The 2023 polls are critical to most of Nigeria as the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari, and most state governors will come to an end. It affords Nigerians the opportunity to save the soul of Nigeria’s failed political system with a new set of leaders who will manifest their manifestos and make a conscious effort to unite a grossly divided nation. The electorate is gearing up to use the power of their votes to right the wrongs in the polls and ensure the most credible will be made the most popular. This task will be arduous for a nation with low voter apathy and literacy rate, making the concept of “credibility” imply different things to different people. The political strategists and players, those who have the power and influence to woo the electorate, have begun to devise and hash plans to ensure they sway a vast majority of voters in their direction, using powerful but potent economic forces that have worked in past elections in Nigeria. These financial weapons of mass dissolution are gradually and unnoticeably foisted on Nigerians to redirect their choices when offered to sell their votes in primaries and the general elections in 2023.
There is a surge in cases of hunger and starvation over rising inflation, food insecurity, unemployment and low rating on the livability index in Nigeria. According to a World Bank report and World Poverty Clock, 91 million Nigerians now live below the poverty benchmark of $1.9 per day, with figures predicted to worsen as we approach the 2023 general elections.
Asking a poverty-stricken and hunger-torn Nigerian to reject money for his vote is equivalent to asking a desolate dog to avoid a well-garnished bone in the hope of food on the fire. A poor and hungry man is anxious about a short term rather than a long term solution to his immediate needs. Their ability to make an informed and constructive decision can only be imagined but far from reality. These weapons have proven to be very potent and effective in having an undue advantage over the masses. Democracy as a political system that accords more power to the people is redefined to give power to the elites in an atmosphere of hunger and poverty. The electorate is guided by their will to meet their basic needs for survival rather than the collective good of the society. The decision of a country’s electorate is directly related to the economic state of the electorate when hunger and poverty are used as weapons by the ruling class.
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Addressing Sustainable Development Goal 2; zero hunger by 2030 will be a miracle in Nigeria. Economic principles fail in Nigeria due to poor plan, implementation, and lack of political will to drive the desired result and reach out to those in dire need of assistance. Addressing hunger and poverty remains a core of the election manifestos of the ruling class who jostle for more time in public offices to show their sensitivity to the economic plight of the ordinary Nigerians, only to structure policies that only exist on paper or when implemented, they become a conduit pipe and avenue for corrupt politicians. The National Social Investment Programme of the Federal Government of Nigeria, created in 2015 to address the problem of hunger, poverty and youth unemployment, has failed to live up to its expectation. The more funds are budgeted yearly for these programmes, the higher the poverty, hunger and unemployment curve in 2016 to date. Nigeria has continued to hold the title of the world poverty capital since 2016, unchallenged.
The 2023 elections present an opportunity for ordinary Nigerians to use these economic weapons of hunger and poverty against these deceptive sets of leaders with no clear economic directions, who would devise subtle means to deceive gullible Nigerians to their selfish advantage and personal aggrandisement. Those who have kept Nigerians in a state of misery and squalor cannot claim to address the challenges they failed to tackle in 2023. It allows Nigerians to take far-reaching but sustainable decisions rather than short term frivolities that will earn them nothing but economic suffering for the next four years.
Alikor Victor is a development economist & policy analyst at Nextier Advisory
