A season of anointment and declaration

In this event, there are mainly two political parties in the horizon with a third and a fourth basically playing the fiddle of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the most undemocratic party in the history of Nigeria. The third is APGA and the fourth of course, the recently vacated Labour Party, whose only elected […]

In this event, there are mainly two political parties in the horizon with a third and a fourth basically playing the fiddle of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the most undemocratic party in the history of Nigeria. The third is APGA and the fourth of course, the recently vacated Labour Party, whose only elected executive officer, Segun Mimiko, decamped to where he initially came from.
One beautiful thing about the contraption called Western liberal democracy is the freedom of will and association aside periodic election. Where Nigeria and Nigerian politicians often get it wrong is that there seems to be tremendous abuse of the concept of freedom of association i.e. the willingness to shift tent and camp at the slightest given opportunity in complete disregard to the meaning of ideology and direction in the game of politics.
When candidates lose favour in party primaries, they are quick to shift camp and move to the other parties claiming all sorts of rubbish as reasons. We recently saw, Tom Ikimi, one of those I respected so much in politics, moving away to where he earlier came from just because he couldn’t win the chairmanship of a political party he helped to bring to life.
I saw Ibrahim Shekarau, who was governor of Kano State for eight years, jump fence and join a party he previously castigated and called names and in fact, was recently rewarded with a plump job and the third highest national honour in the country. I have also seen quite a few leave the ruling PDP, joining the opposition APC or APGA, but more of such defections would likely occur between now and the end of the year not to talk of the anti-party activities that are likely to accompany the bad blood that would obviously be created by party primaries and anointments.
One interesting thing that Nigerians await at the moment is how the opposition APC would resolve its internal contradictions which to a greater extent would determine the role the party would play in the 2015 polls. The PDP and many pundits are of the view that the obvious internal contradictions in the APC would be its waterloo and the reason why they would easily either be defeated or rigged out during the elections.
In as much as this hypothesis stands to be disproved, one fact that is emerging is that there are obvious conflicts within the opposition but my take on that all the time is that a virile political party must have basic internal contradictions and its ability to resolve these conflicts in one piece with minimal and or containable stresses would obviously determine its electoral successes or otherwise so the APC can never be insulated from this.
While the APC candidates, especially for the presidency, are declaring beginning with Atiku Abubakar and just this week, Muhammadu Buhari, we expect more declarations in the coming days and weeks.
That in my view is positive to the system, the more the merrier they say and it may blossom. So is the case with aspirants who want to be governors, members of national and state assemblies. The declarations are unending as certainly this is the season for it.
Why I said in the beginning of this piece that the PDP is the most undemocratic party in Africa is not necessarily to do with how presidents remove national chairmen and install puppets at will but by the fact that only a few weeks ago they celebrated what they called the sole candidature of Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 and directed that no member of the party shall raise any eyebrow on that and they are by the party discipline mantra prohibited from expressing any interest on the presidency of this country under the banner of their party.
This is the first time Nigerians are exposed to this sheer political obscurantism and desperation out of the desire to hang on to power and ensure that nobody within the rank and file of the PDP challengesMr. Jonathan. This shows the power of puppetry and why the president and other power blocks within the party always appoint national officials of the party. To do things as their bosses please.
Then last week came an array of endorsements of unopposed candidates by state governors who are finishing their second terms. In Ebonyi, Enugu and other climes, governors are saying these are our candidates and no party members within the states should challenge them. What did we hear from Wadata Cantonment?
That the governors cannot do that and the NWC of the party has cancelled all such declarations. This is madness. These people in Abuja have forgotten that Nigeria is a basically two tier federal system. What is good for the goose, they say, is also good for the gander. Why would the Board of Trusted clowns, the NEC and NWC of the party do something that is deserving for the president and deny the governors, who first muted the idea of sole candidacy for Mr. President and sold it to the other party agencies, now wake up and deny the state monarchs the right to exercise the same privilege that they allow the centre to have?
This is a problem and one thing I am sure of as a student of power and politics is that very soon, a protracted crisis would ensue between the governors, who sent Bamanga Tukur packing, with the new chairman, Ahmed Muazu and those of us by the side will wait to see who blinks first.
The problem with our party system and democracy is that we lack the attitude necessary for a democratic system. Nigerians at the top love to eat their cake and have it at the same time and this certainly is impossible.
If the national PDP would confer sole candidature on its presidential candidate, then, the state governors too must enjoy similar privilege and enjoy same. Anything short of that reduces the system to another degree of madness more so we are already in deep shit and only removal of the party from federal authority in 2015 would pave the way for salvaging of the already bad situation.
The weeks ahead in Nigerian politics will be interesting. We are likely to see what General Babangida once referred to as realignment of forces and the success of the opposition APC in the 2015 elections would lie mainly on how they are able to manage the contradictions within the party in the coming weeks and months. No doubt, most Nigerians are tired of this PDP misrule but getting them out would require much more than wish and sloganeering.
We hope Nigeria would eventually be liberated from these lies called a government and its ruling party.
God bless Nigeria!