2023: A Mark-up in Nigeria’s Progressive Politics

Notes for File

A lot of people would naturally contend that the path to the 2023 elections have not been particularly encouraging. And as disturbing as some of the developments in the journey to 2023 have turned out, there are still a few positive changes, that might have marked some significant progress in the nation’s democratic trajectory. 

One of such is the style of campaigns to delegates, which saw presidential hopefuls visiting nearly all the states of the federation, one by one to campaign for votes and support, the same way it is done in the United States of America. 

The US presidential nomination convention system is unique both in concept and structure that, once they start from Iowa, for instance, they go from state to state and on a particular day tagged “Super Tuesday”, when the greatest number of US states hold primary elections and caucuses, approximately one-third of all delegates to the presidential nominating convention could be won on that day, more than any other day.

Therefore, it’s been interesting to see the Nigerian politicians travel similar route since the race to 2023 began. Although a former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, could be said to have blazed the trail in this all-new approach to the presidential nomination process, he ultimately set the standard for other politicians to follow.

Unlike the old practice, which saw delegates moved to Abuja in state-by-state clusters and marooned in hotels, where they would conveniently deal and trade in their own terms with aspirants, cashing out in moderations, the new approach, championed by Tinubu, forced all the key aspirants to visit nearly all the states of the federation, zone after zone – met with the governors, who also created the atmosphere conducive for meetings with the delegates by the aspirants. 

Overall, this is a welcome development, which must be encouraged and sustained, because by implications, it confers more honour and respect on the delegate as critical to the election of candidates and not some expendables hauled to Abuja, paid for an assignment and discarded once the show is over. What must be addressed, going forward, is the monetisation of the process, which is sure to destroy the nation’s democratic gains and credibility, if not cultured.