'Lai Olurode 1.2 Brief Theoretical Insight Political power remains highly prized in Africa. Outside of government related activities, there are limited opportunities or other profitable pursuits. It was for this that Kwame Nkrumah counseled that seek ye first the political kingdom and all other things will be added. In a country where oil rents are highly centralized, being out of government and its related institutions might be akin to being condemned to a life of penury and despondency. This is the logic that dictated the almost insatiable quest for power through coup d'état and counter coups in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s up to the late 1990s in most of Africa. In response to national and global pressure for political reforms, the forces of democratization are taking root in most of Africa. The tempo differs from country to country but the force cannot be denied now nor swept under the carpet. The clamours for reforms from below in spite of excruciating poverty of the majority underscore the universal nature of the quest for human freedom and its centrality to development. This was the theoretical pre-occupation of the work by Amartya(1999) in his book Development as freedom. And free, fair and credible elections are significant expressions of freedom. Africa can be said to exemplify this theory in ways that can be interpreted as a paradox. Though the promises of democracy are far from being realized, Africans remain optimistic about the future of democratization to deliver social goods in the final analysis. There are very rich illustrations of this optimism in the midst of daunting challenges. Just recall the deaths of over 1,000 people in Kenya in the aftermath of the 2007 elections, 4 ELECTION SECURITY IN NIGERIA: MATTERS ARISING Election Security in Nigeria: Is there a Silver Lining? but by March 2013, Kenyans trooped out again in large numbers to express their preferences of political leadership and social policies. The resilience of the people of Cote d'lvoire in agitating for political reforms should also not be in doubt. In spite of formidable obstacles, Alasanne Ouattara finally reclaimed his mandate. The doggedness and consistent determination of the people of Nigeria to actualise their aspirations about good governance are impressive. They remain confident in a better tomorrow and had so far refused to advocate or canvass for a military alternative to the present political challenges and insecurity occasioned by acts of terrorism in parts of Nigeria. Nigerians may not be as trusting of their social institutions as Kenyans and Ghanaians but they nurse high expectations about the future of democracy, even though in the first decade, democratization had not resulted in a life more abundant(See Erinosho, 2010:59-90). Democracy is not just about bread and butter but also about the intangibles. Democratic institutions such as the Judiciary and the Media hold out good promises. Indeed,'support for democracy has not waned'(Maettig, 2010:242) in Nigeria in spite of challenges remaining. This explained why Nigerians stood and spoke against the third term agenda in 2007. Nigerians stoutly spoke against tenure elongation in 2007. The-occupy-Nigeria demonstration of January 2012 was to be understood in this context. However, the theoretical puzzles which I pursued in the first publication(See Security Challenges of Election Management in Nigeria 2012) remain relevant, why should one be optimistic about election security in an unsecured global environment? ELECTION SECURITY IN NIGERIA: MATTERS ARISING 5