2023: Is  Nigeria Tilting Towards One Party State?

…Asks Aminu Mohammed

Few days ago when one of  the serial political prostitutes in Nigeria Femi Fani Kayode (FFK) who is “today here tomorrow there  politician”  dined and wined with the president at the villa, he dropped a bomb shell that political analysts are yet to weigh its future implications on Nigeria. According to FFK, “more and more prominent PDP members are willing to decamp to the APC” and he was specific by mentioning the governors of Enugu, Oyo and Bauchi states but economical with the likes of governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state whose decamping was expected few weeks after that of governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle of Zamfara state but was delayed for some undisclosed reasons

Fani Kayode  however said it all when he stated that the only constant thing in life is change while reacting to a question on his past statements that he would never join the APC.

In 2018, as part of the build up to the 2019 general elections, the country witnessed mass movement of  SELF INTEREST POLITICIANS from the ruling APC to the opposition PDP and most of those who shifted camp from the ruling party were presidential aspirants who felt with Buhari’s second term bid, they had no chance at all in the APC and therefore decided to try their luck with the PDP where they  lost to Atiku Abubakar another political adventurer at the PDP presidential primaries in Port Harcourt. Prominent among them are, governor Tambuwal, Senator Kwankwaso and Senator Saraki.

With less than two years for another round of election coming up, these same “political carpet baggers” are at it again, they want to return to base.

If one may ask this simple question, what is the universal definition of politics and why do politicians seek for public office?

While one may not go into the elementary definition of politics, there is need to tell our politicians that the essence of seeking for public office is to serve humanity by bettering the lives of those who trusted them and gave them the mandate to represent them. However, this representation is by choice and therefore any politician who fails to defend and advance the interests of his immediate community has failed.

Nigerian politics and politicians are different from universal definitions. It is only in Nigeria that a founding father of a political party would decamp and return as a tenant in his own house. It is only in Nigeria that politicians decamp from one party after losing in a primary election and join another and still lose in his new party and return to where he earlier left. What kind of “garage politics” is this? The basic interest is not “We” the people but “they” the power seekers.

Nigerian politics is full of inconsistencies. It is selfish oriented. Most politicians seek for public office to advance their selfish desire for power and wealth, no more, no less.

If there is one politician in this country who deserves our respect, he is former governor of Lagos state and leader of the APC, Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu who has a higher percentage of political consistency. From 1999 to date, Tinubu remains the only politician who has refused to join the PDP and has been challenging the party with all he has. He refused to be intimidated even when Obasanjo  as president used state “force” and brought the Alliance for Democracy ( AD) which was the only dominant party in the south west on its knees All the south west states except Lagos fell to the PDP. To frustrate Tinubu, Obasanjo denied Lagos it’s mandatory monthly ALLOCATION for more than four years simply because Tinubu created additional local government councils and when asked to dissolve them, he refused saying the state had resources to take care of the new councils. That is how bad Nigerian politics can be so frustrating.

Now that Fani Kayode has  let the cat out of the bag, Nigerians are waiting to see how these shameless politicians who left their party for selfish reasons and were disappointed at where they went thinking that there was ” mana from heaven” would return to their former parties and even seek for new offices.

Governor Bala Mohammed was a senator under the ANPP ( now merged as APC) but decamped to the PDP for a ministerial appointment and has been in the PDP for more than half a decade. What is it that he wants to get in the APC that the PDP has not provided for him?

Governor Tambuwal just like FFK is already a “political marauder” so he is used to moving from one political party to the other. His record of party rigmaroling from 1999 to date is full of inconsistencies. From the PDP to the ANPP then to the DPP then back to the PDP, then APC and PDP and now warming up to return to the APC. Simply put, what does Tambuwal want in politics? Power and wealth (“chikenan”)

But before we crucify Tambuwal for being an erratic and crafty politician even the president is guilty of the same offence. Despite his integrity, when it comes to seeking for power he can tour many political parties to actualize his ambition. He left the ANPP and formed his own political party, the CPC but still failed to get what he wanted until the APC which is an amalgamation of different political interests came to his rescue.

In the final analysis, the mass decamping from the PDP to the APC  portends a clear and present danger to the survival of democracy in Africa as a continent. We need an urgent Third Force to neutralize the adventurers in both the PDP and APC.

The PDP as the largest opposition party  has failed in  checkmating  the APC and if the ruling party is allowed to cash on the PDP weakness, the future of democracy in this country is very, very bleak. For  now, democracy is under a serious threat and this is the time for The Patriots to ACT.

Nigerians of like minds  irrespective of tribe and religion should all speak to these inconsistent politicians in the language they understand that it is time for a “New Nigeria” where nothing more than GOOD GOVERNANCE  is what the electorate demands.

As former president Babangida said when he formed the SDP and NRC which produced the most freest and fairest elections in the country in 1993, “a little to the right and a little to the left”.

At least if we can’t have credible multi party system, we should adopt the IBB style of a two party system. The PDP MUST not Die just because of the selfish interest of a CABAL holding this nation to ransom.   A Stitch in Time, Saves Nine.