Partisan Politics

Well, if you happen to believe politics in the US are a little too partisan, at least they haven't quite gotten to the level of Nigerian politics. The media there has done a survey and discovered that there has been a sharp decline in the price of a favorite tool used in political discussions there.

Yep, machete prices have fallen to half what they cost during campaign season.

ABUJA (Reuters) - The price of machetes has halved in parts of Nigeria since the end of general elections in April because demand from thugs sponsored by politicians has subsided, the state-owned News Agency of Nigeria reported.

NAN surveyed prices in the northeastern state of Gombe and found that a good quality machete was now selling for 400 naira ($3) compared with 800 naira before the elections, which were marred by politically motivated violence in many states.

"A price survey on machetes, which served as a popular weapon among political thugs in the state, indicated … a drop in the price of the implement," NAN reported over the weekend.

Machetes are primarily used as a tool for farming in Nigeria but they are also popular among political gangsters.

"Before the conduct of the general elections, I was selling a minimum of seven machetes daily but can hardly sell one a day now," said Usman Masi, a trader quoted by NAN.

And remember, when machetes are outlawed, only politicians will have machetes.