Winston Churchill is rated to be one of the greatest figures of 20th century, he once said this about democracy “Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time”. Plato, a philosopher who lived more than 1,000 years ago couldn’t hide his reservations for democracy, he said “The laws of democracy remain a dead letter, its freedom is anarchy, its equality the equality of unequals”. Democracy seems to be the best system of government for modern man but I doubt if it is the most successful, maybe we have not reached the apex of our political thoughts as mortals.

Interestingly, 4 out of 5 citizens around the world think that the democratic system is not working for their their interests, according to the 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer. “Major reason for this perception is that when it comes to politics, money talks.” In Nigeria, money talks more in politics and the public wealth is becoming it’s largest source. Nigeria welcomed democracy officially in 1950s and ward system of grassroot mobilization was first started by Chief Obafemi Awolowo who was the iconic leader of the defunct Action Group (AG), how the grassroot political structures of the 50s and 60s were sustained without over-monetization will be examined subsequently.

Currently, Nigeria has over 10,000 wards rooted in 774 local government areas and these wards serve as the smallest political units of political parties across the nation, sustaining such party system cannot be isolated from financial sponsorship. Hence, resulting to lavish monetization of Nigeria’s partisan politics which commenced in the 80s when the Shehu Shagari’s NPN administration could not hide it’s naked state support for “money bags” by rewarding party loyalty through cronyism. The money culture ballooned in the 90s with the “lavish culture” of the military era, historical reports confirmed the money rains during Jos Convention that preceded the memorable 1993 election, pockets of party delegates were well fattened. Ever since, Nigeria’s political terrain from 1999 till now has been hijacked by “money bags” at the expense of ideological partisanship, inclusive partisanship and national growth.

Furthermore, a legal perspective must be given to Nigeria’s political evolutions vis-a-vis global democratic practice. Spending limit has been introduced into Nigeria’s electoral system to check the threats of monetization or corruption. For example, Section 91 of the Electoral Act, 2010(old provision) titled, ‘Limitation on Election Expenses’, provides that the maximum election expenses to be incurred by a candidate in a presidential election shall be N1bn; governorship election, N200m; Senate and House of Representatives membership election seats, N40m and N20m, respectively; state House of Assembly membership election, N10m; chairmanship election for a local government area or area council, N10m; and councillorship election in an LGA or area council, N1m. Though, the National Assembly has raised the figures by about 500 per cent, especially for the presidential election. The electoral bill raised individual donations from N1m to N50m in Clause 91 coupled with a provision that stipulates that an accountant who falsifies a document relating to expenditures or donations involving candidates will be liable for imprisonment for a term of 10 years.

In view of the above mentioned legal provisions, Nigeria’s democracy is undoubtedly getting more expensive and the political hunts becoming a “billion Naira game”. Examining advanced democracies, i discovered these; in Canada, a registered party must file annually within 3 months after the end of every calendar year coupled with a financial statement providing details of all contributions received in a year and a special statement for individual donors whose contributions totalled $250 or more, contestants are expected to appoint auditors. In UK, prior 2001 general elections, there were no spending limits for elections and 2007 election was reported to have cost £140m. The maximum fine for exceeding spending limits according to Uk’s electoral commission is £20,000.

The political game seems to be more expensive in USA, in 2008. Total amount spent on federal elections was $5.3 billion, presidential race alone was $2.4 billion. Barack Obama spent $730 million. Thinkers like Noam Chomsky and Michael Hudson have raised voices against “corporate hijack” of America’s politics. The spending limit regulation called disclosure requirement is not efficient enough as not-for-profit organisations and trade association groups can raise unlimited amounts from corporations and individuals. Campaign sponsors who are mostly rich entrepreneurs are toasted and romanced for campaign sponsorship by congressmen which is a long-term threat to America’s democracy.

In conclusion, the over-monetization of Nigeria’s politics is a big threat not just to our political evolution but to our social fabric as corruption will be more enabled in public service and criminals with money will find an easy passage into public service coupled with the rise of money culture above “thinking or idea-based culture” necessary for productive leadership. It is agreeable that funds are needed to sustain political grassroots, logistics and other expenditures which will cost a lot for political parties. However, these are solutions on how these challenges can be resolved without disrespecting the political realities; (a) strengthen spending limit law by enacting a special electoral spending Act that provides more clearly how spendings should be audited and vetted by electoral body. (b) re-adoption of active party sponsorship of candidates as practiced in the 50s and 60s(first republic) in which only financial party members that pay annually will be allowed to serve as delegates in primaries and such membership dues can be a large source of campaign finances against the current practice of political monopolization by state governors or individual sponsorships by moneybags. This model is more inclusive and will naturally reduce the cost of forms for aspirants and making the party more independent of rich individuals. (C) adoption of Chinese Communist Party model which allows party members to rise based on ideas, deliveries and not just money. Students are encouraged to join and members rise to the apex based on different standards beyond finances.

Mujib Dada-Qadri is a Lawyer and Policy, he writes from Abuja.

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