USA Africa Dialogue Series - Criminal politicians

Nigerian Politicians: Signifiers of their criminal culture

Jibrin Ibrahim, Deepening Democracy, Daily Trust, 6th March 2026

Let me start with a caveat – not all Nigerian politicians are
criminals. Some are indeed decent human beings keen to serve their
communities and constituencies. Such politicians are however a
minority. For the most part, Nigerian politicians are deeply embedded
in criminal culture and have no commitment to the people nor a sense
of the pursuit of the public good. There are numerous signifiers that
point to the criminal nature of our country's political class. The
most recent can be seen in elements of the recently signed Electoral
Act 2026 signed by President Bola Tinubu. The new law provides that
forged certificates are no longer grounds for election petitions. The
new Electoral Act 2026 has removed forged certificates from the
grounds for filing election petitions. The issue is very
straightforward. Many politicians have been successfully charged to
court for presenting forged certificates and they have lost their
positions. To protect themselves, they are simply removing the grounds
from the law so that they can continue to fake their credentials and
remain as elected representatives of the people in spite of their
criminal behavior.

It is important to understand the context. From the very beginning of
the Fourth Republic, Speaker Salisu Buhari from Kano State lost his
seat in 1999 when it was revealed that he had forged both his age, he
was too young as per the constitutional requirements to contest for
the House of Representatives and secondly, his claim to being a
graduate of the University of Toronto, Canada, was false and the
certificate he presented to INEC was a fake one. In Oluwole in Lagos,
expert forgers have for decades plied their lucrative trade of forged
documents and the customer base has grown leading to the emergence of
a widely spread culture of crime in official documentation all over
the country.

The irony is that there is no obligation for university degrees or
even school certificates as a necessary condition to contest
elections. The Constitution suggests five years of secondary education
for candidates but does not insist on any certificate, not even
primary school. The problem is that most politicians are not aware of
this so they simply procure false certificates of graduate and
postgraduate degrees while filing their papers with the Electoral
Commission. Their opponents, knowing they have no such degrees,
challenge them in court until the current Electoral Act that
henceforth protects politicians with forged certificates.

In January 2008, Senator Nuhu Aliyu alleged that some members of the
National Assembly are involved in advance fee fraud, otherwise known
as "419". "419" refers to Section 419 of the Criminal Code which
relates to fraud and fraud-related crimes. Aliyu, a former Deputy
Inspector-General of Police, made the allegation while contributing to
a motion on "Direction and Tempo of the War on Corruption''. He stated
clearly that: "In the National Assembly, we still have 419 members'
(Nigerian Tribune), 24th January 2008. Aliyu knew what he was talking
about as he led the criminal investigation branch while serving as a
police officer and he was actively investigating many of the people
who had then became his colleagues in the National Assembly. His
colleagues led by Sen. Ayogu Eze, responded that Aliyu's statement
that fraudsters existed in the National Assembly had impugned the
integrity of members of National Assembly. He was called upon by the
then Senate President, Mr. David Mark, to react to Eze's point of
order, Aliyu categorically said that he would not withdraw the
statement. When the anger of the Senate against him grew and he
realised there would be consequences, Aliyu withdrew the statement and
there was peace for him, but not for the Nigerian people whose lives
and livelihoods are messed up by criminals parading as politicians.

Another story reminiscent of Romanesque literature is that of a
professional kidnapper, Chukwudubem Onwuamadike, also known as Evans,
who was arrested and he confessed that he had extorted over $50
million from his victims, with the intention of using the money to
contest for the seat of governor in his Anambra State. Currently in
prison, he made a recent request for a plea bargain as he has now a
reformed man, is a practicing pastor in the prison and a university
student at the National Open University. He is now seeking early
release from prison in exchange for some of his property acquired as a
working criminal. There should be no surprise when he obtains his
early release.

There is no surprise that Nigeria is infamous for the significant role
godfathers play in the country's politics and political economy. I
still remember when Chris Uba, the onetime acclaimed godfather of
Anambra State politics, in a moment of intense self-satisfaction after
the 2003 general elections, declared that, "I am the greatest
godfather in Nigeria because this is the first time an individual
outside government single-handed put in position every politician in
the State." This effusion of self-satisfaction signalled the eclipse
of Emeka Offor, the previous pretender to the throne of godfather in
Anambra, who in 1999 had determined the governor of the State and
about 60 percent of the members of the state legislature. Mr. Uba was
able to advance from imposing 60 per cent of the members to 100 per
cent, meaning that he determined who became governor, the three
senators and members of the federal and state assemblies.

The fact that Nigerian godfathers have had the effrontery to define
themselves as men – yes, they are almost exclusively male – who have
the power to substitute themselves for the voting citizenry is deeply
disturbing. During elections, they have been able to determine who
gets nominated to contest for elections in political party primaries
and who wins the elections subsequently. Today, the democratic system
has been completely eroded by the sale and purchase of votes during
elections.

Nigeria's democracy is very weak today as a significant part of the
political class are undermining democratic processes as they milk the
political system for personal profit. Saving our democracy would
require resisting the deep culture of corruption and criminality as
well as rebuilding a political culture of transparency and
accountability. The task before the nation is to encourage people with
competence and a commitment to the public good to come out and contest
and displace criminal elements that are currently entrenched in the
system. It would not be easy but saving the country requires that this
task needs to be done.

Professor Jibrin Ibrahim
Senior Fellow
Centre for Democracy and Development, Abuja
Follow me on twitter @jibrinibrahim17

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