News
The Hypocrisy of Election Season: When Votes Become Transactions
By Sam Agogo
Election season in Nigeria has become a theatre of deceit, where politicians reappear like actors on a stage, armed with bags of rice and empty promises.
I recently watched a video of a furious man who declared that the last time he saw his representatives was during the 2022 campaign. Now, as elections approach, he warned that they will remember where they got votes, and he will be waiting. His anger is not isolated—it is the voice of millions who feel betrayed by leaders who only remember them when power is at stake.
Across the country, empowerment programs and palliative distributions have become spectacles of desperation. In Owerri, the so‑called Village Boys movement stormed an empowerment venue, scattering the gathering and packing away as much of the palliatives as they could carry, while the City Boys who staged the program fled the scene. These chaotic episodes reveal both the desperation created by poverty and the opportunism that thrives in election season. Elsewhere, palliatives were packed in cartoon boxes for people fasting, prompting citizens to ask: was there no fasting last year? Why now, when votes are needed?
The most glaring hypocrisy is the nationwide distribution of rice. Several newspaper publications reported that President Bola Tinubu directed rice to be shared across the entire country during Ramadan and Lent, through the Renewed Hope Ambassadors. Cloaked in charity, this move reeks of political calculation. In some places, small bags of rice were handed out only after recipients displayed their voter cards. What a shameful spectacle—reducing citizens to beggars in exchange for their democratic rights. And yet, the question remains: will a bag of rice or a mudu of grain truly sustain them for four years? The futility of these handouts is undeniable, but the practice persists because politicians believe hunger can silence accountability.
It is during campaigns that the most extravagant lies are told. Politicians promise to build airports inside villages and transform communities into “London.” They march into rural areas pretending to behave like the people—eating okara, chewing roasted corn, feeding children, and acting as though they share the pain of the poor. Let me borrow the words of one former governor: all fake. These grand declarations and staged theatrics evaporate once elections are over. Citizens are left with broken promises and the bitter memory of rice bags exchanged for votes. Such antics are not governance—they are fraud dressed as politics.
Worse still, the political atmosphere is poisoned by threats. Videos show individuals warning politicians not to campaign in certain states, a dangerous trend that undermines democracy. Security agencies must act decisively to prevent violence and intimidation. Politics should be about ideas, service, and accountability—not fear.
Yet, amid the hypocrisy, signs of awakening are emerging. In Katsina and Kano, citizens rejected rice distributions outright. A young teacher who refused rice and flour was suspended, but his defiance speaks volumes. Nigerians are beginning to demand accountability beyond election-season theatrics. The electorate is slowly realizing that democracy thrives not on handouts, but on trust, performance, and genuine governance.
As campaigns intensify, the question is whether politicians will continue to rely on short-term gifts and empty promises, or whether they will embrace the responsibility of true leadership. Nigerians deserve more than rice bags, cartoon boxes, and staged corn-eating photo ops—they deserve leaders who serve them all year round, not just when ballots are near.
For comments, reflections, and further conversation:
Email: samuelagogo4one@yahoo.com
Phone: +2348055847364