Notwithstanding that section 22 and 121 of the Electoral Act 2022 criminalise offences of buying and selling of voters’ cards and sundry issues of bribery and corruption during elections, elections in Nigeria are still disgusting incidences of money politics in Nigeria. The recent off cycle elections in Edo and Ondo States indubitably exemplify that Nigeria elections are still at the base level of cash and carry or vote buying. They call it “see and buy” or “stomach infrastructure”. Meanwhile, the United States of America just elected her incoming 47th President. Not much was heard about vote buying. No candidate is talking about election petition. The loser in that election has called and congratulated the winner. Transition programmes from the outgoing President to the incoming have been activated. Something must be wrong with Nigeria and her brand of elections.
There is a humungous nexus between weaponisation of poverty and money politics Nigeria. Simply stated, weaponisation of poverty is a vicious scheme that ensures that generations remain poor and are never lifted out despite the numerous efforts. A story credited to P. O Lumumba of Kenya is to the effect that “I held 250 town hall meetings. I articulated solutions to our problems in my constituency. My opponent did not campaign at all. He gathered money and showed up one day to elections. He distributed money and won. Africans are not moved by ideas, their stomach leads”. This is the sad reality. The Nigerian voter is guilty of appetitive politics too.
Overtime, Nigerians are too quick to blame the public official who is not performing or fulfilling his electoral promises. Why not? Nobody is making excuses for the public official who abuses his oath of office or violates the law of fiduciaries relating to prudence and safety of public funds entrusted in his or her care. No reason is good enough. In no circumstance is corruption or ineptitude in public office excusable. All the same, some things may be responsible for our not getting the best out of our elections and out of our elected public officials. One major one reason or setback is the appetitive nature of our voters and the counterproductive voting pattern that is stomach infrastructure dependent. The cost of taking political power in Nigeria is embarrassingly outrageous. Put differently, the price of purchasing power via the ballot boxes is prohibitive, insane, alarming and killing. Anyone who is not prepared to deal with this as a key militating factor is unserious and could as well have come from outer space.
Poverty in the land has made cerebral excellence, oratorical brilliance or mental strength or track record of achievements not to have any role in Nigerian elections and public office. This kakistocracy is very disturbing although it remains the truth. No one is left in doubt that incentive responses and consumatory behaviours by the voters determine who wins or loses in our elections. This is the truth and nothing but the painful truth, whether now or in the foreseeable future. How long shall that continue to be so and at what cost to democracy and its inability to guarantee dividends of democracy in the polity? Election in Nigeria is money, money, money! That is why moneybags and godfathers abound and hold sway in the jaundiced electoral process. Cash is King! Three things needed in an election are number one, money; number two, money; number three, money! You can add the fourth one, money!
Hunger has made voters to be characteristically inclined towards “money for hand, back for ground”. No morality or ethics in the election and voting process! This “pay before service” mentality has ruined Nigerian elections so much so that merit, competence, cognate experience and credibility play little or no roles in our electoral outcomes. The truth is that after all the candidates have been bled to death financially and stripped off all their fixed assets, after all the candidates have been made to compromise their spirituality and dignity (some are made to take oath take before shrines or religious priests), after all the candidates have been arm-twisted and exploited by godfathers and street urchins and neighbourhood cartels, only one of them will win or declared winner. The rest unsuccessful candidates would have lost their life savings as well as become terribly devasted in the winner-take-all roguish business of power play politics. Talk of Billions of Naira, Dollars, Euro, and Pounds that have gone down the drain in what may be dubbed a grand gamble! The successful candidate or declared winner will be hoisted with a fait accompli -his investment and expenses must be recovered and recouped at all cost. Do you blame him? It was a winner-take-all after all. The point being made here is that expensive politics is antithetical to service delivery. Truth is that the voters lack conscience and “ate” their future before now or even before casting their votes. It is however difficult to divorce the perverse effect of weaponised poverty on poor political choices.
Forget pretences and holier than thou attitude, the snag is that almost everyone without exception is involved in this mindless extortion from political parties and their candidates. The shortlist will include but not limited to the rich, the poor, the educated, the uneducated, the market men and women, importers, exporters, Okada riders and bus/taxi drivers, idle agberos, students, women and youth groups, internet blog owners, journalists, wheel barrow pushers. Please do not exclude the market men and women (meat/garri/vegetable sellers), book sellers, timber dealers, medical and native doctors, lawyers, engineers, civil society organisations (CSOs/NGOs), the unregistered voter and PVC enabled Voters as they are all involved in this electoral bazaar and brigandage. One is not too proud to volunteer that our religious bodies and traditional institutions and their leaders are deeply enmeshed too in this show of shame… A negligible few are clean anyway! Let us whisper in a low tone that they are even more expensive to “treat” or settle than the youth groups that can be settled with peanuts or what is called “chicken change”.
It is public knowledge that you need heavy sums of money and expensive choice drinks or SUVs to get the endorsement of some top religious leaders and first class traditional rulers. How are the mighty fallen? Their support does not come cheap although they may not even vote and can only cast one vote in the unlikely event that they choose to vote at all. Apparently compromised, they become deaf and dumb and less critical after the candidates who settled ahead of time assume office and become underperformers. Let’s not forget about the hefty logistics involved in handling or sorting out security agencies, some compromised Election Observers and the almighty electoral umpires called INEC staff and adhoc officials.
In Nigeria, election is money game show…Talk of everything spoiling from the top or is it from the bottom or middle! Why turn round to complain when the Nigeria voter has always sold on credit to an unknown customer? It is a vicious cycle. On an optimistic note, the Nigerian voter can truly vote his choice when he is freed from the stranglehold of poverty, hunger, misery, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The Nigerian voter is often charged to vote according to conscience. We ask again, what is the conscience of a hungry and malnourished citizen? As late Nelson Mandela said, “Poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the action of human beings”. Nigerian elections can become hygienic, credible, free and less toxic by concerted actions of human beings.
A new normal is possible!
