Political re-camping

Re-camping is the new buzz word travelling round the political arena. Politicians who move from one Party to another are said to have decamped. If they then again move to another party they have decamped a second time. If however, (as is usually the case in Nigeria), they move back to the Party they originally […]

Re-camping is the new buzz word travelling round the political arena. Politicians who move from one Party to another are said to have decamped. If they then again move to another party they have decamped a second time. If however, (as is usually the case in Nigeria), they move back to the Party they originally came from, then they have not but re-camped!  Edo State is a prime example of this re-camping phenomenon. At a meeting of some leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Edo State chapter and the executive of the state chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) preparations were finalized for some APC “stalwarts” to declare for PDP.
The top echelons of the APC in Edo are threatening to re-camp to PDP. It’s hardly surprising the electorate finds it difficult to take our political class seriously with their unending antics and theatrics. In days gone by it was easy to know where a politician stood because political leaders were synonymous with their Parties. Aspiring leaders joined political parties because they believed in the Party’s ideology. Once they became Party members then loyalty and principles dictated their actions. Unfortunately for our political development we operate a democracy in which political parties have no underlying philosophy. Coupled with the fact that the highest office of the Presidency was won without a manifesto, Nigerian politicians have come to view political loyalty or adherence to a set of principles as an unnecessary waste of time. This makes it easier for them to decamp or re-camp without having to intellectually defend their actions.
They don’t let small matters such as principles or Party loyalty stand in the way of their personal ambitions. Our nation is plagued by unprincipled, AGIP (Any Government In Power), politicians who despite their past record of failure insist on remaining relevant in our affairs. One of the most notable re-campees is the Senator representing Edo South Senatorial District. He was a PDP Senator who decamped in 2011 and was handed the ACN Senatorial ticket at the expense of a staunch party member who left to join PDP in protest. Now not only has the “honourable” Senator re-camped to PDP, he is now a bedfellow and political colleague of the man he defeated in ACN! It has been said severally that even if APC is able to dislodge PDP at the polls it would be a monumental surprise if it can provide the solution to our problems. In our precarious condition where what is required is a change and a break from the past, it is difficult to see how this can come from a Party in which practically every top official has at one time or another been in PDP.
The ongoing re-camping from APC is evidence that the party is top heavy with those who will leave when their personal ambitions are not fulfilled. This represents a major problem in the way and manner the All Progressives Congress was built up in a hurry to become the main opposition party.  The party is full of people who have already betrayed one affiliation, and who would have no hesitation in doing it again. Anxious to expand quickly, the party welcomed defectors from the PDP with relish. Instead of recognizing them for what they were – unprincipled actors who are only interested in furthering their personal interest – and dismissing their support, not only were the “decampees” welcomed but they were given prominent positions in the Party.
From being “leaders” in the PDP, they metamorphosed into progressive “leaders” in the APC overnight! In Edo State in particular Comrade Governor evidently overcome with elation, made a statement which has now come back to haunt him. He said that there was to be a “level playing field” and it didn’t matter to him who started the Party or worked for it in its initial stages.
The Comrade Governor was apparently so overjoyed to see so many failed and discredited politicians flock to join the APC that he welcomed them with open arms. At the time political analysts warned that if the track record of our politicians was anything to go by, then the euphoria greeting the registration of APC would be seriously misplaced. In Edo State practically every politician who was an integral part of the monstrous failure that was the PDP years joined the APC.
Edo people are in no doubt that in eight years of government the PDP failed woefully to impact positively upon their lives. Igbinedion’s lack of manifesto, policy summersaults, broken promises, dishonoured agreements, financial scandals, and abysmal budget performance are the real causes of the underdevelopment of Edo State today.  After the years of the PDP locusts, the Comrade Governor transformed the State and was re-elected in a wave of euphoria. Unfortunately in appointing a former PDP Governorship aspirant as Secretary to State Government (SSG), and a former PDP Member of the House of Reps as Chief of Staff, he sidelined loyal party members and disaffection set in.
The looming APC political crises of the post Oshiomhole elections in Edo State highlights all the ills associated with politics in Nigeria. Decamping, re-camping, bitterness, attack, blackmail, insults, and outright lies have become the norm. The sincerity of the former PDP stalwarts masterminding those leaving the APC to PDP all over the nation and making inflammatory allegations is questionable. Those re-camping in Edo State in order to further their political ambitions despite their previous poor record are saying openly that they aren’t afraid of blackmail because “those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones”. This statement is at best an admonition to all politicians that there should be honour among thieves.
Worst still it is a warning to Comrade Governor that “na who know man dey kill am”!