Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, said something blunt and I think worth repeating: vote‑buying is a cancer. He wasn’t being dramatic just to score points. He was naming a rot that creeps through institutions, through choices, through how people value one another — and then he urged that it be cut out at the roots. That image is useful: treatment at the leaves and branches won’t save the tree if the roots stay poisoned.
Why the focus on primaries?
Obi’s core claim — and it’s hard to argue with the logic — is that stopping vote‑buying has to start where the contest begins. If party primaries are the place where candidates are selected, then that’s where inducements and bribery first get legitimised. Let parties allow buying and selling of votes inside their own selection processes, and the rest follows. You’ll have candidates who win not because they connect with voters or have better ideas, but because they mastered payment logistics.
I admit, I’m a little impatient with how slow political systems move. You can pass rhetoric about “free and fair elections” all you like; if you don’t build guardrails where they matter most, the rest is performative. Obi pushed this point: criminalise vote‑buying at the foundational stage — at primaries — and you stand a chance of changing behavior later. Ignore the primaries and you’re fighting downstream floods with a teaspoon.
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The damage spreads
Obi framed vote‑buying as a threat to democracy and to national development. Again, that’s more than a slogan. When votes are bought, the mandate that leaders claim is hollow. Policies follow political expediency instead of public need. Officials who rely on cash to get office will often prioritise private payback — networks, contracts, favors — over public service. Corruption isn’t a one‑off act; it’s a system that self‑perpetuates.
What’s striking is how this culture doesn’t stay confined to high politics. Obi notes, and I’ve seen this too, that vote‑buying has trickled into town unions, village leadership races, clubs, associations, even student elections. That’s a demonstration effect: if local leaders run their contests the same way, the lesson to younger people is clear — influence is for sale. That normalizes corruption. You start to expect bargains in civic life. No wonder trust erodes.
The House of Representatives and a missed chance
Obi singled out a recent action — or rather inaction — by the House of Representatives. He said Nigerians had hoped the House would criminalise vote‑buying in the primaries. Instead, they allegedly rejected that step, choosing to leave the system as it is. I don’t want to oversimplify the politics here; legislative choices can be messy, and there are often competing priorities. But still — when lawmakers decline a chance to tighten rules against vote‑buying, people read the signals. Either they don’t care, or they benefit. Either way, it doesn’t inspire confidence.
There’s also a subtle point in Obi’s wording: he said the House “chose to protect a broken system rather than safeguard the nation’s future.” That’s a strong accusation and perhaps it’s a bit black‑and‑white, but the core grievance stands — institutions matter. If they refuse to act against corrupt practices that undermine the electoral process, they are, in effect, entrenching the very problems they’re supposed to solve.
So what would real action look like?
Start with criminalising vote‑buying at the primary level, yes. But that needs teeth: clear definitions, enforceable penalties, and independent bodies to investigate. Party rules matter too; parties must refuse to certify candidates proven to have bought support. That’s political will, which is harder to legislate than to demand. And then there’s civic education — young people especially need to learn that the value of their choice outlasts the immediacy of cash or gifts.
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There’s no single magic fix. You need legal reform, party discipline, watchdogs, and citizens who care. You need to show that public office is not a commodity to be purchased, but a responsibility to be earned. Easier said than done. But it does begin with the premise Obi stressed: tackle the problem where it first appears.
A personal note — small and imperfect
I don’t pretend to have a foolproof plan. I’ve seen efforts that looked promising but failed for lack of enforcement or because private interests were stronger than rules. Still, when I watch local meetings and see how easily people rationalise short‑term gain over long‑term benefits, it’s discouraging. On the other hand, I’ve also met activists and community leaders who resist those temptations; they try to model a different ethic. That gives some hope — slow, uneven hope, but hope nonetheless.
The final wrinkle: society’s complicity
Obi’s argument implies responsibility beyond politicians and lawmakers. When communities accept vote‑buying, when families take money and shrug, that is part of the problem. Poverty, inequality, and distrust make people vulnerable — and those conditions must be addressed alongside legal change. But we can’t use hardship as an excuse forever. There’s a moral and civic habit to rebuild here.
If integrity starts at the beginning, then the first acts we must require are simple: make primaries clean, make buying votes a clear crime, and make parties accountable for their internal processes. That won’t fix everything overnight, but it shifts incentives. And once incentives change, habits can too.
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