A political scientist, Prof. Sylvester Akhaine, has urged political parties to make real issues and political education the focus of their campaigns  to ensure peaceful electioneering.

He made the call during interview with the on Saturday in Lagos.

 Akhaine, a  professor of Political Science at the Lagos State University (LASU), said campaigns should be used to explain candidates’ plans to Nigerians rather than create tension among political opponents.

Mr Akhaine said political education was important in helping voters understand the issues at stake and make informed choices during elections.

“What we really need is political education,” he said.

 Mr Akhaine said once voters were properly sensitised to the need for change and good governance, they would be better placed to decide who to support at the polls.

He, however, warned that electoral campaigns could be abused through hate speech, disinformation, misinformation and propaganda.

 “Electoral campaigns, as you and I know, are prone to abuse in terms of hate speech, disinformation, misinformation, propaganda. All of these should not be  part of campaigns. Campaigns  should be about presenting your plans and programmes to the people,” he said.

The political scientist said Nigerians had shown that they wanted peaceful campaigns and a level playing field for all contestants.

He urged political parties and candidates to sell their vision to prospective voters and allow the electorate to make their choices freely.

According to him, campaigns should be centred on how candidates intend to address the problems confronting the country.

Mr Akhaine said political contestants should tell Nigerians what they intended to do to transform society rather than rely on what he described as “statistical lies.”

“Tell Nigerians what you want to do to transform society. It’s not about statistical lies; it’s about reality,” he said.

 He noted that campaigns that were not properly tailored to issues could degenerate into name-calling and labelling, thereby increasing tension among contestants and affecting the electoral process.

Mr Akhaine, however, expressed optimism that the campaign season had started on a positive note, particularly with debates around issues affecting Nigerians.

He urged political contestants to raise the bar by bringing meaningful issues and practical solutions to the table as electioneering continued.

Mr Akhaine said the focus should remain on presenting ideas that would help Nigerians assess the candidates and make informed decisions at the polls.

(NAN)