Atiku, opposition and Ogbulafor’s prediction
I believe Ogbulafor. Before anyone accuse me of also decamping, let me reiterate that we can accuse the PDP of usurpation, election rigging, bad governance, recklessness etc, but nobody can deny the fact that it is one party that can best be described as the most organised political party in Nigeria. Remember what transpired between […]
I believe Ogbulafor. Before anyone accuse me of also decamping, let me reiterate that we can accuse the PDP of usurpation, election rigging, bad governance, recklessness etc, but nobody can deny the fact that it is one party that can best be described as the most organised political party in Nigeria. Remember what transpired between Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo, but today, the only reason Atiku can offer his supporters on why he returned to the PDP was to deepen democracy. But political scientists and analysts believe that Atiku and his associates’ actions was nothing but an effort to turn the country into a one party state. Nothing is farther from the truth; Atiku will never have the kind of influence he had in the PDP from 1998-2007, not now that the Governor of his native state, Adamawa, has already rejected him in the party.
The functionality of competitive party politics in the democratization process, especially in a fragile democracy like ours, depends largely on the power of the opposition they are key pillars of good governance, the rule of law and the protection of human rights; they expand the political horizon thereby giving the citizens alternatives in making choices. A forceful opposition in a multi-party setting will put the ruling party on its toes by proposing alternative policies that will help strengthen democracy. However, in Nigeria, what we saw in the opposition parties in the last decade was parties weakened by lack of internal democracy, absence of a clear political ideology which makes them just party in names with no difference from the ruling PDP. We see opposition parties characterized by factional struggles between the supporters of big weights within the party, unprepared for governance beyond the raw desire for the acquisition of political power and or mercenary party leaders hired by the ruling PDP to weaken the establishments.
In this scenario, the poor masses; the poverty stricken masses are left undecided and confused. They were made to believe that politics is about names or those people who had access to power in the past, and who misused that power to enrich themselves. With over 55 political parties, still Nigerians are left with little choice. In fact, it is even right to say that Nigeria has one political party; that is the PDP. The only viable opposition does not come from political parties as we expected in liberal democracies but from the Civil Society Groups. Lest we forget, for all the time the nation was trapped in leadership and political crises in the past few months, only the Save Nigeria Group led by Mallam Salihu Lukman, Yinka Odunmakin and Engineer Buba Galadima was able to put pressure on the PDP led government and to fight the cabal that used the President’s ill-health to hold the nation to ransom.
Prince Vincent Ogbulafor was no fool and he knows very well that presidential ambition is the only force driving most of the leaders of the opposition and ipso facto, the only reason they remain in active politics at the moment. As a leader of the most organised political party in Nigeria, it is easy for Ogbulafor to predict how long his party will remain in power. And you know what? Accuse Ogbulafor of being undemocratic or whatever, but he knows fully well that as long as the opposition remains what it is today, only a military takeover can stop them from winning an election. Nigerians are sick and tired of opposition parties blaming their electoral woes on INEC and the ruling party all the time without looking at their own shortcomings.
Today, as we approach the 2011 elections, the opposition is pushing us into the PDP, the party we daily castigate as responsible for the situation we find ourselves. Atiku back to the PDP and Buhari out of NDM. They are again divided, each in his desperate ambition to contest the presidency not the interest of Nigerians that are daily praying to have a change in years ahead. Atiku has disappointed many and for Buhari I have to caution him. He should not allow himself to be used by some individuals just out to use his name to get rich. If not, Ogbulafor would be proved right. In fact, that has already happened, what evidence are we waiting for?
Kabiru Danladi Lawanti, Area 11, Garki, Abuja.