Nigeria’s democracy is increasingly becoming an exclusive club for the wealthy, the well-connected, and those with political protection. The recent decision by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to reduce the cost of Expression of Interest and Nomination forms due to prevailing economic hardship is therefore both timely and revealing. It is an acknowledgment of a painful national reality: ordinary Nigerians can no longer afford participation in the political process they are expected to sustain.
The country is witnessing the rapid extinction of what used to be regarded as the middle class. Economic hardship, inflation, currency instability, unemployment, and insecurity have combined to create a deeply polarised society. At the top sits a tiny elite class — largely made up of politically connected individuals, current office holders, former public officials accused of looting public resources, a few entrenched businessmen benefiting from state patronage, and criminal profiteers thriving in the chaos of insecurity.
Beneath them are struggling professionals, civil servants, and small business owners who, despite working tirelessly, can barely maintain a decent standard of living. Yet even this category can no longer genuinely be described as “middle class.” They are merely surviving.
Then comes the vast majority — over 160 million Nigerians trapped in multidimensional poverty. This is not merely a statistical tragedy; it is a national emergency. Millions lack stable income, quality healthcare, access to education, electricity, security, and food sufficiency. For many families, survival has replaced ambition.
The worsening insecurity across Northern Nigeria and the Middle Belt further compounds this crisis. These regions, heavily dependent on subsistence agriculture, continue to suffer from banditry, terrorism, kidnappings, and the collapse of rural security structures. Farmers are displaced from their lands while vast territories become ungoverned spaces controlled by armed groups. The inevitable consequence is deeper poverty, food shortages, and economic despair.
In such conditions, political participation becomes a luxury.
When nomination forms cost tens or hundreds of millions of naira, who exactly are political parties inviting into leadership? Certainly not teachers, doctors, young professionals, farmers, innovators, or principled reformers. The prohibitive cost of entry ensures that only political godfathers, wealthy patrons, or candidates sponsored by hidden interests can compete effectively.
This commercialisation of politics undermines democracy itself. It creates a system where elected officials are often more accountable to financiers than to citizens. Candidates become investments. Public office becomes a business venture designed to recover political expenses and reward sponsors.
More dangerously, excessive nomination fees create fertile ground for political manipulation. Wealthy interests can strategically plant loyalists and moles across multiple parties, particularly in regions where poverty makes political structures easy to capture. Internal democracy weakens, ideological politics disappears, and opportunism flourishes.
The ADC’s reduction of nomination fees may not solve these structural problems, but it sends an important signal: democracy must remain accessible to ordinary citizens. Political leadership should not be reserved exclusively for billionaires and political cartels.
Nigeria stands at a dangerous crossroads. A democracy where citizens cannot afford to participate is only democratic in appearance. If political parties truly desire national renewal, they must dismantle the financial barriers that exclude competent Nigerians from leadership.
Otherwise, the country risks entrenching a political aristocracy permanently disconnected from the suffering masses — a ruling class governing a nation it no longer understands.
By COPDEM Media Editorial
