WITH BY BÁMIDÉLÉ ADÉMÓLÁ-OLÁTÉJÚ
With what we have seen progressively in the last ten years, vote
buying has become entrenched. The poorest and most victimised now
expect the disbursement of cash before voting in elections, as the one
and only thing they get from an ineffectual government as their share
of the commonwealth. What that births is a vicious cycle…
Prebendalism was coined by Richard Joseph to describe what has become
a central feature of Nigerian politics and governance. In his book,
Democracy and Prebendal Politics (1987), he used prebendalism to
describe the appropriation of state offices by officials and the
diversion of their resources to serve themselves, their cronies and
their affiliated ethnic and other identity groups. Nigeria’s
democratic transitions have been defined by prebendal politics and its
electoral regimes characterised by pervasive vote buying and voter
intimidation. Buying votes is the oldest trick in democracy. In
Nigeria, there is a strategic logic to buying votes by targeting poor
voters in electorally competitive local governments.
In the recently concluded Kogi election, it is evident that the
militarisation of off-season election may be here to stay because the
party at the centre often deploys all its resources towards winning.
The political game has become deadlier than we used to know it as,
with no one knowing the rules of the game anymore. Umpires who are
supposed to be impartial are now partisan. They even help in moving
the goalposts and changing the rules in the middle of the game to
achieve a predetermined result. The Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) has lost control of the electoral process, the
judiciary seems like a pawn in the game and it is obvious that
candidates from the opposition parties were not playing on a level
field. Incisive rhetorics were flying around from political gladiators
and violence was foretold. Kogi put its own twist on the Fayose
playbook of 2014, by the instrumental use of law enforcement as agents
of intimidation, in blatant violation of electoral rules.
It is so easily noticed that Nigeria’s commitment to democracy is
paper thin. Other than elections, there is widespread disdain for
broader democratic values, like freedom of expression, equal
opportunity and justice.
With the N10 billion largesse from the federal government, electoral
finance crossed every decent limit previously known. The All
Progressives Congress (APC) knew that Governor Yahaya Bello had no
good record to run on and no credibility. His party rallied round him
to keep Kogi in the column and make future elections much easier to
win. The ten billion naira created an unprecedented campaign wealth
designed to capture the voters through direct inducements with cash
and food. Despite all these, a key concept of democratic elections –
making every vote count – was rendered useless by ballot snatching.
This would have been curtailed if the president had signed the
amendment to the Electoral Act.
If we must have a level playing field, we must ask for free and fair
elections without been seen as unpatriotic spoilsports. Every
succeeding election has become a radical rupture from those before it.
The desire to win elections, as if elections are ends in themselves,
is derivative of the ‘end justifies the means’ culture taking root in
the country. It is so easily noticed that Nigeria’s commitment to
democracy is paper thin. Other than elections, there is widespread
disdain for broader democratic values, like freedom of expression,
equal opportunity and justice. Rising majoritarian disrespect for
institutions, processes and accountability betrays the thin veneer of
democratic governance in the country.
We need to go back to the era of building, nurturing and funding
programmatic political parties with strong traditions, ideologies and
records of delivering on their promises to voters.
With what we have seen progressively in the last ten years, vote
buying has become entrenched. The poorest and most victimised now
expect the disbursement of cash before voting in elections, as the one
and only thing they get from an ineffectual government as their share
of the commonwealth. What that births is a vicious cycle in which
voters have become dependent on cash, which in turn makes it
impossible for credible people without enormous cash backing to offer
themselves for elections. Paradoxically, those who suffer the most
from corruption become the least likely to oppose it and demand
reform.
The Kogi election has been won and lost. We all have to acknowledge
that it is unhealthy to consider elections as the only democratic game
in town and winning polls as the only goal to be scored. Our leaders
must think of future generations of Nigerians. A great Nigeria cannot
emerge from this prebendal state, unless we effect changes in our
political institutions and culture. We need to go back to the era of
building, nurturing and funding programmatic political parties with
strong traditions, ideologies and records of delivering on their
promises to voters. Releasing ten billion naira today, twenty billion
tomorrow to fund elections, will lead to expensive stomach
infrastructure elections which the country can ill afford. Nigeria
must think!
Bámidélé Adémólá-Olátéjú a farmer, youth advocate and political
analyst writes via PREMIUM TIMES.
