Excessive demand by the electorate including artisans and people in the rural areas makes participation in politics very expensive for the Nigerian politician and constitutes a disincentive to persons who want to serve genuinely.

Chairman Inter-Party Consultative Advisory Council, Dr. Leonard Nzenwa who disclosed this in a special interview with Nigerian Democratic Report at Abuja, said that “the recruitment process and the emphasis on money have killed Nigerian politics.

“Why is it that the market woman in the village is asking the politician for money; why is it that a youth is asking the politician for money? You find someone who says he wants to go and campaign but might not have the money but has good ideas and passionate to contest for political power. When he gets to the village or countryside, they will say: Oga you can’t come here and speak grammar to us, you need to give us something, if he goes the first time without money, they will drive him away. He goes the second time they will drive him away, the third time he will be forced to give them something for them to listen to him. Where will he get the money? Sometimes, he goes borrowing from the bank”

He said “, It is when he gets the money that he will go to the women in the village who will demand for wrappers; he will buy for them; some need food he will buy food for them, buy souvenirs, pay homage to religious and traditional leaders and so on. It is a long chain. After that, he goes to his party to fight for the ticket, delegates will also make their own demands, it therefore, becomes a very expensive business. Yet, after he has finished expending all this money you blame the politician but you forget all the hurdles he had to cross. Why does the electorate put this entire burden on the politician”?

Asked what could be done to correct this: His response, “it has to be a multi engagement solution approach. The precedent has been set, it is very difficult, we continue to preach it but it is not just the politician’s problem. There are other stakeholders but the more you talk about it, it doesn’t seem to resonate with them. In a way, it is understandable because nothing seems to be working; no industry to take up the youth. So, if they see this person that seems to be doing well and wants to participate in politics, they go after the person and collect the resources he has. So, the idea of putting all this on politicians alone may not be a way to solve this problem because we are all in it together; do your own little part and others will do their own, by the time we add all the efforts we will gain little progress”.

Dr Nzenwa who is also the Chairman of the African Action Congress (AAC) said IPAC as a body of all political parties, in Nigeria will continue to foster a constructive and positive relationship amongst members that will help translate into better democracy for every person. We shall provide avenues for peer review where we can find solutions to common problems.

IPAC is a platform that seeks to find better ways to recruit aspirants and candidates that seek for political power essentially. It is a platform that also seeks to intervene on national political issues and also provide alternate voice on how to address those national issues, he further explained.