Exorbitant party forms in Nigeria
By Bisi Olominu
The 2019 general elections in Nigeria have come and gone, but what will continue to generate public discourse is the exorbitant money candidates paid their political parties for expression of interest in the various elective offices.
Politics in Nigeria is dynamic in nature. To get a party’s ticket you have to pay through your nose. From councillorship position to the highest office in the nation, the office of the president, you must have a huge budget, a deep purse to tackle all obstacles in attaining the position.
In Nigeria, you need as much as US$125 000 to buy a presidential nomination form. This exorbitant amount is aimed to keep the highest political office in the hands of the moneybags, the connected and the affluence.
If you were a presidential hopeful who wanted to contest for the presidency under the two major political parties in Nigeria, the first thing you would need is, at the lowest end, US$33 000 (N12 million) or, at the top end, US$125 000 (N45 million). That is just to buy the presidential nomination form. These exorbitant amounts charged to get the presidential ticket have led to the disenfranchisement of those who do not have such huge amount of money. It has led to many with good intention to serve the country losing out at the preliminary stage. It has also led to many politicians borrowing money from the bank and selling their properties. The exorbitant money charged for nomination form had made some with good intention fallen by the way side, since they could not match the moneybags. Think about it: How would an office holder pay back such a large sum of money. How would such people recoup the money if not through stealing of elected into office. This is part of the sad story of politics in Nigeria.
The former Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili, once said on Twitter: “When I decide to run for elective office, any party that charges above N100 000 for nomination form would get my membership. I would not want some amoeba group paying for my form with money that has an opaque source. Also, I’ll do transparent fund raising.”
Lots of money is needed in Nigeria politics, reason many can go the extra length to get to office through crooked means. In the whole world, our politicians in the various offices are the highest paid, reason the exorbitant money charged by their parties for showing interest is nothing to them. It is the same reason why a presidential aspirant can lure delegates with $5,000 to be nominated as the party’s flag bearer. Getting to office in Nigeria is on the high side.
Speaking on this development, the National Rescue Movement (NRM) attributed Nigeria’s socio-economic woes, especially poverty and insecurity to money in politics.
The National Chairman of the party, Senator Saidu Dansadua said that the socioeconomic challenges facing the country are as a result of bad leadership by people who bought their way into offices.
“Nigeria has never had a state of hopelessness like we are experiencing. The rate of poverty has made people to align toward selling their votes.
” What we are going through today as a nation is a product of money politics, politics in this country has been turned into a business enterprise.
“People sell their houses, some of them borrow money with 100 percent interest and immediately they are elected, they don’t remember the people anymore.
” All they care about is how they will recover their money and the houses that they sold. In order to rescue this country,we have to make sure that we don’t make money the primary factor in our political parties”.
Dansadua said that the reason why great minds with incredible leadership skills always shy away from politics was because they thought they did not have the finances needed to face the moneybags in the system.
Also contributing to the issue, a community leader in an Akure community, Okeodu, Chief Bayo Adebayo lamented that the moneybags have destroyed the fabric of this nation by the way things are going politically.
He maintained that it would take the grace of God for people with good vision to aspire to the highest office in Nigeria.
His words: ” We have men and women of purpose, integrity who can make this nation great out there, but because they would not dole out money to the people, they would not vote for them. There was a time that the late human rights crusader, Gani Fawehinmi wanted to become the president of Nigeria, Nigerians did not vote for him, even the people of his state, Ondo did not vote for him. This is the reality we are; that those who hold us in the jugular will not allow us to breadth and the country is worse for it”.
“So far we can’t liberate ourselves from the moneybags that are holding our scrotums and sluicing our money into their pockets, then we will not see good people with brighter ideas coming into politics in Nigeria. What should any political party say that someone should get form of interest with N25million or N45million? That is on the high side and this should be looked into, so that, people with great vision can save this nation from the present predicament.”
In her contribution, Mrs. Bola Jaiyeoba said the exorbitant money is imposed, so that, those with good intention to serve the country without any godfather will not aspire to the highest office in the country.
” When you pay N25million or N45million to buy just a form of interest alone, don’t you know that this is corruption of the highest order? Our political parties should change this trend and reduce the price.
