Money, Power, Politics, and Violence: The 2023 Presidential Election in Nigeria Through the Lens of Karl Marx, David McNally, Girard Rene, John Keane

Money, Power, Politics, and Violence: The 2023 Presidential Election in Nigeria Through the Lens of Karl Marx, David McNally, Girard Rene, John Keane, and Bessel Van der Kolk

????

?????????????? ????????

https://theplaymechanics.com/?p=191

“?????? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????????? ???? ?????? ???????? ???? ?????? ????????.” 1 ?????????????? 6:10 (???????? ?????????? ??????????????)

“???? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????????????, ?????? ?????? ?????? ???????????? ????????, ???????? ???? ????????.” …????????????

Nigeria’s Presidential Election is slated to hold this weekend, precisely, on Saturday, February 25th 2023. One unique cause of brouhaha about the election is the central role of money in deciding the fates of the winner and losers. The Central Bank of Nigeria is at the center of the crisis. On October 26, 2022, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele announced the plan to redesign the Naira, the Nigerian currency. According to him, this is to control the money supply and to checkmate politicians who have stashed billions of Naira outside the banking system to bribe electorates, buy votes and prosecute the elections. The Naira redesign policy is also expected to support the efforts of the Nigerian security agencies to checkmate the activities of bandits, terrorists, kidnappers, and other criminals creating the atmospheres of violence and insecurity in the country. While every Nigerian agrees that the policy has great merits, opinions are divided about its implementation.

The implementation of the policy is turning the country upside down and bringing untold hardship to the populace. The shortage of money in circulation is affecting the circulatory systems of Nigerians, whether rich or poor. David McNally in his book, ?????????? ?????? ??????????: ??????, ??????????????, ??????????????, ?????? ???????????? rightly opined that circulating money in the economy resembles blood circulation in the human body (McNally, 48). The more money in circulation the more the blood pumps through the veins of politicians, the oppressors, the collaborators, and the monetized and weaponized poor masses. Confirming the relationship of money in circulation to the blood circulation in the human body in his 1844 “?????????? ???? ?????????? ????????", Karl Marx stated, “The substance, the body clothing the spirit of money is not money, paper, but instead it is my personal existence, my flesh and blood.” (qtd. in McNally, 2) It may be apt to ask, what are the effects of lack of money in circulation, particularly during a crucial election period, on the personal existence, flesh, and blood of Nigerians?

The lack of money in circulation is causing violent protests, arsons, and attacks on banks and bankers, in several parts of the country. For the first time, there are outcries from both the rich and the poor, the oppressors and the oppressed, the politicians and the electorates, and the ruling party, and the opposition party members. There are violent-inducing rhetoric and accusations from supporters of the different presidential candidates and their political parties. Despite the interim injunction granted by the Supreme Court of Nigeria to maintain the status quo and go back to the use of the old Naira notes, the President of Nigeria, His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari has insisted “No going back”. Prominent members of his political party are at loggerheads with him and battle ready to slug it out in the court of law and in the political arena.

The masses continue to groan in pain due to the scarcity of cash in circulation. Will money, available or not, continue to play its role as the “technology of power”? (McNally, 1) and decide the fate of the 2023 presidential election? Will money, available or not, soak the nation “in blood-blood that has flowed in the tracks of slavery, war, and empire”? (McNally 2) Again can the implementation of the Naira redesign policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria be determined by the Supreme Court of Nigeria because as McNally rightly observed that “states determine the unit measure (e.g., dollars, yen, euros, yuan, and ??????????*) within their sovereign territory.” (McNally, 3). What is uniquely Nigerian with "primitive accumulation of capital” (Karl Marx) and stashing money for political control and to prosecute election since this has always been the practice in almost all cultures and civilizations, and throughout the history of money, politics, power, and empires? In this paper, Nigeria’s 2023 Presidential election will be examined through the lens of McNally’s ?????????? ?????? ??????????: ??????, ??????????????, ??????????????, ?????? ???????????? (2020) vis a vis Karl Marx’s concern with capitalism and Girard Rene’s idea of ritual violence in ???????????????? ?????? ?????? ???????????? (1972). Is the presidential election a form of 'ritual violence'? What are the post-election effects of the CBN'S monetary redesign implementation on the mental state of ordinary Nigerians? Will there be post-traumatic stress disorder? The critical formalist review of these celebrated works will also take into cognizance the distinction between “civil society” and “the state” as illustrated by John Keane in ?????????????????????? ???? ???????????????? (1996) and the account of “post-traumatic stress disorder” as observed by Bessel Van der Kolk in “???? ?????????????????? ?????? ???????????????????? ????????????????: ?? ???????? ???????? ??????????” (2009).

……………………………

??????!!! ?????? ???????? ???? ???????? ?????? ?????????? ??????????? ????????…. ?????? ???? ????????!

?????? ???? ???????????? ???? ???????????????????? … ?????????? ?????? ???????? ????????????????????!