The Cash And Carry Delegates -By Ibrahim Mustapha Pambegua

The first signal which indicates that 2023 general elections will go for the rich or wealthy class of the society is how the two dominant political parties fix the price of their nomination forms. The ruling APC and opposition PDP pegged the price of their forms at 100 and 40 millions respectively. Notwithstanding, the high cost of forms has neither deterred nor discouraged our politicians. Thousands of aspirants besieged the patties offices to obtain their forms. By the time the sales of forms was closed, the two political parties had raked up billions of naira. Though, the increase in the price of forms came at a wrong time when the country’s economy was bad and had attracted mixed reactions from Nigerians, no any political parties saw the wisdom to reduce or make it affordable. Regrettably, election did not stop in the purchase of forms, political parties have to field their candidates through primaries. During the primaries, aspirants have to meet the delegates and solicit for their votes. In the past, it took aspirants little time and token to convince or woe delegates.

There is no doubt,2023 general elections will be quite different from the previous ones. The delegates who sometimes vote aspirants with little money, conviction or based on recognition have suddenly become kings. The ongoing parties primaries have shown only the money bags politicians can win. Delegates who are supposed to select competent and saleable candidates for their political parties have abandoned such role. Instead, delegates now look for politicians who will give them more cash in exchange of their votes. The struggle for who will get his/her parties ticket in the just concluded national assembly and gubernatorial primaries witnessed the splashing of naira and dollars to the delegates, in many states. Delegate in hottest contest could get between 500,000 to 2 millions and even higher. No wonder, former senator Shehu Sani, who aspired to get his party’s ticket, could only muster two delegates at the end of the primaries. But, the former senator must have shot himself right from the beginning. Prior to the primaries, Sani boldly told the delegates he did not have money to splash on them.

The monitization of Nigerian democracy will not augur well to the growth and development of the country. For someone to win an election in Nigeria, he needs to have financial wherewithal or muscle to purchase the exorbitant form, bribes delegates with naira and dollars and above all induces voters during elections. With politicians spending huge resources before they can win an elections, Nigerians should expect little democracy dividends from them. While our electoral laws have stated the required minimum campaign funds, it kept silence on the political parties primaries finance where high bidders carry the day. One of the implications of monitization of delegates system is the recruitment of incompetent candidates into the various leadership positions. The delegates always go for higher bidders whether the candidate is duly qualified or not. The attempt to reform our electoral laws by president Muhammadu Buhari which would have allowed political parties to adopt direct primaries met stiffer opposition from those who felt the system could not favour them.

Nigerian conversation should centre on qualitative leadership recruitment and how the country can develop economically, socially and politically not monitization of our democracy. The delegates should know or bear it in mind that, by collecting huge funds and electing incompetent candidates, they are indirectly mortgaging the future of our and their children. Those candidates who bribed and won the election must recover their funds before attending their campaign promises. There is the need for government to regulate the cost of conducting party primaries through passing the laws that will make it mandatory for direct primaries. Our cash and carry delegates are making our democracy costier and beyond the reach of an ordinary Nigerian.

Ibrahim Mustapha Pambegua, Kaduna State. 08169056963.