interested in state-building, foreign policy, and sovereignty in modern international
relations may find these conclusions pertinent.

Electoral violence in Nigeria: the imperative of voter education for a sustainable and inclusive democratic system

Lamidi Kehinde Felix — Sun, 09 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Electoral violence remains one of the most persistent threats to democratic consolidation in
Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. Despite continuous electoral reforms implemented by the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC), elections in Nigeria are frequently characterized by voter
intimidation, ballot snatching, political thuggery, ethnic mobilization, and post-election conflicts.
These recurrent patterns of violence undermine public trust in democratic institutions, weaken
political participation, and threaten the sustainability and inclusiveness of the democratic system.
While existing scholarship has largely focused on institutional weaknesses, elite manipulation,
poverty, and security failures as drivers of electoral violence, comparatively limited attention has
been given to the preventive and transformative role of voter education. This study interrogates
the nexus between electoral violence and voter education in Nigeria, arguing that comprehensive,
participatory, and continuous voter education constitutes a strategic mechanism for promoting
peaceful political engagement and democratic sustainability. Anchored in Democratic
Consolidation Theory and Civic Culture Theory, the study adopts a qualitative research design,
drawing on secondary data sources including electoral reports, policy documents, scholarly
literature, and documented election violence cases across multiple electoral cycles. The analysis
explores how inadequate voter awareness, misinformation, low civic competence, and weak
democratic norms contribute to susceptibility to political manipulation and violence. Findings
indicate that voter education in Nigeria has largely been episodic, election-centred, and
insufficiently community-driven, limiting its capacity to transform political attitudes and
behaviour. The paper concludes that sustainable and inclusive democracy in Nigeria cannot be
achieved solely through legal and institutional reforms; rather, it requires deliberate investment in
long-term civic reorientation and grassroots voter engagement strategies.

Between Prospect and Realism: Cognitive Biases, Emotions, and the ECOWAS-AES Diplomatic Fallout

Sun, 09 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The fragmentation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), following
the September 2023 Charter of Liptako-Gourma that established the Alliance of Sahel States
(AES), serves as a real-world case for studying how emotional biases and feelings impact
diplomatic negotiations. Contributing to the emerging debate on bloc polarization in West
Africa, this study evaluates the ECOWAS-AES diplomatic fallout through psycho-political
lenses, focusing on escalating tensions characterized by sanctions and defiant responses from
both parties. Drawing on prospect theory in psychology and political realism, this study argues
that leading actors in ECOWAS and AES allowed confirmation bias, perceived threats,
overconfidence, and the sunk cost fallacy to create flawed decision-making processes, leading
them to overestimate their authority. The research demonstrates that groupthink reinforced
existing biases, while loss aversion encouraged high-risk decisions, jointly undermining the
traditional rational decision-making approaches of ECOWAS-AES diplomats. The study
recommends incorporating psychological competence into diplomatic practice through emotional
intelligence training and awareness of implicit biases.

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the fight against internet fraud in Nigeria

Kalu, Ebei Kingsley — Sun, 09 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Internet fraud, popularly known in Nigeria as "Yahoo-Yahoo," has grown from a peripheral
nuisance into a threat that shapes the country's economic performance, banking stability, and
international reputation. This article re-examines the role of the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC) in combating internet fraud in Nigeria, updating the evidentiary
base to 2025 to capture the effect of recent legal reforms, notably the Cybercrimes (Prohibition,
Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act 2024. Guided by Deterrence Theory and a time-series
research design, the study relies on documentary sources, EFCC annual disclosures, Nigeria
Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) fraud reports, Nigeria Data Protection Commission
(NDPC) briefings, and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation's Internet Crime
Complaint Center (IC3) reports, analysed through qualitative content analysis. The findings
show that the EFCC's technological capacity, including the Integrated Intelligence and
Investigation System (I-24/7), forensic laboratories, and biometric surveillance tools, has
improved detection and prosecution, with convictions rising from 103 in 2015 to a record 4,111
in 2024 and recoveries exceeding ₦364.6 billion in the same year. However, the study finds
that the EFCC's regulatory framework continues to rely overwhelmingly on reactive, force-
based interventions, mass arrests and raids, rather than preventive, structural reforms, even as
internet fraud arrests remained the single largest category of EFCC enforcement action in 2024.
The persistence of resource constraints, jurisdictional overlaps with the Nigeria Police Force's
Cybercrime Unit and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, and the socio-economic drivers
of youth involvement in cybercrime continue to blunt deterrence. The article concludes that a
hybrid strategy combining sustained technological investment, harmonised inter-agency
regulation, and socio-economic intervention for at-risk youth is required for durable results,
and offers policy recommendations accordingly.

Regional, Ethnic, and Religious Cleavages in the Context of the Dominant Party System

Ambrose Ihekwoaba EGWIM — Sun, 09 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Eminent scholars and statesmen have argued that a practical way to mitigate the political
influence of ethnicity, religion, and regionalism in Nigerian/African politics is to adopt a one-
party system, or at most a two-party system. A belief that factions (ethnicity, religion,
regionalism) and political competition will disappear with the demise of rival parties.
Experience from the Nigerian Fourth Republic, starting in 1999, shows that a dominant party
may emerge from democratic elections. The question is whether these parties also have a
nationalistic, integrative element, as supporters of dominant or two-party systems claim. Have
one or two dominant national parties whittled down regionalism and ethno-religious cleavages
in Nigerian politics? There seems to be a connection among ethnicity, religion, regional
cleavages, intra-party political competition, and party system dynamics in Nigeria, despite the
dominance of the party(ies). This relates to the inability of the dominant party(ies) to manage
ethno-religious cleavages and regional politics effectively.

The 2023 Nigerian presidential election and the question of political credibility

Sun, 09 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Nigeria's political environment is characterized by poverty, unemployment, underemployment,
social and political marginalization, and other intolerable human issues
which have been blamed as the root causes of electoral violence in Nigeria. This paper identified
the challenges that hindered the conduct of a credible 2023 presidential elections and also
recommended strategies for conducting credible presidential elections in the future. Survey
research design was applied for the study. The area of the study was in University of Nigeria. The
population of the study is 250 respondents which consist of 42 Public Administration lecturers and
208 first year students from the department of Public Administration, University of Nigeria,
Nsukka. The entire population of 250 respondents was used as the sample for the study. Structured
questionnaire was designed for data collection. The study found among others that ineffectiveness
of security forces and culture of impunity and weak penalties against electoral act offenders are
among the challenges that hindered the effective conduct of a credible 2023 presidential election
in Nigeria. The study recommended among others that a bill for the establishment of Electoral
Offenses Commission should be passed. This will help in the speedy trial of electoral offenders to
serve as deterrent to future offenders.