On May 19, 2022, I posted on this platform that most of the APC and PDP candidates procured the expensive expression of interest forms to contest the parties’ Presidential Primaries for various reasons.
Many of them know so well that they would not win in the end but paid the money to help the parties raise funds and as personal investment portfolios for barter bargaining for purely personal gains
I did opine that some contestants would step down before the voting started. While others did and some others played the ostrich. Shockingly some of the aspirants did not vote for themselves. Why would Presidential aspirants procure expensive expression of interest forms and refuse to vote for themselves, as reported by the media citing the cases of Ayodele Fayose and Dele Momodu?
From the outcome of the PDP Presidential Primaries, it is becoming more apparent that the lords of our political manorial system are firmly in control of the states and the delegates. From the outset, it was undeniable that for any contestant to have the chance of winning, the candidate would need to be a lord in charge of a state or have a network of other lords. Besides, the overcomer should have overwhelming support and support across the zones or be salacious in throwing dollars at the delegates to pull the necessary strings
What happened at the just concluded PDP Primaries supports my theory of the horse and barter trading investments activities, which would yield the individual a future pecuniary (tangible or intangible) benefits. A combination of my assumptions played out in the just concluded PDP Presidential Primaries. For example, Atiku had a combination of my four assumptions. Wike had a strong network of other lords and had dollars, which only a few pious individuals could refuse.
What baffled me most was that women that have always cried of marginalization in the democratic process had an opportunity to vote for the only female presidential aspirant among the arrays of men paraded by the PDP. No! They refused to honor their own because dollars were too attractive to overlook. Oliver Teriela ended up having only one vote, which is her vote. She was my hero of the night because she refused to betray her conscience, value, and belief the way the two Deles did.
From the look of things, it would seem that our people have come to accept buying of Delegates’ conscience in exchange for votes as a way of life. If correct, I dare say that our political process has sunken more profoundly into the abyss of damnification. I hope time will prove me wrong.
Grace and peace!!!
