Delta State: Democracy and the need for robust opposition

In what can only be described as the most astoundingly shameful, audacious political move, the elected Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governor of Delta State, Sheriff Oborevwori, together with former governor Okowa, and all Delta State National Assembly and State House of Assembly members and all the local government chairmen and councilors, have joined the ruling […]

In what can only be described as the most astoundingly shameful, audacious political move, the elected Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governor of Delta State, Sheriff Oborevwori, together with former governor Okowa, and all Delta State National Assembly and State House of Assembly members and all the local government chairmen and councilors, have joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

All over the country, politicians are defecting to the APC because they want to get political mileage or appointments. Many have attended nocturnal meetings to negotiate things which are unknown to the general public. The current crop of Delta State political office holders has made a name for itself in the annals of political infamy.

To paraphrase Professor Chris Nwaokobia Jnr, the convener of a good governance advocacy group called COUNTRYFIRST MOVEMENT, there is something common among Nigerian politicians which stems from the arrogance of power. They represent no defined ideology and freely negotiate away citizens’ rights under the assumption that the predilection of their egos represents the collective will of the people. They move to party B with a mandate given to party A, and without deference to the provisions of the law or wishes of the electorate. In that manner, the entire political structure of Delta State moved from the PDP to the APC under the pretext that they “want to align with the centre for more democratic dividends to come to the state.”

It was a decision taken without seeking the opinions of the Delta State electorate. In addition, it’s not that the APC has made any great strides in inclusiveness or the management of the federation or states under its control. On the contrary, the nation has become a hunger-ridden, corruption-riddled, insecure, blood-stained killing field. If the ruling party had actually made Nigeria a better place, then the move by the Delta State government would be praised, but the truth is that Nigerians are worse off today than yesterday.

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There is little support from Delta State indigenes for the movement of their state political structure from the PDP to APC at a time when Nigerians feel the most unsafe in their homes and the masses of the people are suffering from poverty and despondency. Perhaps indeed it is honourable for principled politicians to be in opposition than to assent to current goings on. Even as the Federal Republic of Nigeria reels from infrastructural decay, failure in the energy sector, pervasive hunger, roaming murderous gangs, economic downturn and mass unemployment, instead of a vibrant opposition, the nation is witnessing a show of shame from top opposition politicians defecting to the ruling party.

It beggars belief that less than 300 people met at Government House in Asaba and within no time at all changed the political colour, temperature and identity of Delta State. Their defection has been described as a “colossal betrayal” of the will of Deltans in which public trust was traded for personal gain. Chris Obasi popularly known as “Obidient Daddy” said it is not politics but “treachery in daylight” in which the mandate of the people was delivered into the hands of a party that has done nothing but multiply the sufferings of Nigerians and under whose watch Nigeria, according to the Global Terrorism Index, has become the third most terrorised nation on earth.

It is no wonder there are increasing suspicions that those defecting have personal interests that are not in alignment with the best interests of the electorate. Many Nigerians echo this concern about the shrinking political space and the future of multi-party democracy in Nigeria.

A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, attributed the gale of defections by opposition leaders to the fear of the president, who has access to their EFCC files. In recent memory, an APC bigwig stated openly that once a politician joins the party his sins will be forgiven. Evidence of this abounds in the number of people with pending EFCC cases who occupy top political offices under the APC.

It is important to bear in mind that, as history teaches us, one-party states are the precursor to authoritarianism and destruction of democracy. In addition to many other prominent political actors, former minister of Foreign Affairs and PDP stalwart, Chief Tom Ikimi, strongly criticised Nigeria’s dangerous drift to a one-party state.

Quite correctly expressing concern over the “deteriorating state of democratic competition” in the country, Chief Ikimi said the ruling APC is “stifling political plurality and undermining the checks and balances needed for a healthy democracy. He and perhaps the vast majority of Nigerians believe that the essence of democracy lies in robust opposition, free expression, together and accountability not in coercion and suppression.

The reason why Nigeria has not been able to come close to attaining its potential is, to paraphrase Kingsley Moghalu, not corruption. It is the absence of nationhood, the absence of a real vision and the failure of those in leadership positions to manage the economy in a manner which enables wealth creation for those living in poverty rather than simply representing access to economic and contending interests.

The Delta State affair leaves Nigerians questioning whether the role of the electorate in our democracy is restricted to simply casting votes every four years then keep silent, and also is our democracy a winner takes all affair in which there is no room for robust opposition?