According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, the word ‘Mental’ means “the total emotional and intellectual response of an individual to external reality.”
Likewise, from the same dictionary, the word ‘Choose’ connotes “the act of picking between two or more possibilities”
On its part the word ‘Dimension’ in this context implies “perspective, scope or form”
Hence the Mental Dimension of Choosing a Political Party Flag-Bearer could be said to mean, the extent to which the Individual/ groups’ thought process affects the decision they make in choosing who becomes their political flag-bearer.
Elections can be said to be democratic only when they constitute a real competition among political parties and/or independent candidates. Voters should have a free and informed choice to mentally analyze and conclude on who among various candidates, will be their political representatives without subjection to direct or indirect coercion through monetary, tribalistic, religious or information manipulation.
There must be respect of the basic human rights and freedom to speak, organise, stand for election, and hold meetings or campaign rallies without intimidation or threat of arrest.
Citizens must be engaged by the government, political parties and other stakeholders such as political activists, social commentators, the media and even educational institutions to improve their understanding of complex political issues. Government must formulate relevant and demand-driven policy options, and work with other stakeholders listed above to channel public opinion into the electoral and governing process. Only where parties and their candidates are legally recognised and free to form, and function can they fulfill these roles.
Key guiding principles of democratic governance such as freedom of organisation, freedom to stand for election, freedom of speech and assembly, fair and peaceful competition, plurality, inclusion in the electoral process, level playing field, transparency and accountability of political finance and internal party democracy must be sacrosanct as they could and ultimately influence the electorates decisions and actions during the electioneering process.
What we have in Nigeria today is a situation where the people are subjected to mental manipulation by a segment of the political class using external factors such as monetary inducement, religion, tribalism and violence, to influence their thought patterns and ultimately what actions they take during elections. Taking them one after the other.
1. MONETARY INDUCEMENT
This is one major factor that political actors utilise to play on the psyche of the party delegates and the general voting populace, thereby impeding the rights of the people to freedom of choice and democratic representation.
The World Bank estimates that an additional one million people were pushed into poverty in Nigeria between June and November 2021, resulting in a total of about eight million people being relinquished to poverty in 2021 and bringing our nation's poverty headcount to about ninety-one million.
It is this widespread poverty that is weaponized and used to deny the masses of choices and opportunities through monetary inducement to voters before and during elections in exchange for the freedom to exercise their franchise. It is a total violation of human dignity. This is the reality of millions of Nigerians caught in a constant struggle to survive to the extent that their reasoning is beclouded and the nation’s future is sacrificed on the altar of instant gratification.
2. RELIGION
Some religious leaders in what seems like a departure from their true calling have allowed corrupt politicians armed with manipulative hate speeches and divisive messages access to their pulpits.
The result? The teeming populace today would rather vote along religious lines, throwing out the time-tested parameters of merit and leadership capability. This is rather dangerous for a nation like ours as the deepening of religious divide is only a forbearer of conflict and disharmony. It also breeds a system where people attain political office solely because of their religious inclination, leaving us with round pegs in square holes in most cases.
Among the grave consequences of this bad leadership choice is the possibility of anarchy due to conflicts arising from struggle for scarce resources, real and perceived injustice or marginalisation which eventually leads to breakdown of law and order due to the absence of proper governance.

3. TRIBALISM
According to Wikipedia, “tribalism is the state of being organised in, or advocating for, a tribe or tribes”
Tribalism is a social phenomenon associated with the identity of members of a competing communal group(s) seeking to protect and advance their interest in a political system. The relevant communal factor may be language, culture, race, religion and/or common history.
In the Nigeria of today, tribalism now dominates national discourse, controls how people think how they talk, and even who/what they oppose or support. In a bid to further manipulate the minds of the people, the political elites promote tribalism entrenching it in the minds of the young and elderly, even from generation to generation. Tribalism even has its base in the constitution hence the assumption that conflicts in Nigeria are motivated by ethnic competition.
The 2015 presidential election lent further credence to this assertion as it showed a pattern of voting that was deeply ethno-religious. Both candidates had majority of the votes cast in their respective regions of origin. This trend which appears to have been sustained until now is one of the early warning signs of political crisis and must be addressed in time before these constant tribal animosities affect the youth’s psyche and create a legacy of hate and suspicion which could be passed on from generation to generation.
