Election amid scarcity of kayan aiki

…also published in Daily Trust

Nigeria holds its presidential election tomorrow amid scarcity of kayan aiki especially compared to the 2015 presidential election when kayan aiki literally flooded the country’s political terrain. On the eve of that election, I wrote “The politics of Kayan aiki” (Daily Trust, Friday, March 27, 2015).

Quoting from that piece, the term Kayan aiki “… probably developed following the country’s return to democracy in 1999, and has ever since then been commonly used, though largely informally, in political context. Kayan aiki, which also literally means tools, stands metaphorically for the financial inducements doled out to the electorate by candidates with a view to winning their votes during elections.”

Unsurprisingly, kayan aiki-sharing formula isn’t only disproportionately lopsided but hugely exploitative as well, as every beneficiary literally grabs his share according to his real or perceived potential to influence election results in his constituency. The elite beneficiaries of kayan aiki, e.g., power brokers and other public figures at the local, state and federal levels always end up with the largest chunk of the amounts allocated to their respective constituencies leaving the voters with peanuts.

Though election season in Nigeria has always been characterized by the flow of kayan aiki, the amount that flowed towards the 2015 presidential elections was certainly unprecedented. Desperate for reelection amid widespread anger against his presidency, the then president Goodluck Jonathan had literally thrown the country’s treasury open prompting a looting spree of a magnitude never witnessed in the country before. Huge amounts of cash in local and foreign currencies were reportedly repeatedly moved from the vaults of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on various pretexts. More amounts of cash were also systemically withdrawn from the accounts of various federal ministries and agencies. Funds meant for various projects were diverted and looted. Even funds meant for procurement of arms to sustain the war on Boko Haram weren’t spared, as the subsequent investigations revealed. In short, the country’s treasury, which had already been almost drained out following more than five years of systematic plunder of an unprecedented scale under Jonathan administration was literally emptied towards the 2015 presidential election.

Consequently, as the election drew closer, the loot kept flowing across the country with every elite beneficiary literally snatching as much as his political weight or social influence allowed. 

Now, though the Buhari administration can’t be completely absolved of involvement in vote buying and other electoral fraud practices either, for, after all, there’s actually no such thing as a transparent democracy anywhere in the world, yet this time around Nigeria’s treasury is largely protected from the looting spree that typically hits it during election season, which has resulted in the current scarcity of kayan aiki.

However, obviously Buhari’s main contender, Atiku Abubakar finds this development quite advantageous for him, for it has reduced pressure on him to match government’s already small amount of kayan aiki. He is therefore presumably at ease now knowing that he is probably outspending the APC-led government in this regard in hopes of buying his way into the presidency through vote buying and other forms of electoral fraud.

Besides, many moneybags benefitting or hoping to benefit from the victory of their chosen candidates, and who ordinarily constitute a major source of kayan aiki during elections seem reluctant to invest sufficiently this time around. Many of them including many supposedly Buhari allies now feel disappointed by him, and therefore see no reason to invest in his reelection bid again.

This is because having been largely engaged in smuggling, forex round tripping and rent-seeking, or having always been government contractors or beneficiaries of fraudulent government privatization and concession deals, or beneficiaries of fraudulently granted tax and import duty waivers, their “businesses” have been hugely affected by the appropriate reforms and regulatory measures introduced or enforced by the Buhari administration over the past four years. Also, many of them are already on trial or under investigations for various acts of economic sabotage and financial crimes.

Though I follow developments at home from afar, I observe the virtual disappearance of the term kayan aiki in political discussions in the mainstream media and social media platforms since the start of this election season, unlike the situation towards the 2015 elections when the term kayan aiki would always be repeatedly mentioned in interactive political shows and social media discussions.

By the way, for the sake of clarity, it’s important to point out at this juncture that I am neither lamenting the scarcity of kayan aiki nor attempting to justify it. Instead, I am only addressing an easily observable development in this year’s presidential election in the country. Interestingly, as much as kayan aiki and other forms of vote buying tactics are illegal and indeed immoral, they are, in reality, obviously unavoidable in democracy. After all, democracy as a system of governance is inherently fraud-friendly and self-contradictory in the first place.

Anyway, though it’s unrealistic to expect most voters to turn down kayan aiki especially considering the grinding poverty ravaging the country, they can still be encouraged to vote for the relatively better candidates, for it’s obvious that the politics of kayan aiki in the country isn’t likely to be contained anytime soon.