Mercantile Politics and Political Merchants: The Bane of Nigeria’s Poor Masses
By Onochiengwu Obuna, Esq.
As Nigerians look ahead to the 2027 general elections, there is an urgent need for sober reflection on the country’s political culture and its devastating impact on the poor masses. The practice popularly described as merchandise politics—and the actors known as political merchants—has become one of the gravest threats to Nigeria’s democracy and socio-economic survival.
Drawing inspiration from George Orwell’s Animal Farm, Niccolò Machiavelli’s political realism, and Aristotle’s political philosophy, the current Nigerian political reality appears to have surpassed the excesses described by these classical thinkers. What confronts the average Nigerian today is a political “zoo” where power is exercised without conscience and governance is reduced to predation.
Nigeria as a Political Zoo
Aristotle famously described man as a political animal, while Machiavelli argued that an effective ruler must combine the cunning of a fox with the strength of a lion. In Nigeria, however, politics has degenerated into something far more destructive.
The Nigerian political landscape can be metaphorically divided into five abodes from which political actors unleash poverty, fear and misery on the masses:
– Aerial Abode:
At this level, politicians behave like kites and vultures, feeding on the masses whether they are alive or dead, without mercy or restraint.
-Land Abode:
Here, political actors resemble packs of wild dogs and big cats—jackals, wolves, hyenas, foxes, leopards and cheetahs—operating with extreme selfishness and carnivorous cruelty toward the people.
-Arboreal Abode:
Politics at this level mirrors the age-old “baboon and monkey” scenario: the monkey labours while the baboon reaps the rewards. The poor do the work; the powerful enjoy the benefits.
– Subterranean Abode:
In this realm, politicians act like vipers, cobras, anacondas and pythons, swallowing everything and everyone in their path without remorse or consideration for consequences.
-Aquatic Abode:
Here, the political actors behave like sharks, crocodiles, whales and sea lions—where might is right and the winner takes all.
Politics as a Do-or-Die Affair
For many Nigerians, politics has become a full-time occupation and a matter of life and death. Sadly, most political actors lack the requisite training in leadership, governance and statecraft. Instead of policy and ideology, politics is driven by ethnicity, religion and cultural sentiment.
Religion and ethnicity have been weaponised against the poor masses, creating divisions that only benefit the political elite.
The Rise of Political Charlatans
Nigeria’s political space is crowded with charlatans who lack ideology and vision. They include:
-Mumurious U-turn politicians
– “SUV-only” politicians with nothing to offer
– Political job seekers
-“Food-is-ready” politicians
-Political contractors
These categories largely serve as foot soldiers for the most dangerous actors in Nigerian politics:
– Merchandise Politics
This refers to the periodic distribution of money or so-called palliatives to poor citizens during elections—a disguised form of vote-buying aimed at manipulating the electoral process.
-Political Merchants
These are the individuals who engage in such practices, using poverty as a tool to hijack the will of the people and influence election outcomes.
Merchandise politics and political merchants remain the greatest enemies of Nigeria’s poor masses.
Who Will Bell the Cat?
Nigeria today bears one of the highest costs of governance in the world. Political office holders are among the highest paid globally, while the majority of citizens wallow in poverty.
The critical question therefore is: Who will bell the cat? Who will save the poor masses?
A Call to the Middle Class
The Nigerian middle class has a historic responsibility to educate, mobilise and galvanise the poor masses to rise above tribalism, ethnicity, religion and cultural divisions. Only through unity can the people resist those who have captured the commonwealth and converted it into personal inheritance.
If the middle class and the poor masses unite and say no to merchandise politics and political merchants in 2026 and 2027, they will discover that they have nothing to lose but their economic and social chains.
The future of Nigeria depends on wise choices at the ballot box.
Vote wisely in 2027.
Onochiengwu Obuna, Esq.
Ufuma, Anambra State
January 1, 2026
EDITOR
Sam Udekwe is a journalist working in the News and Current Affairs department, Enugu State Broadcasting Service (ESBS) Enugu. He is well trained in all genres of journalistic venture.
Mr Sam read Mass Communication, graduating all with Distinction in National Diploma, Higher National Diploma and Postgraduate Diploma at IMT, Enugu and Madonna University, Okija, Anambra state, as well as M.Sc Mass Communication with Second Class(Upper Division) at National Open University of Nigeria.
He is the immediate past NUJ Chairman, Enugu state.
samowailo@gmail.com
