Let me start with a caveat – not all Nigerian politicians are criminals. Some are indeed decent human beings keen to serve their communities and constituencies. Such politicians are however a minority. For the most part, Nigerian politicians are deeply embedded in criminal culture and have no commitment to the people nor a sense of the pursuit of the public good. There are numerous signifiers that point to the criminal nature of our country’s political class. The most recent can be seen in elements of the recently signed Electoral Act 2026 signed by President Bola Tinubu. The new law provides that forged certificates are no longer grounds for election petitions. The new Electoral Act 2026 has removed forged certificates from the grounds for filing election petitions. The issue is very straightforward. Many politicians have been successfully charged to court for presenting forged certificates and they have lost their positions. To protect themselves, they are simply removing the grounds from the law so that they can continue to fake their credentials and remain as elected representatives of the people in spite of their criminal behaviour.
It is important to understand the context. From the very beginning of the Fourth Republic, Speaker Salisu Buhari from Kano State lost his seat in 1999 when it was revealed that he had forged both his age, he was too young as per the constitutional requirements to contest for the House of Representatives and secondly, his claim to being a graduate of the University of Toronto, Canada, was false and the certificate he presented to INEC was a fake one. In Oluwole in Lagos, expert forgers have for decades plied their lucrative trade of forged documents and the customer base has grown leading to the emergence of a widely spread culture of crime in official documentation all over the country.
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The irony is that there is no obligation for university degrees or even school certificates as a necessary condition to contest elections. The Constitution suggests five years of secondary education for candidates but does not insist on any certificate, not even primary school. The problem is that most politicians are not aware of this so they simply procure false certificates of graduate and postgraduate degrees while filing their papers with the Electoral Commission. Their opponents, knowing they have no such degrees, challenge them in court until the current Electoral Act that henceforth protects politicians with forged certificates.
In January 2008, Senator Nuhu Aliyu alleged that some members of the National Assembly are involved in advance fee fraud, otherwise known as “419”. “419” refers to Section 419 of the Criminal Code which relates to fraud and fraud-related crimes. Aliyu, a former Deputy Inspector-General of Police, made the allegation while contributing to a motion on “Direction and Tempo of the War on Corruption.” He stated clearly that: “In the National Assembly, we still have 419 members’ (Nigerian Tribune), 24th January 2008. Aliyu knew what he was talking about as he led the criminal investigation branch while serving as a police officer and he was actively investigating many of the people who had then became his colleagues in the National Assembly. His colleagues led by Senator Ayogu Eze, responded that Aliyu’s statement that fraudsters existed in the National Assembly had impugned the integrity of members of National Assembly. He was called upon by the then Senate President, Mr David Mark, to react to Eze’s point of order, Aliyu categorically said that he would not withdraw the statement. When the anger of the Senate against him grew and he realised there would be consequences, Aliyu withdrew the statement and there was peace for him, but not for the Nigerian people whose lives and livelihoods are messed up by criminals parading as politicians.
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Another story reminiscent of Romanesque literature is that of a professional kidnapper, Chukwudubem Onwuamadike, also known as Evans, who was arrested and he confessed that he had extorted over $50 million from his victims, with the intention of using the money to contest for the seat of governor in his Anambra State. Currently in prison, he made a recent request for a plea bargain as he has now a reformed man, is a practicing pastor in the prison and a university student at the National Open University. He is now seeking early release from prison in exchange for some of his property acquired as a working criminal. There should be no surprise when he obtains his early release.
There is no surprise that Nigeria is infamous for the significant role godfathers play in the country’s politics and political economy. I still remember when Chris Uba, the onetime acclaimed godfather of Anambra State politics, in a moment of intense self-satisfaction after the 2003 general elections, declared that, “I am the greatest godfather in Nigeria because this is the first time an individual outside government single-handed put in position every politician in the State.” This effusion of self-satisfaction signalled the eclipse of Emeka Offor, the previous pretender to the throne of godfather in Anambra, who in 1999 had determined the governor of the State and about 60 per cent of the members of the state legislature. Mr Uba was able to advance from imposing 60 per cent of the members to 100 per cent, meaning that he determined who became governor, the three senators and members of the federal and state assemblies.
The fact that Nigerian godfathers have had the effrontery to define themselves as men – yes, they are almost exclusively male – who have the power to substitute themselves for the voting citizenry is deeply disturbing. During elections, they have been able to determine who gets nominated to contest for elections in political party primaries and who wins the elections subsequently. Today, the democratic system has been completely eroded by the sale and purchase of votes during elections.
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Nigeria’s democracy is very weak today as a significant part of the political class are undermining democratic processes as they milk the political system for personal profit. Saving our democracy would require resisting the deep culture of corruption and criminality as well as rebuilding a political culture of transparency and accountability. The task before the nation is to encourage people with competence and a commitment to the public good to come out and contest and displace criminal elements that are currently entrenched in the system. It would not be easy but saving the country requires that this task needs to be done.
A Professor of Political Science and development consultant/expert, Jibrin Ibrahim is a Senior Fellow of the Centre for Democracy and Development, and Chair of the Editorial Board of PREMIUM TIMES.
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