The last few weeks leading up to the elections in Nigeria have been fraught with very negative narratives, and the last days leading up to the Governorship elections in Lagos have been particularly harrowing and frankly speaking, very heartbreaking. Because of the political ambitions and greed of a few, we have seen the manipulative use of bigotry and ethnic hatred to divide what was a peacefully cohabiting and mutually beneficial economic and social community that is Lagos; Nigeria.

In recent times, we have witnessed scapegoating; politicians blaming a particular ethnic group and supporters of an opposition political party for all sorts of imaginary crimes and using this to appeal to the fears and frustrations of voters. We have seen polarization; with politicians and their party supporters using very divisive rhetoric to create an us-vs-them mentality, pitting one ethnic group against another. This has resulted in extreme tribalism, with voters identifying strongly with their own ethnic group and viewing others with suspicion or hostility.

These tactics are very unethical and harmful to democracy. A political party that seeks to take and hold on to power by any means necessary including state-sanctioned thuggery, violence and the encouragement of bigotry and ethnic hatred, can never form a legitimate and truly inclusive government. Politicians who use ethnic hatred to divide voters are appealing to the worst instincts of human nature, and their actions can have lasting negative effects on society.

The shameful reports of electoral violence and the deliberate and coordinated disenfranchisement of Igbo voters yesterday in Lagos is wrong; and to say it plainly, setting a dangerously evil precedent.