Commodification of Nigeria Democratic Process and its Implications for National Development

Abstract

Nigeria political culture is not static but dynamic as democracy is becoming more embedded and entrenched in Africa. The competitive nature of Nigeria politics and the economic benefits that accompanied the political offices has made the competition among different political parties and candidates more intense, which in turn has negatively impacted the political processes by monetizing almost all political activities, thereby commoditizing the democratic process. The study analyzed the commodification of Nigeria democratic process and factors that propel this practice. The paper adopted Social Exchange Theory to provide theoretical insight for the analysis.  For the methodology, the paper adopted qualitative method to elicit data.  The paper argued that political parties, candidates, political strategist, traditional leaders, religious leaders, voters and political contractors are all engaged in one of monetary transactions or the other to support, vote and elect a candidate or support a party based on the money they received from such deals. The study concludes that if these obnoxious practices are not halted it will create mediocre, incompetent and ill prepare leaders who will have consequential effects on national development.