Resurging Prebendalism, Clientelism and Candidate Endorsement Syndrome: A Critique of the 2019 Presidential Election in Nigeria

Before the 2019 presidential election, Nigeria’s political landscape was besieged by a series of candidate endorsements from various religious, socio-cultural, political, and professional groups. The candidacy of the incumbent President, Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and that of a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) enjoyed unprecedented mind-bugling and staggering endorsements. This occurred despite strong concerns/criticisms on the likely performance of the incumbent, the dismal records, and the issue of integrity of the main challenger. The questions this paper raise therefore are: were the various endorsements made based on the credibility, integrity, performance, and track records of the two main candidates, or were they based on a clientelist, prebendal, and patronage system, which have characterised politics/political contests in the country? Did such endorsements emerge from a rational, apolitical, and objective assessment of the two candidates? Besides, did those endorsements have any significant effect on the outcomes of the election? To answer these questions, Rational Choice was used as the theoretical anchorage, while a survey design with a mixed-method approach was adopted. An online questionnaire was administered to fifty respondents purposively drawn from a population that comprised academics, professionals, members of civil society organisations and students to generate primary data. Secondary data were sourced from books, journal articles, newspapers, and media commentaries. Results showed that the majority of the endorsements were not objective; rather, they were based on political manoeuvres/patronage, religious, ethnic, and tribal sentiments among other factors. This reflects that personal or group’s material benefits are placed over performance in the country’s political arena.