One of the greatest threats to Nigeria’s democracy today does not occur on the Election Day. It happens quietly, earlier, and largely out of public view—during delegate primary elections.
Across the country, Nigerians are steadily losing trust in the delegate system, and for good reason. What should be an internal democratic process for selecting the best candidates has, in many cases, become a marketplace of influence, money, and manipulation. When democracy is compromised at the point of candidate selection, it cannot be redeemed at the general election.
Delegate primaries were designed to reward credibility, ideas, and leadership capacity. Instead, they increasingly reward access to money and power. Delegates are often handpicked, coerced, or induced. Outcomes are frequently predetermined. Aspirants with vision but without deep pockets are crowded out, while those with resources but limited public appeal emerge as “winners.”
The Nigerian public sees this clearly. Citizens watch as candidates rejected by the people are imposed through delegate arithmetic. They watch primaries announced before voting even begins. They watch the same political actors recycle themselves, not because they are the best, but because they control the process. Over time, this breeds cynicism. People begin to ask a dangerous question: why vote, when the real decisions have already been made?
This erosion of trust has consequences far beyond party politics. It weakens national cohesion, fuels voter apathy, and pushes frustrated citizens toward extreme alternatives—separatism, violence, or total disengagement from the state. When peaceful political pathways are blocked, instability fills the vacuum.
It also disconnects leadership from legitimacy. Leaders who emerge through manipulated primaries often govern defensively, not confidently. They rely on coercion rather than consent. They fear accountability because they never earned genuine support. That is how democratic institutions decay from within.
If Nigeria is serious about saving its democracy, reform must begin at the primary level. Party processes must be transparent. Delegates must truly represent party members, not political godfathers. Internal elections must be monitored, credible, and open to scrutiny. Most importantly, parties must remember that democracy is not a ritual—it is a responsibility.
Our democracy will only be as strong as the integrity of the process that produces our leaders. If delegate primaries remain broken, no amount of rhetoric about free and fair general elections will restore public faith.
Nigeria must choose: continue with a system that breeds distrust and instability, or reform the foundation of our politics before it collapses under its own dishonesty.
The future of our democracy depends on that choice.
