Popular Nigerian social media personality Tunde Ednut has criticised a young Nigerian who described election rigging as a political strategy while reflecting on the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.
Ednut reacted to a comment by a social media user identified as Raymond A. Miles, who argued that the opposition was defeated in the 2023 election partly because the winning side deployed rigging as a strategy.
In his comment, Miles wrote: “He defeated us, Baba. Rigging is also a strategy, and he deployed it. He won, and we were defeated, despite our moral standing. That is the uncomfortable truth. And if we do nothing differently, there is every reason to believe the same thing could happen again. Simple!”
Reacting to the statement, Ednut expressed concern over what he described as the growing tendency among some young Nigerians to accept electoral malpractice as a normal part of politics.
“Can you just imagine what this young Nigerian just wrote?” Ednut began.
He argued that years of alleged misconduct by political leaders could influence the younger generation’s understanding of acceptable political behaviour.
According to him, the comment appeared to justify election rigging rather than condemn it, raising concerns about the values being embraced by some young Nigerians.
Ednut also criticised what he described as the normalisation of wrongdoing in the country, arguing that people who demand accountability and adherence to democratic principles are sometimes treated as though they are the ones at fault.
He questioned how anyone could justify manipulating election results or interfering with the votes of citizens, insisting that electoral malpractice should not be accepted as a legitimate political strategy.
The social media personality further expressed concern that some young Nigerians, instead of demanding fairness, transparency and credible elections, were beginning to defend practices that could undermine the country’s democratic institutions.
“This is one of my biggest concerns about Nigeria. When wrongdoing becomes so common that the younger generation starts seeing it as normal, then we have a very serious problem,” he said.
Ednut maintained that election rigging should be recognised as electoral malpractice rather than a legitimate political tactic.
“Election rigging is not politics. Election rigging is electoral malpractice, and it should never be normalized or justified,” he added.
