Superbly presented, balanced, (though a veiled sympathy for Peter Obi could be detected) Zainab kind of concluded that the electorate, what hurts them, what they would love to see, are not in the radar of the leading presidential gladiators.Politics in Nigeria is a business. Very big business.
Without data to back up my claim, the return on any political investment in Nigeria is higher than that of any legitimate business operating in Nigeria. It is possible that only a handful of CEOs earn what hundreds of Senators ‘earn’ in Nigeria. No CEO in Nigeria has the right or temerity to squander the billions or trillions of his or her company’s money that governors are AUTHORISED to squander.
Above all, a president, or governor having the inclination to be a criminal finds that the best place to practice it is being in a relevant political office. Relevant political office being that of president or governor or Senator.Therefore it is self explanatory that there is desperation to acquire that office, by means fair or foul.
Commentators, opinion leaders, are at fault when they crown voting with a halo that says voters are Saints, their act of voting is sacred. The act of voting is just one of the many steps towards acquiring power. Funds are needed. In fact colossal amounts must be expended in order to secure the jackpot. And I do not think it is yet time to jettison the cliché that he who pays the Piper dictates the tune.
Tracking sources and spending of campaign funds is not easy in Nigeria. Hopefully the new initiatives with regards to currency use limitation might introduce some sanity. Yet…in Kano, a visiting presidential candidate was said to have donated 100 million naira to traders who suffered losses due to flood disaster.
More recent, another presidential candidate donated 30 million naira to families of his supporters who died in an accident during campaign. An aspirant to a Senatorial seat kept dishing out millions to community projects as if he was collecting them from refuse dumps. Along the way he was said to have gone underground to escape arrest by EFCC.
Now if he believes the moment he is declared elected, he can escape arrest, or in a month or two receive from government millions with which to pay the amounts owed the Kuwaiti, how would he not be desperate? In Kano a new campaign is going on: do not vote for a party, vote an upright person. We are saying that our parties will neither promote nor defend our interests. We are right.
We are not ready to pay the necessary fees to float parties. We leave campaigning to idle youths, vagabonds, and hired crowds. Yet we believe there is a disinfected good man or woman somewhere, untainted by our vicious party politics, who would selflessly deliver dividends of democracy…,a democracy we did not fight for. Yes, people fought for democracy before: June 12 annulment was challenged, Buhari was rabidly supported, marketed, because we believed he was a disinfected good man. But look at the bloodbath he unleashed or could not contain.
The Gay rights advocate, Barack Obama was counselling Africans against Big man politics, that we should establish strong institutions. Amongst such institutions to my understanding is a political party deeply rooted in the people. As it is today, all the leading presidential contenders are Big men. We do not know the source of their wealth, but we just expect them to lavish it on us, and not expect a kobo back.
Even the touted new ‘Angel’ descended from heavens in the person of Peter Obi is no different from the pack. But we must choose. Even if we refuse to choose, some will choose for us.I differ from Zainab. The gladiators have every right to be desperate. The investment required is huge. And the prize? It would guarantee ‘celestial bliss’ to their descendents.
Abdullahi Musa, CEO, KIGON GABAS INVESTMENT NIGERIA LIMITED, writes from Kano.