Oh!

Vote buying?
I thought this is only peculiar to Nigeria only.. Ours can be even more blatant.

It's election season and politicians are already seen sharing bags of rice, cash, sewing machines, motorcycles, generators, or small cash handouts.

During the election day, they will be sharing money at polling centres or through party agents in exchange for votes.
There have even been elections where voters openly ask, “What are you giving us?” before deciding who to support.

The tragedy is that politicians can give someone ₦5,000 or ₦10,000 today while presiding over policies that make that same amount practically worthless tomorrow through inflation, unemployment, insecurity, and poor public services.

I won't even talk about threats from politicians; During campaign last week, a politician, sitting governor was heard telling his party agents to deal with anyone who doesn't vote his party.

So whether it is a politician promising $5,000 to citizens or a Nigerian politician sharing ₦5,000 at an election, the principle is disturbing: when citizens are reduced to the price of their vote, democracy itself becomes a marketplace. And once vote-buying becomes normal, politicians have little incentive to deliver good governance because they can simply buy another four years.

Quit sickening.