Is Vote Buying Just a Distraction from Real Election Fraud?

In Nigeria, vote buying is often portrayed as the biggest threat to free elections. But what if it’s just a smokescreen engineered by politicians, complicit media, and tainted electoral officials? Scenes of money handouts on voting day don’t just sway a few individuals. They condition citizens to feel elections are already lost, fuel divisions along regional and demographic lines, and sap the will to resist. Meanwhile, more sophisticated manipulation takes place: ballot stuffing, result falsification, and security compromises. By the time the real rigging occurs, many feel powerless to protest. Nigerians must look beyond the decoy of vote buying, stay united, and demand truly transparent and credible elections.

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