By Stephen Simon
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Council of the Wise of the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development (SCDDD), chaired by former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, has called on presidential candidates to eschew hate speech, inflammatory rhetoric, and conduct capable of inciting violence.
The council made the plea in Abuja during an advocacy engagement with the presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and former Governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke.
Speaking during the visit, Justice Ariwoola emphasized that presidential contestants and their supporters must strictly adhere to electoral laws and guidelines, urging them to focus their campaigns on concrete solutions to Nigeria’s socioeconomic challenges rather than engaging in personal attacks.
Reflecting on the nation’s democratic journey since 1999, the former CJN lamented that past elections have often been marred by violence, vote-buying, rigging, and hate speech, turning political contests into a “matter of life and death”.
He recalled the controversial 2007 presidential election, noting that the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua acknowledged the flaws in his election and set up the Electoral Reform Committee led by the late former CJN, Justice Mohammed Lawal Uwais.
Ariwoola noted with regret that the failure to fully implement the Uwais Committee’s recommendations before President Yar’Adua’s demise in 2010 allowed factors driving electoral violence to persist—manifesting in the 2011 post-election violence where over 1,000 lives were lost.
He explained that the Council of the Wise, originally established in 2014 with support from the MacArthur Foundation and recently reconstituted in June 2026 as an 11-member body, will maintain active mediation and advocacy engagements before, during, and after the 2027 polls.
Responding, Donald Duke assured the council that the PRP would abide by the law and refrain from violence or confrontation, even in the face of political provocation.
However, Duke expressed concern over the state of the nation’s political culture, describing contemporary politics as a desperate “do-or-die affair”. He attributed the situation to high unemployment and economic hardship, which have transformed politics from a noble vocation of public service into an occupation for personal survival. Calling for a fundamental rethink of the political system, the PRP candidate urged stakeholders to “go back to the drawing board” to ensure that the genuine will of the people prevails in 2027.
