How millions are raining in Nigeria’s election funding is a pointer to the fact that many things are wrong with this country. In a country where the majority lower class citizens are struggling for three square meals a day, and the few upper-class citizens are dolling out millions of naira is a problem.
When one of the political parties, the APC announced its interest and nomination form fee, many of us came out to say that it is too outrageous and could encourage looting. Some critics pointed out that the form fee was to scare away some aspirants and that it was going to be reviewed.
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In one of my articles published on my Facebook page a penultimate week, exactly on the 20th of April, I analyzed how much it may cost to win a presidential election in Nigeria in 2023. I posited that after purchasing the presidential form for example in the APC with a whooping sum of N100 million, such an aspirant will have to budget at least N200,000 to woo each delegate whose number of about 7,800 across the nation will cost over N1,560,000 billion.
The aspirant also will have to settle the traditional rulers, who have become political puppets and who are considered to have high voting influence, with at least N5 million each.
Although the total number of traditional rulers in Nigeria can not be ascertained, it is said that there are over 250 ethnic groups and the least of these ethnic groups have nothing less than 10 major traditional rulers.
In a bid to win the primaries and general election also, political aspirants will have to settle party excos from each state down to the local government and ward levels which could cost about N400 million across the 36 states. Thereafter, they will also customize campaign materials of about N250 million to be shared during campaign outings in each of the 36 states. They will fly jets to go for campaigns in each state and each campaign outing may gulp roughly N50 million.
After my few analyses, I asked a question that elicited reactions. The question says: “how do we expect these people to perform after emptying their bank accounts to win an election?”
While reacting, many commenters adjudged that for anybody to win an election in Nigeria, he/she may spend close to N17 billion. The concern of many was that the fee will further encourage looting, thereby jettisoning the purported fight against corruption.
Election in Nigeria has been reduced to a game of gambling. Who would have imagined this in a country where universities have been shut down for months, where there is an epileptic power supply, where many rural settlers have been sacked from their communities, where health workers embark on industrial actions now and then?
If we must fight crimes like kidnapping, banditry, rape, and other social vices as a nation, we must review so many things including how politicians spend extravagantly during electioneering campaigns.
Jiya Peter Idowu writes from Ilorin Kwara State
