The Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development’s Council of the Wise, chaired by former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, has urged presidential candidates in the 2027 general elections to avoid hate speech, inflammatory remarks, falsehood and conduct capable of triggering violence.
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The Council made the call in Abuja during an advocacy engagement with the presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party and former Governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke, as political campaigns ahead of the 2027 election gather momentum.
Ariwoola said candidates and their supporters must comply with electoral laws and guidelines and ensure that campaigns concentrate on concrete solutions to the problems confronting Nigerians rather than personal attacks and divisive rhetoric.
According to him, Nigeria’s electoral history since the return to democratic rule in 1999 has been marked at different times by violence, hate speech, vote-buying, rigging and other forms of malpractice, creating what he described as a situation in which elections are treated by some politicians as matters of life and death.
The former CJN recalled the controversy surrounding the 2007 general election won by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, noting that Yar’Adua himself publicly acknowledged flaws in the process and subsequently established the Electoral Reform Committee chaired by former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mohammed Lawal Uwais.
Ariwoola lamented that Yar’Adua died in 2010 before most of the recommendations of the committee could be implemented, despite the government accepting a substantial proportion of them.
He also recalled the violence that followed the 2011 general election, saying more than 1,000 lives were reportedly lost, particularly in northern states, and argued that the failure to fully implement earlier electoral reform recommendations allowed many of the triggers of election-related violence to persist.
Ariwoola explained that the Savannah Centre established the Council of the Wise in 2014, with support from the MacArthur Foundation, as part of efforts to promote peaceful, transparent and credible elections and strengthen democratic governance.
The Council, he said, was reconstituted in June 2026 as an 11-member body and would continue to undertake advocacy, intervention and mediation before, during and after the 2027 general elections.
Addressing Duke, Ariwoola urged him to exercise restraint throughout the presidential campaign and ensure that members of his party and supporters also conduct themselves responsibly.
“It is also important to emphasise that as a Presidential candidate, you should ensure that the Political Campaigns are devoid of rancour, hate speech, inflammatory and unguided utterances capable of instigating violence. Nigeria deserves peaceful, transparent 2027 elections,” he said.
The former CJN also urged the PRP candidate to abide by his party’s constitution and code of conduct, saying a presidential candidate seeking the mandate to lead the entire country was expected to demonstrate exemplary behaviour and earn the confidence of voters.
He further urged Duke to encourage his party members and supporters to comply fully with electoral laws and guidelines issued by the electoral authorities, arguing that such conduct would deepen democratic practice and promote a culture of integrity and public trust.
Ariwoola said the conduct of presidential candidates would be particularly important to the success or failure of the 2027 elections.
“The Council believes that the ability of Nigerians to once more prove the prophets of doom and our detractors wrong largely depends on the conduct of the Presidential contestants during the forthcoming 2027 general elections,” he said.
He added that candidates had a responsibility to consolidate Nigeria’s democratic gains and avoid rhetoric capable of worsening political tension.
“It is worth repeating that candidates should avoid hate speeches, inflammatory comments and falsehood in their campaigns,” Ariwoola said.
“Nigerians expect the Presidential campaign to focus on issues and problems that confront their daily lives with a view of providing solutions. The Council will continue to remind all the stakeholders to always listen to their own wise counsel before acting.”
Responding, Duke assured the Council that he and the PRP would conduct their campaign within the law and would not resort to violence or confrontation even where they believed they had been treated unfairly.
The former Cross River governor, however, expressed concern about the state of Nigeria’s democracy, describing contemporary politics as increasingly becoming a “do-or-die affair.”
He attributed the problem partly to the transformation of politics from what should be a vocation of public service into an occupation through which many people seek personal survival and economic advancement.
“Each time there is an election in Nigeria, it is as if we are going to war. That is not a very good description of our democratic process because democracy connotes peace and compromise,” Duke said.
He nevertheless assured the Council that his party would not take the law into its own hands.
“Even when things are going wrong for us, we will not resort to violence or confrontation. There is a due course of action to be taken, and we will align with that,” he stated.
Duke argued that politics ought to be treated as a vocation through which citizens offer ideas about how society should be governed, rather than as a permanent source of livelihood.
He said political decisions ultimately affect every profession and sector of society because elected officials and governments make the laws, regulations and policies under which citizens live and work.
The PRP presidential candidate further linked the increasing desperation surrounding politics to unemployment, economic hardship and other social challenges which, he said, had pushed more Nigerians to view politics principally as an occupation.
He therefore called for a rethink of the country’s political system and said Nigeria needed to “go back to the drawing board” to redefine critical aspects of its democratic and governance arrangements.
The Ariwoola-led Council said it would continue engaging presidential candidates and other stakeholders as the 2027 elections approach, with particular emphasis on peaceful campaigning, respect for electoral laws, issue-based debate and prevention of violence.
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