I can emphatically say that the victory of the APC as a party
in the last general elections is premised on the platform of sacrifice and
indeed I stand to be corrected. It was the spirit of let go exhibited from the
least to the greatest in the merger formation that led to a victorious outing.
Although Nigerians yearned for change, that yearning would have been punched as
usual if not for the selfless attitude of key players in the opposition which
has now been sworn in as the leading party. Many people who were in support of
former President Jonathan argued that the only mandate of APC was to remove the
president from office and nothing more. They claimed the party had no
developmental agenda for the country. Seeing that their party had failed at
improving the lives of the ordinary Nigerian in the last sixteen years of
occupying the centre, they went as far as saying both the PDP and APC are two
sides of the same coin, a claim I vehemently opposed in a number of my
commentaries.
The notion of whether the major characters in the APC are
better in the opposition camp is definitely yet to be established but one thing
that is now getting clearer by the day is that we might likely be having in the
current leading party countless wolves who are in sheep clothing. Many would
have thought to ask just like I’ve been doing in recent times that where is
that seeming spirit of sacrifice? Or is the claim of the current opposition
(the then incumbent) true about the APC figures? Are Nigerians been fooled one
more time? These questions certainly need quick answers else I would assume a
yes for their silence.
I have listened to several party chieftains as well as many
political commentators say that this is political development in Nigeria but my
response to all of those assertions is that if truly this is political
development in Nigeria, then I’m not sure if that development is right for us
as a people. I have followed carefully the post-election attitude of the APC
and its members but it doesn’t seem clear to me that we have anything different
from the usual. There are insinuations everywhere that some party chieftains
are trying to hijack the party against 2019 when we have barely started any
governance issues for the current mandate. Others say some party warlords are
working to keep the party in their pocket by trying to influence the emergence
of party officials for top ranking positions at all level. They argue that one
person cannot always have it his way pointing to the South West in that regard
and specifically the Asiwaju of Lagos.
I am not sure Dr. Bukola Saraki diagnosed properly the body
language of Nigerians at this point for him to have appropriately assessed the
after effect of the step he took to emerge unopposed as the senate-president of
the red chamber. First it was a case of right of first refusal granted the
immediate past president of the country and many scolded the PDP for its
undemocratic nature of burying interests without proper contest. I have also
called this new move by Dr. Saraki the right of first betrayal in the new
scheme of things. The question to answer as this point would be: why is Dr.
Saraki shying away from democracy? Why is he afraid of a contest? I know him to
be very bold and confident at all times. At least his recent moves in the red chamber
indicated that he is a man who is not afraid to constantly speak out his mind
on any issue whatsoever and I will subscribe to that as true democracy.
Democracy is the power of every individual to make a choice whether right or
wrong.
If democracy is the government of the people, by the people
and for the people in other words the ability to choose and have your choice
work for you then I ask again, why is the Saraki camp denying Nigerians that
right? Why are they mocking the democratic norms upon which they claim they
stand? It must be re-emphasized one more time on this stage that I’m not in
support of Senator Lawan and this piece is not an instrument for such as a
matter of fact, I tipped Saraki over Lawan to become the next president of the
senate in all my conversations before now. What I do not support is to have
someone emerge unopposed in a race that had clear and living opposition.
Dr. Saraki walked out of the mock primary organized by his
party on the account that the organization of the primary was undemocratic. He
was even quoted on his facebook page as saying “the party adopted a voting
pattern that is “undemocratic and against universal electoral norms and
practice.” Another question is when has denying people the right to chose their
leaders become democratic as exhibited by the Saraki camp on the day the 8th
assembly was inaugurated? Or would they claim the other camp was simply absent
when indeed there was a meeting scheduled to find a lasting solution to the
crisis?
Senators-elect who claimed to be of like minds were quoted as
saying “As responsible citizens of Federal Republic of Nigeria, and leaders in
our own right, we have resolved and hereby state that we shall not be part of a
process that promotes undemocratic electoral process that may resort to
rancorous and uncivil situations which inhibits the rights of individuals to
vote for the candidate of their choice, as this process will further divide us
than unite members of our party. This has raised yet another question which is:
of what consequence has the display of this type of undemocratic political
character of the senators-elect who claimed to be of like minds is if not that
it has further thrown the party into a more bitter state of chaos and has even
deepened the sense of distrust among many of them.
It is now clear that the party that majority of Nigerians
worked to support have now been thrown into a fragile condition and it is not
apparent how the party will be able to sail through safely in this ocean of
distrust and selfishness. The saying that every politician no matter how nice
on the outlook is selfish is becoming more glaring to us as a people. Nigerians
had thought that for once in our life time, we have come to the same page with
these new set of leaders but it is disheartening to know that we are actually
still far from such. I want to use this medium to urge party leaders in the APC
to in the interest of the ordinary Nigerians who went through many hassles and
possibly those who voted for change with their lives by paying the supreme
price in the last elections to shift swords, find a common ground and restore
that selfless nature that began the work of a new Nigeria.
Credit: Leadership
No comments:
Post a Comment