4. VIOLENCE
Elections are the hallmarks of democracy as it serves the purpose for peaceful change in government and confers political legitimacy on the government of the day. Unfortunately, the desperate struggle for power often breeds violence between factional groups who represent one ethno-religious and/or regional Interest.
The other three factors have a direct impact on the prevalence of violence during elections in the following ways:
The poor are induced with money to perpetuate violence before, during and after elections taking advantage of their need for instant gratification. Errant Religious leaders acting a script surreptitiously written by politicians induce their followers to commit violent acts against adherents of other faith through inflammatory messages delivered yes you guessed it from the pulpit and finally, traditional leaders are not spared in this game of mental manipulation as they too engage in whipping up tribal sentiments that push their subjects to violent extremes with the underlying aim of giving undue advantage to their preferred candidates before, during and after elections.
The immediate result of violence during elections is the instilling of fear in the hearts of the electorates causing them to either stay away from the polling booths or exercise their franchise under an atmosphere of tension and intimidation with the political actors subliminally dictating to them, for whom they eventually cast their votes.
There are other factors at play in a multi-religious, highly diverse, and populous country like Nigeria, however the aforementioned constitute the most threat to the credibility of our electoral process and by extension pose a danger to our collective future as a nation. Continuous failure of the electoral process to bring up competent candidates will eventually lead to the collapse of democracy and governance if left unchecked.
Having said these, the panacea for mental manipulation as described in the preceding paragraphs are number 1, EDUCATION, number 2, EDUCATION and Number 3 EDUCATION. Meaning therefore that there are no short-cuts.
EDUCATION AS A PANACEA
The role of education in democracy cannot be over-emphasized. Democracy is about politics and politics gives rise to leadership. Education on the other hand refers to the acquisition of knowledge and knowledge is in a literal sense information, skills, understanding and experience acquired to make a living. To harmonize both concepts therefore, education and democracy are two inseparable terms that must work together to breed effective leadership in a democratic setting.
It is a fact that democracy and education have what can be described as an intimate relationship such that in a democracy, education is given primacy, for it is pre-requisite for the survival and success of the former. Similarly, education fosters a democratic temper in the minds of people.
Democracy itself is a system where no one is exploited, where everybody is assured a fair standard of living, where there is equal opportunity for work according to abilities and capacities, where economic organisation is based on collective or co-operative basis and where economic projects are geared for the benefit of the community at large.
From a social perspective it connotes the absence of all distractions based on creed, birth, religion, language or possession of money. Everyone is guaranteed fundamental rights, and equality of opportunities is given for the full development of the citizenry.
Looking at this from a wider perspective, you will find further proof that the two terms are positively correlated. The Greek philosopher, Plato studied politics and government, he believed that the best government has a philosopher in charge. The mind of philosophers according to him are trained to use reason and understand ideas. He maintained that the knowledge they acquired would help them govern their people wisely and create best conditions for the people they rule. It goes without saying therefore that education of the political actors is necessary for democracy and good governance to thrive as a proper understanding of democratic tenets and the purpose of governance amongst them will reduce to the barest minimum the tendency to manipulate the electorate and even voters.
Bernard Shaw once said “Democracy implies election of the corrupt few by the ignorant many. Therefore, education is the major means to enrich the strengths and overcome the weaknesses of the people. It is also a means for the widespread diffusion of democratic values”
Education remains the greatest instrument of social emancipation, through education, democracy establishes, maintains and protects the spirit of equality.
From the foregoing, it is obvious that democracy can function properly in any country only if most citizens are properly educated. Broad-based Democracy and Leadership studies should be fully reflected in the academic curriculum with the full dossier of philosophy, psychology and sociology, imbibing the ideals of democracy in the citizenry from infancy and inculcating in them the spirit of tolerance, the courage of convictions, a passion for social justice and social service. That way they will be equipped with the power of judgement, scientific thinking and discernment of right from wrong.

*Courtesy Like Minds 4A New Nigeria*
*Copyright Like Minds 4A New Nigeria*