One of the reasons democracy in Nigeria has not yielded the type of statecraft that the majority of citizens desired is largely due to the troubling shenanigans that characterise the conduct of elections in this part of the world. From vote buying to brazen rigging and manipulation of poll results, voter suppression, ballot stuffing and the use of thugs and miscreants to disrupt elections. All these factors have combined to produce people who should ordinarily not have any business with public offices now managing the nation’s affairs.
In Nigeria, when it comes to electing public officers, the focus is often on the election proper while little to no attention is paid to primary elections where candidates of respective political parties are chosen. It is at this primary election that the first act of desecrating the lofty ideals of democracy happens. Once the respective candidates can get away with whatever shady, unwholesome practices they engaged in at the primary, it is almost impossible for the electorate to correct things at the election proper.
In a normal democracy, primary elections are mostly won through the sheer quality of ideas of the candidates and how well they are able to articulate these ideas and programmes to the delegates and by extension the voters. Some lobbying and horse-trading may also take place. But in Nigeria, the opposite is the case. Delegates are rarely inspired by the quality of personality and character of a candidate or influenced by their compelling ideas and articulation of their thoughts and objectives. Primary elections in Nigeria are majorly determined by how deep the pocket of a candidate is and how willing he is to reach into his pocket to splurge on feckless and avaricious delegates who will determine his fate.
It is always about who has the biggest warchest and who can pay the most to induce the delegates and swing them to his side. It is these practices that basically shape and influence how leaders emerge. And it is achingly difficult to get the best hand when the process of selection is designed and rigged to favour those who dole out the most cash to a group of people whose idea of nationaliscivic responsibilities is influenced by pecuniary gains and instant gratification. The vote buying at the primary election deeply undermines our democracy and has stunted the growth of the nation as low-quality men and unscrupulous characters end up finding themselves in positions of power.
Last week, the House of Representatives had a glorious chance to address the scourge of vote-buying but instead chose to validate and uphold a practice that erodes our democracy. This is not surprising as a move to decisively clamp down on voting will have a brutal impact on many of the members of the House. While passing the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025, last Thursday, the House of Representatives, rejected a proposed clause seeking to criminalise vote-buying during party primaries.
The rejected provision had proposed that any person who financially induces a delegate to influence the outcome of party primaries be sentenced to two years’ imprisonment without an option of fine. According to Clause 89 (4), which was added during the amendment stage, “a person that financially or materially induces a delegate for the purpose of influencing the outcome of the party primaries, congresses and conventions commits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment of two years without an option of fine.”
The lawmakers, however, overwhelmingly voted against the provision during the clause-by-clause consideration of the bill at the Committee of the Whole presided over by Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu. The rejection of the clause effectively forecloses criminal sanctions for inducement at party primaries from the amendment. This troubling decision of the lower chamber dashed the hope of Nigerians who genuinely wanted the cancer of vote buying to be stopped at its roots and flushed out of our democratic system.
By vehemently and outrightly opposing the criminalisation of vote buying at the preliminary stage of party primaries, the House has opted to institutionalise systemic rot and dysfunction rather than strengthen and protect the nation’s democracy. Fair and transparent elections cannot be built on corrupt foundations, and national progress cannot be achieved while inducement and bribery are legitimised in the democratic process.
Any measure to end vote buying must begin at the primaries. Without addressing the problem at its roots, any actions taken later will not produce lasting and enduring results. A democracy where votes are commodified and traded is not a true democracy; it is a criminal enterprise. Nigeria deserves better. We must prioritise reform. We cannot afford to let our democracy become a commodity put up for sale by perverse elements masquerading as politicians.
Disturbingly, the culture of vote buying has now permeated other facets of our socio-political system. It has spread to the leader selection process in our communities and schools. This distasteful trend has now spread to town unions, village unions, Clubs and associations, as well as even student elections, imitating unscrupulous politicians. How long will we allow our society to be perverted when the solution lies in addressing the roots of the problem? We have to confront these corrupt and despicable practices that chip away at the vigour and foundation of our democracy boldly and insist that integrity begins at the very start of our electoral process.
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