President, Nations Leadership Institute, Ilorin, Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo, has charged politicians to adopt fund-raising to finance their political activities to checkmate moneybags from hijacking political parties.
Oyedepo said this on Monday in a paper delivered at a Workshop on “How to win elections” organised by the institute for candidates contesting the 2023 General Elections.
In his paper; “Fund-raising for political purpose”, Oyedepo declared that fund-raising for political campaigns is a major instrument for ‘killing’ godfathers in politics.
“Fund-raising democratises politics and ensures that men and women of merit are promoted for elections.
“It should be employed as a new instrument of political freedom and development in all ramifications,” he added.
He described crowdfunding as a financing method that involves funding a project or idea with relatively modest contributions from a large group of individuals, rather than seeking a substantial sum from a smaller number of individuals.
“Little drops of water make an ocean, crowd funds an idea, project than one or two persons,” he asserted.
Oyedepo explained that, crowdfunding is a democratic way of financing a party, adding that it creates a sense of ownership and participation.
He described crowdfunding as a tool of mobilisation that addresses the issue of godfatherism and dictatorship.
“The greatest problem in fundraising is that people do not do it, they talk about it, they worry about it, they read about it, but they rarely do it,” he added.
Oyedepo said that to effectively organise a fundraising programme, there must be strategic planning, financial planning, programme design, and evaluation.