'Lai Olurode and MK Hammanga 86 ELECTION SECURITY IN NIGERIA: MATTERS ARISING Chapter Six ELECTION SECURITY FINANCE Eze Onyekpere Esq 6.1. Introduction The title of this discourse assumes that there is the need for security in elections. Yes, this is a fact which no one can contest especially in emerging democracies and fragile states where the institutions of governance are yet to mature. In societies where elections are seen as zero sum games,(i.e. winners take all) elections come with a potential for crisis and for which special preparations and planning are required to prevent the crystallization of crisis. But this is not to state that elections by their nature are inherently prone to crisis but the fact that the electoral process, if not properly managed, could exacerbate the tensions and fault lines already existing in society. Elections, if not well planned can easily latch on to pre-existing cleavages in ways that can degenerate into election fiasco and which can task security agencies to the breaking point. A topic such as the above raises several posers and these include What is the social, political and economic context in which security is to be provided? ELECTION SECURITY IN NIGERIA: MATTERS ARISING 87