₦1,500 for a Full Day’s Work: The Reality of Nigeria’s Hired Crowds
A video recently went viral showing a group of young men in green APC campaign shirts, some still holding the money they were paid. Their faces mixed frustration, disbelief, and exhaustion. After spending an entire day dancing, chanting, and campaigning under the sun, each of them received just ₦1,500.
One of them held up the notes to the camera, almost as if he needed proof that this was the final amount. Others stood nearby, still in their branded shirts with President Tinubu’s face printed on them, shaking their heads. The disappointment was clear.
This is not a new story in Nigerian politics. Hired crowds (sometimes called “rent-a-crowd”) have become a regular feature of campaign seasons. Political parties and candidates bring in people, give them branded clothes, feed them lightly, and pay them a small stipend to create the appearance of massive support. When the event ends, the money is shared, and everyone goes home.
What makes this particular video stand out is how openly the participants expressed their dissatisfaction. In the past, many people would take the money quietly and leave. Now, smartphones and social media have changed the dynamic. The same people who were paid to cheer can also record themselves complaining about the payment.
₦1,500 for a full day’s work raises uncomfortable questions. In today’s Nigeria, that amount barely covers transport for some people, let alone food and the energy spent performing under the sun. Yet the system continues because both sides still benefit in the short term. Politicians get the optics of large crowds, and many young people, facing limited economic options, accept the money because it is still something.
The video also highlights a deeper pattern. Political mobilisation in Nigeria often relies more on temporary, paid participation than on genuine, sustained grassroots support. When the money is finished and the campaign posters come down, the same young people return to the same economic struggles they faced before the event.
There is something both comic and tragic about the scene. Comic because of how openly the men expressed their annoyance. Tragic because it shows how cheaply some people’s time and energy can still be valued in the political marketplace.
As long as politics continues to prioritise spectacle over substance, videos like this will keep appearing. The faces change, the party colours change, but the transaction remains the same: one day of noise for a small amount of cash.
And when the next election cycle comes around, many of the same people will likely show up again. Not because they suddenly believe more deeply, but because ₦1,500, no matter how small, is still better than nothing.
