Among Peter Obi’s supporters the Obidients one phrase has gained near-sacred status: “We no dey give shishi.” It captures a deep frustration with Nigeria’s corrosive politics of money, where voters are too often reduced to commodities and leadership to transactions. It reflects a genuine desire for cleaner politics. But in our quest for a new political culture, we must also confront reality, politics everywhere in the world requires resources and significant ones.
This is where the Obidient creed faces its greatest test. The 2023 election demonstrated that passion, energy, and social media visibility can shift the narrative and energize millions. But the hard truth is that passion alone cannot secure 176,000 polling units across Nigeria. Online activism must be matched with offline structure, and structure must be sustained by resources.
Still, to insist that money is inevitable does not mean endorsing corruption or “vote buying.” The issue is not whether money should be spent but how. There is a fundamental difference between deploying resources for logistics, voter education, and campaign infrastructure and handing out cash to compromise the electorate. The former is democracy at work, the latter is democracy for sale.
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If the Obidient movement or any reform-minded force wants to grow into a winning political machine, it must evolve. It must find innovative ways of raising and deploying funds through crowdfunding, transparent donations, membership dues, and alliances. It must show that resources can be mobilized without descending into the old order of patronage politics.
In truth, no one gets to power on a platter of gold, whether in Nigeria or elsewhere. It requires sacrifice, organization, and yes, spending. The slogan “we no dey give shishi” served its symbolic purpose rejecting the corrupt excesses of yesterday’s politics. But the future will demand a more pragmatic approach, one where money is not demonized, but used responsibly, strategically, and transparently in the service of genuine change.
In Nigerian politics, it is simple, either you spend, or you are spent. The challenge is ensuring that what you spend builds democracy rather than destroys it.
