Money politics is one aspect that is destroying political or electoral trust it has badly crept into the country’s political lexicon, and makes the electoral process compromised, resulting in elections not being free and fair. The Nigerian polity is characterised by this reckless use of money to buy votes and even conscience, and at all levels and stages of electoral politics in Nigeria, the politicians (both the elective office aspirant and their sponsors- Sympathisers, in-groups and godfathers) are ready to channel their financial and material resources to secure electoral victory at the polls or at the tribunals.
My contention here is not that the use of money by political parties or any person or group of persons in politics has inherent corruptive influence. After all, money is needed in electoral politics for mobilisation of political campaigns and rallies, printing of bill boards, posters and manifestoes, production of party emblems and other symbols, print-media advertisement, radio and television announcements and jingles, etc. However, the problem is the noticeable corrupting influence of money and vote-buying as displayed in the present day Nigerian electoral system, which destroys the actual democratic grandstanding of one man one vote.
The dangers of this are many and of ripple effects. One of them is as Milbrath puts it, that because of money-politics and vote-buying, “People of integrity and those who genuinely want to serve the people but have no money to buy votes may lose out in the electoral contest, while bad candidates with abundant financial resources or those with corrupt tendencies may get elected.” Because of this electoral malpractice inherent in money-politics and vote-buying, the favourable electoral results emanating from elections would not represent the true wishes of voters or reflect their actual political preference.
To ensure that the country in its various levels and stages of electioneering for elective positions, must change mostly its attitude on vote-buying and money-politics, godfatherism and professed elitist materialism, as well as the recurrent characteristics of its gladiatorial politics.
Like the factors mentioned in the features of the Nigerian electoral system above, the power of incumbency in Nigeria still remains another factor in the determination of election outcomes, as well as hosting credible elections in the country. All State’s or political jurisdictional apparatus and even the State treasury are employed to ensure the return of the incumbent elective office holder, even in the situation whereby the incumbent leader is to vacate his or her post after spending the maximum term in office, the person will do all within his or her power to ensure the successful election of the candidate on the platform of his political party, doing this by using the media, the security agencies, and all other resources in their disposal.
As a result of the huge salary attached with both executive and legislative elective positions in Nigeria, those who find their way into this public offices find it extremely hard relinquishing power as they become acclimatised with the financial rewards and other privileges that come with their office.
Consequentially, the enormous advantage possessed by the incumbent elective office holder makes it extremely hard to dislodge an incumbent elective office holder in Nigeria, except by some degree of miscalculations as occurred in certain electoral positions in the 2011 general elections both at the national and state levels. And as the nouveau en terrain strives with his or her political godfathers, financiers, supporters, agents and thugs to ensure successful outing, many techniques for cheating are employed, the polity and state is overheated and electoral procedures marred with irregularities, leading to unsustainable democracy.
I need to stress further here that the activity of the so called godfathers, which has been treated above, is also a major cause of flaws in the Nigerian electoral process. Godfathers in the Nigerian politics are as old as the country itself. This godfatherism is so pronounced and plain to see for all who cares to the extent that they are seen as first citizens in the political jurisdiction where they dominate and exert influence. They are involved in candidates imposition during party primaries, they exterminate opposing elements within and outside their political party that might prevent the assumption to power of their godson, and they also disrupt the voting process by hiring hoodlums to perform acts of violence, all in the aim of achieving their goal of controlling power and receiving huge financial returns on their investments.
More so, the concept of northern factor in the Nigerian politics must henceforth receive a national reaction both on the northern region’s notion of being born-to-rule the country and thus the central determiner of successful elections and peace in the country, as well as the obvious illiteracy that characterise the political culture in the area, which ruins free and fair elections in the country.
Thus, another major reason why free and fair election remains elusive in Nigeria is the high rate of illiteracy in the country, especially in the North, most of the literates are also ignorant of the electoral process. This development results to a flock of electorates who are unaware of their rights and privileges, and this make them easy target of politician’s manoeuvres.
They can be easily cajoled, threatened, and bribed into the wrong exercise of their franchise, and some will even aid the politicians in ballot-stuffing, election thuggery and general disrupt of the electoral process. This northern factor in politics also exists in every Geo-political zone and State in Nigeria, in every Senatorial zone, in every Federal and State constituency, in every Local Council Area, ward and polling unit; in relative manners and must be looked into as a matter of urgency; if we really mean free and fair elections.s
Just as we have seen above, there are some networks and connections of rich elites who are the movers and shakers of the economy. They run the financial wheel and means of production in the country, and at the end of a particular regime or at the ousting of a political party, these networks consider it as the end of their influence in government, therefore they also do all within their powers in order that their link in government remains undisrupted.
These powerful political financiers subvert all tenets of democracy and result to the use of brutal force, corruption, and intimidation to the detriment of free and fair elections in order to maintain the status quo. This orientation also has to be reacted against.
Summarily, Nigeria has not been able to have free and fair elections due to the systemic corruption inherent in the electoral processes and the activities of the politicians themselves, and thus finds it difficult to lead a sustainable democracy and stable polity.
This is because, systematic corruption has for a very long time find its way into all areas of the country’s political and socio-economic systems. This makes electoral malpractice a recurrent élan-vital in the nation’s democratic processes. To this effect, elections are rigged and manipulated by every Dick and Harry involved in the electoral process, both in umpiring and exercise of franchise and suffrage.
Thus, it is easy for an electoral official to collect money from a political party, candidate or their agents for the purpose of altering the outcome of an election. Even the voters are given money in exchange for their votes. In some cases, the election officials or the voters themselves demand for this bribe. The consequence of this is the flaw of the whole electoral process, and constant blockage to the idea of having free and fair elections, which ought to be the universal remedy for a sustainable democracy in Nigeria, obtainable through the principle of one man one vote, as we dream and aspire to have.