It shows a shocking disregard for the truth, and how political leaders and parties show their disrespect for the poor, desperate and gullible voters by promising those things that are patently undeliverable. Making such promises that are not in the best interests of the constituencies they purport to serve, neither is it in the best interests of the country.
If there is any comparative write up that would inevitably draw the ire of any politician, it is the one that thematically likens him or her to a 419er, such as this as been expressed in this context. To buttress the foregoing opening line, it is expedient to explain that the coinage, 419er, usually applies to a character behind the spam email phishing scams promising people lottery wins or money in return for an advanced payment.
As gathered, a ‘419’scam is a form of upfront payment or money transfer scam. They are called 419 Nigerian scams because the first wave of them came from Nigeria, but they can come from anywhere in the world. The ‘4-1-9’ part of the name comes from the section of Nigeria’s Criminal Code which outlaws the practice.
These scams are also known to be called the Advance Fee Scam. The reason being that invariably, the victim is requested to make a payment in advance, in order to process the release of the funds from the foreign country/bank.
The scammers usually contact you by email or letter and offer you a share in a large sum of money that they want to transfer out of their country. They may tell you about money trapped in central banks during civil wars or coups, often in countries currently in the news. Or they may tell you about massive inheritances that are difficult to access because of government restrictions or taxes in the scammer’s country.
Scammers ask you to pay money or give them your bank account details to help them transfer the money. You are then asked to pay fees, charges or taxes to help release or transfer the money out of the country through your bank. These ‘fees’ may even start out as quite small amounts. If paid, the scammer will make up new fees that require payment before you can receive your supposed ‘reward’. They will keep making up these excuses until they think they have got all the money they can get out of you. You will never receive the money that was promised.
Banks all over the world are targeted not only by phishers, but 419 scammers have also spotted the potential for drawing in victims using the name and details of well-known banks. The scam usually involves an account that has become dormant, due to its (non-existent) owner having died. The scammer’s mission, should they accept it, is to pretend to be a relative of the account holder and claim the money.
Against the backdrop of the foregoing graphical illustrations of how 419ers mischievously operate, it is expedient to ask, “Is it different from the stocks in trade politicians are characterized with?” The answer to the foregoing question cannot be farfetched as it is no more news that politicians ahead of any election are wont to crisscross virtually all nooks and crannies of Nigeria’s 774 local government areas promising the electorates that they have what it takes to literarily bake pie-in-the-sky and build bridges to link heavenly places so that their targets can have face-to-face communication with God; their maker; knowing full well that such promises are false, unachievable and that they are unarguably deceitful campaign promises that amount to political lies, breaches of ethics and honesty.
In fact, increasingly ahead of elections, political leaders and parties are usually seen making false, unrealistic and unattainable promises, in manners that are characteristic of 419ers, in order to get the votes without blinking their eyelids as making false and unrealistic promises are unethical, immoral and irresponsible.
Without a doubt, promises made by politicians, particularly during campaigns ahead of any given election are not different from promises made by 419ers, when analyzed from all contextual ramifications as they are mischievously intended to deceive voters, many of whom are desperate, gullible and do not know better. It now appears that even political campaign speeches now sounds like scam letters written by 419ers aimed at ripping off their targets.
Given the disappointments that are usually experienced by the electorates, just as been experienced by victims of 419ers, it will not be out of place in this contest to opine that outrageously false campaign promises undermine the credibility, legitimacy and trust in the country’s electoral system, and also in politics broadly.
It shows a shocking disregard for the truth, and how political leaders and parties show their disrespect for the poor, desperate and gullible voters by promising those things that are patently undeliverable. Making such promises that are not in the best interests of the constituencies they purport to serve, neither is it in the best interests of the country.
False promises also undermine the credibility of information given to voters to base their voting decisions on false campaign information, particularly in a society such as Nigeria with high levels of tribalistic and brainwashed religionists, with rural and township citizens who often do not have access to credible information, undermines the credibility of truthful, fact-based and evidence-based information, as unknowing ordinary citizens believe the false information they receive from somewhat 419ers category of politicians and political parties. Be that as it may, it is not out of place to opine that any politician that’s not fulfilling his or her campaign promises is like a 419er.