The battle of titans and political harlotry By: Liad Tella The dice is cast; the stage is set for the battle of the titans; an encore of 2011 and a courageous push to sustain the democratic order that may register Nigeria as the largest democracy in Africa. With the emergence of President Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan as the flagbearer of the PDP, General Muhammadu Buhari as the flag bearer of the APC the nation has finally transited to a two-party state. For those who are very young it is pertinent to recall the nation had been on this threshold thrice and the military truncated the transition, which has turned to be a misadventure by the military and a grave error by the populace who welcomed the military intervention with open arms. The military unfortunately destroyed our national ethos, rocked the basis of our national unity and brought into governance elements alien to the concept of justice, equity, transparency and public accountability. Before the January 15 1966 military coup, two parties had emerged the Nigeria National Alliance NNA and the United Progressive Grand Alliance UPGA. The NNA drew its membership from the NNDP in Western Nigeria and the Northen Peoples Congress (NPC) and minority parties in the then South East (present South-South minus Edo and Delta and the present South-East). These were the two parties in the 1965 general elections which saw the NNA emerging as the majority in parliament. There were rigging allegations here and there, but the truth was that the two parties were involved in the electoral manipulation, planting it absolutely on one of the alliances was rhetorical and media collaboration with the then opposition. The second attempt at two party system was in 1982 when the Unity party of Nigeria, Nigeria Peoples Party NPP, The Great Nigeria Peoples Party GNPP came together for the Progressive Peoples Grand Alliance (PPGA) against the ruling National Party of Nigeria NPN. That alliance could not defeat the NPN at the 1983 polls; but it had a good showing with the hope to provide effective and efficient opposition and the possibility of ousting the NPN at subsequent polls. Again, the military struck and ended the second republic on allegation of corruption about ballot rigging. The third attempt was the creation of a two-party system by the regime of president Ibrahim Babangida in 1990 .The parties were founded by the government. Two major achievements were recorded. The two-party system ended the era of tribalism and ethnicity in electoral contest in Nigeria. It also eliminated absolute control of the parties of by moneybags or cults of political powerbrokers. The option A-4 ballot system also produced the freest, fairest and most credible elections in the annals of our national history. The unfortunate enactment of Abacha’s five political parties all which adopted him as the sole Presidential candidate reversed the gains of the Babangida’s two party system. After Abacha’s death, General Abubakar’s government also failed to restore the SDP and NRC; and instead opened the door for tribal politics with the registration of over a hundred political associations. The hurried nature of the transition under Abubakar did not allow much attention to the advantage or disadvantage of the open-door party regime which created high mobility among the commercial and entrepreneurial politicians we now have in the country. There is no shame, no scruples and no moral among monkey politicians frog jumping in and out of one party to the other; no principle, no ideology and no shame. I must contest at all costs under whichever party can give me the ticket is the ruling ideology. The parties are harlots in disposition, too. The bridal train changes faster than the preparations for the marriage or alliance itself. The avowed seemingly ideological enemies of yesterday suddenly get romantic and those who served at various legislative and executive arms of government suddenly dump the party ladder for another simply because he/she couldn’t transit the mucky waters of party primary elections. Some want to remain in the legislature for life, other want to become president or governors at all cost. They have nothing for the nation, except self aggrandizement. How can it be explained that the Speaker of the House of Representative will cross over to the opposition after being the speaker under a party for almost four years? How could a governor who ruled for seven and a half years decamp to a party that had rubbished his regime as a non-performing wasted years because of internal dispute that should have been addressed using party machinery or the court of law? Crossing from the PDP to the APC or conversely has exposed the hollowness of party ideology in Nigeria and the pretensions to either progressivism or conservatism; particularly the euphemism of those who lay claim to progressive political approach to governance. As we march towards February 2015, we are again treading a familiar road with the hope that we shall not slide into the dark days again. The way politicians are going about politicking and behaving like the Bourbon king of ancient France who learnt nothing and forgot nothing across ages. In Kwara where I live, a particular political party has been buying basic data on the Permanent Voter’s Card of local people inducing them with N5,000 or N10,000. They make photocopy and return the card thereafter. What is the objective behind this? The system was used in Osun State last year; up February this year; yet the party is the loudest in the allegation that the ruling party want to rig the 2015 elections. Who is fooling whom? The mayhem in Ibadan is a prelude to what should be expected in February: intimidation of opposition at the state level where the media is pretending ignorance or are collaborating to cover up those behind the crisis. The revelations at Osun electoral tribunal has shown in clear terms that no political party in Nigeria can lay claim to transparency and free electoral system without manipulations one way or the other. In many cases, it is the perfect rigger that wins. The threat of fire and brimstone is only preparing the ground for protest even before the first ballot is cast.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 06:13:48 +0000
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