A people that values its privileges above its principles soon lose both’
—Dwight D. Eisenhower
Everything is wrong with travelling passengers who rush to a vehicle that is faulty and hardly reaches its destination but share food and drinks packages on take-off.
That exactly mirrors Nigeria’s political system where seven out of every ten persons you meet within the nation’s political circle will tell you that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has been a huge flop, but the traffic of persons leaving their party to them is on the increase.
In a real political setting where theories and principles of practice are observed and followed judiciously, a non-performing political party like APC should be losing members in droves especially ambitious politicians who wouldn’t want the party’s poor performance to rob off on them and be a cog in their political aspirations..
But in our clime the reverse is the case, ambitious politicians line up to enter the non-performing ruling party because of the election rigging potentials therein coupled with the fact that they attend more to their cupidity.
The reason for this grave antinomy will be the basis of our conversation this week. The epileptic nature of our democratic practice in this country is rooted in these contradictions and until it’s tackled, our political journey will remain pedestrian notwithstanding the age.
In 26 years of uninterrupted democracy or civil rule In Nigeria from 1999 to date only less than 30% of the leading political figures in the country have remained in one political party.
What has been prevalent is crisscrossing from one political party to the other not ideologically driven but in search of stomach infrastructure. Sixteen years of its control of political power in this country, the PDP was a market place and all traffic was heading to seek the coverage of its umbrella.
The party leadership was so swollen-headed at some point that it boasted that it would be in power for at least 60 years. Why wouldn’t they be haughty and overweening when every road was leading to it and opposition was visibly vanishing? After sixteen years into their 60-year dream, they lost power to another power-grab gang formed ostensibly for that purpose.
And ten years in power the haughtiness of the APC has been apparent surpassing that of PDP with traffic to their vehicle on the increase irrespective of their disappointing performance records.
This abnormality is at the foundation of democracy’s challenges in this country. Politicians see political party platforms as vehicles to have access to public funds for their aggrandizement not necessarily for national development.
Nigerian politicians do not see a political party as a vehicle to serve the people and develop their land, not at all but to oil their unquenchable personal appetite. This incongruity exists because most politicians do not have a second address when entering politics.
They erroneously chose politics as a career. As a result, the desperation to win and remain in power becomes a cutthroat competition, a do-ordie affair because they have no fallback.
The fear of being out of power ignites the adrenaline in their body and leads to all kinds of injudiciousness. Why is it so, because their target from inception is the commonwealth of the people for selfish gains, not service?
If the initial aim of a politician is to serve the people there will be no need for the foolhardiness being experienced by political players. The lack of a “second address” for politicians is indeed a significant challenge facing Nigeria’s democracy.
What do we mean by lack of a second address in politics? It’s the fact that many Nigerian politicians do not have a legitimate means of livelihood outside of politics, making them reliant on their political positions for survival.
This envelope politics can lead to a range of problems, including Corruption, as politicians may feel pressured to engage in unfair activities to maintain their livelihood.
The political instability in the country over time is also attributable to the lack of a “second address” as politicians may become desperate to hold onto power and engage in destabilizing behaviours as can be seen between PDP and some of its members who have become a willing tool for the ruling party to disrupt the systematic order of the opposition.
The lack of a second address is also responsible for the endless squabbles in the polity. The issue helps to undermine Internal Democracy within political parties, as politicians may prioritize their interests over the needs of their constituents for survival.
Promoting transparency, accountability, and good governance may be a veritable and essential way of addressing the lack of second-address challenges in politics but who is interested when a shaky ruling party benefits from the status quo?
Fundamentally, the lack of a “second address” for politicians is a symptom of deeper issues within Nigeria’s political system. To tackle these underlying challenges will require a sustained effort to promote democratic values, strengthen institutions, and ensure that politicians are accountable to the people they serve.
What has greatly helped these anomalies to germinate in the system is the lack of principles in our politics that have become multifaceted.
It leads to all other vices, the absence of internal democracy within political parties, the imposition of candidates, godfatherism, and corruption, and all these ultimately undermine the democratic process.
Also glaring is the conspicuous lack of party ideology and principles. Nigerian political parties often prioritize personal interests over the nation’s well-being, leading to inconsistent and self-serving decisionmaking.
For instance, the Federal Character Principle, which aims to ensure equitable representation and employment distribution, is also not effectively implemented.
This has resulted in disparities and inequalities in the Nigerian civil service as deepened by the APC regime in the last ten years. This clear lack of principles in our politics has been exacerbated by the absence of a clear direction or vision for the country’s development.
Most Policies are often not based on sound principles but on selfish and parochial considerations leading to ineffective implementation and an obvious lack of accountability.
The exodus of politicians out of their party, the continuous flocking to the APC despite criticisms of their performance, is essentially a search for a perceived power and influence domiciled in a ruling party.
The ruling party always holds significant power and influence in Nigeria’s politics. The Presidential system in place encourages the winner and in Africa, it means the loser should go and die as the adage patient dog gets the fattest portion does not apply.
Politicians join the party not on any ideology or principles but to gain access to resources, appointments, and other benefits that come with being part of the ruling party.
In a third-world democracy like Nigeria where electoral malfeasance is not a crime, the ruling party enjoys strong electoral machinery, which can provide an advantage to politicians seeking election.
By joining the party, politicians may increase their chances of winning in elections. In APC one of their previous National Chairman and now a Senator of the Republic, Senator Adams Oshiohmole even declared publicly that joining APC automatically wipes one’s sins, especially corruption issues.
They have demonstrated this by the withdrawal of some corruption charges of those joining them. A most visible example was former Governor of Gombe state Danjuma Goje who got his case with EFCC withdrawn when he left PDP to join the ruling APC and late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah whose numerous cases with EFCC and AMCON were played down immediately after he left his YPP party to the APC.
Another issue that helps to assist the lack of a second address to destroy our democracy is the absence of strong and viable opposition. The opposition parties in Nigeria have not been strong enough to provide a viable alternative to the APC.
This is leading to politicians joining the ruling party as a way to gain power and influence even though empirical facts show that it’s the same ruling party that is deviously destroying the opposition for selfish purposes.
A glaring underwhelming ruling party like APC will do everything possible to ensure that the opposition is not seen as a viable alternative.
Currently, the impasse being experienced by the two leading opposition political parties, the PDP and the Labour Party is traceable to the ruling APC who is deviously fueling them.
If indeed we sincerely desire our democracy to deepen, Nigeria must address these challenges, promote internal democracy, party ideology, and principles and go further to prioritize possession of a second address for party flag bearers at all levels, both in the executive and legislative arms for fallback. Such measures will help to discourage desperation from players.
This can be achieved through electoral reforms, strengthening institutions, and encouraging transparency and accountability.
For those Nigeria politicians who have become a rolling stone gathering nothing while searching for resources at the expense of principles, those of them who due to lack of a second address keep changing political platforms the way they change their underwear driven by their greed more than their principles, I like to leave them with this entreaty from India’s icon, Mahatma Gandhi, “Never has a man reached his destination by persistence in deviation from the straight path” God help us.