The influence of money in politics in Nigeria is becoming more nauseating, and the danger is that Nigeria may soon become a plutocracy for the rich rather than a democracy for the people.
It is an irony that money has become the deciding factor in Nigerian politics. It has served the purposes of consolidating elite rule as well as the political exclusion of the non-elite.
A discernible ritual of money politics has enabled the power elite to remain in power, and newcomers to develop the elite character.
Money politics is at the heart of the general crisis of democracy and governance in Nigeria, and unless this is mitigated, reforms aimed at bringing about good governance and curbing other anomalies in the political system may not produce the desired results.
No doubt, we cannot play politics without money. But a situation where money is placed above every other factor is not democracy. It is a move towards plutocracy, where the government is in the hands of the richest class of people in society.
We have been on this route of monetisation of politics for a long time, especially since the return of democracy in the Second Republic in 1979. Instead of politics of ideas, we have been playing politics of money. This, among other characteristics, has bedeviled our polity and has led us to where we are today: corruption, violence, poverty, insecurity, political instability and under-development.
The high nomination fees charged by leading political parties to secure their tickets for the 2023 general election have reawakened the conversation around the monetisation of politics in Nigeria.
To run for president in the ruling All Progressives Congress, an aspirant must cough out a whopping sum of N100 million just for the nomination form, while those who aspire to the office of governor would pay N50 million. Aspirants for the Senate, House of Representatives and House of Assembly were charged N20 million, N10 million and N2 million respectively for forms.
“No doubt, we cannot play politics without money. But a situation where money is placed above every other factor is not democracy. It is a move towards plutocracy, where the government is in the hands of the richest class of people in the society”
Costs of nomination forms in the main opposition People’s Democratic Party were relatively lower, though still high. It was N40 million for presidential; N21 million for governorship; N3.5 million for senatorial; N2.5 million for House of Representatives; and N600, 000 for House of Assembly.
To worsen matters, some shadowy groups were paying for, on behalf of prominent presidential candidates, these prohibitive nomination costs.
Yet, section 91 (9) of the 2010 Electoral Act (as amended) states that “No individual or other entity shall donate more than one million naira (1,000,000) to any candidate.”
The punishment for those who violate this provision is spelt out thus: “A candidate who knowingly acts in contravention of this section commits an offence and on convictions shall be liable – (a) in case of presidential election to a maximum fine of N1,000,000.00 or imprisonment of 12 months or both.”
The rationale behind the finance campaign laws may be many but one stands out: To prevent office-seekers from being captured by special interest groups should they win.
These prohibitive fees just to purchase nomination forms are simply unconscionable given how they narrow the space only to politicians who may have deep pockets but may be low in the talent required to help resolve the deep crises afflicting the nation.
Unfortunately, the law on campaign finances has always been treated with contempt by practically all politicians, especially by the big parties in Nigeria.
For instance, the electoral act prescribes limits to how much candidates can spend on their elections but not only has the law been observed in the breach with elections becoming a bazaar where stupendous amounts of money are spent, the whole issue of campaign expenses in Nigeria is riddled with unwholesome practices.
These huge costs have alienated the ordinary Nigerians from participation in politics which now looks like a cult of the wealthy.
It is no longer news that the primary elections of the PDP conducted to choose its candidates nationwide were heavily monetized and brazenly corrupted.
In many parts of the country, reports monitored through the media are indicative of wanton disregard for rules, corruption of delegates and voters and imposition of candidates by godfathers.
In Kaduna State, Adam Namadi, who is the son of a former Vice President of Nigeria, Namadi Sambo, confessed to bribing delegates with the sum of N2m each to elect him as PDP candidate for election into the House of Representatives for Kaduna North federal constituency.
When he lost the election to a higher bidder, he engaged unorthodox means through vigilantes and hunters, to recover his money.
The embarrassing part of this story is that Namadi confirmed that leaders and major stakeholders of the PDP were well aware of this ugly practice and they even endorsed it.
In Ondo State, Ayo Akinyelure, a PDP aspirant for the Senate who lost his primary election, was reported to have demanded for the return of cars and hotel money that he gave to party leaders in Ondo State to facilitate his victory.
Tanko Rossi Sabo, a delegate from Sanga LGA of Kaduna State, openly displayed bundles of Naira notes that he received as a delegate to the just concluded PDP presidential primary election. He shared the loot with members of his community.
It is incredible that none of the security agencies have found it worthy to interrogate the open display of bribery and corruption by politicians and their supporters.
In an attempt to stem this ugly tide, the National Assembly recently amended the Electoral Act to empower INEC to prosecute electoral offences. Under and by virtue of section 121 of the Electoral Act, 2022, any person who directly or indirectly corruptly makes any gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement or agreement to or for any person, in order to induce such person to procure or to endeavour to procure the return of any person as a member of a legislative house or to an elective office or the vote of any voter at any election, commits an offence punishable with a fine or imprisonment.
As we approach the 2023 general elections, INEC and the anti-graft agencies bear the responsibility to sanitize the electoral space to eradicate unwanted conduct that may undermine the credibility of the electoral process.
Until Nigeria embraces politics of ideas instead of politics of money, we will not only worsen the state of poverty, insecurity, political instability and under-development in the country but also continue to neglect the primary purpose of government as enshrined in Section 14(b) of Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution which is the security and welfare of the people.
