Iheanacho Nwosu
25 June 2009
opinion
Lagos — VICE Presidential Candidate of Action Congress(AC) in the 2007 election, Senator Ben Obi last week described Nigerian politicians as mercenaries. His verdict may jolt some people but certainly not his boss in the election, Atiku Abubakar who had earlier categorised politicians in the country into two.
They include those in the vocation who are mainly there as a way of lining their pockets and those who are out to serve the masses . Between the two, Abubakar claimed that the former is in the majority. The analogy of the former Vice President is arguably not going to surprise many who have been following political trends in the country.
Both Atiku and Obi were trying to explain the reason behind the soaring decamping of members of the opposition political parties to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since after the last general election.
The reaction of the duo goes to show that they are concerned, like several other Nigerians about the nation's political direction. Such worry does not just arise as a result of the seeming mass movement of notable politicians to PDP but also on what appears to be increasing deterioration of the health of most parties in the country. Arguably, aside AC and PDP no party can be considered to be in a shape good enough to contest the forthcoming election.
This is dangerous in view of the fact that the exercise is less than two years from now. "If I say that some of us are not disturbed I must be telling lies, every Nigerian who is interested in the growth of our democracy should be worried with what is on ground. Our parties are not ready for any election", former governor of old Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa confessed.
He accused the PDP and the presidency of deliberately weakening and even wrecking opposition parties as a strategy to clutch unto power indefinitely. He said "Remember they told us that they want to rule for 60 years, some people thought that they were playing. The strategy to achieving that is what they are doing now, ensuring that none of the parties is in a position to breath not to talk of contesting their so called election".
Although he did not say it but some other politicians have explained that the new move to form a mega party is a counterpoise to any plan the PDP may have against the opposition. The initiative has received huge publicity and backing of some sections of the public.
The forces behind it are said to include Atiku, former head of state and presidential candidate of All Nigeria Peoples Party(ANPP), Maj-Gen.Muhammadu Buhari, Gen. Jerry Useni of the Democratic Peoples Party(DPP), Chief Olu Falae of the Democratic Peoples Alliance(DPA) and the leadership of Pro National Conference of Nigeria(PRONACO) as well as members of a faction of Conference of Nigeria Political Parties(CNPP) led by Balarabe Musa.
As a step towards forming the party they have been holding series of meetings in different parts of the country ostensibly to help fine-tune their strategies and shore up their membership and public sympathy. They have been doing that amid claims in some quarters that the move are unlikely to achieve results. Strangely some of the people who are doubtful of the mega party initiative making the desired impact come from the opposition circle.
Chairman Nigerian Political Parties(CNPP) Chief Maxi Okwu said the move will fail because the elements driving the project are mainly those who wear double as pro democracy activist but who are averse to true democracy. He claimed that he had for interacted with most of them and is in a position to give their true democratic credentials.He said "It is one thing to talk it is another to actualise that aspiration."
The roadmap to wresting power from the PDP he said is for five serving governors who are of the progressive stock to join forces and come up with a political platform and use such platform to fight the ruling party.
"We have to be sincere to ourselves. The mega party arrangement cannot work because the people who are there are the same people who will scuttle it.The only thing that seems practicable is for five or more progressive governors to come together and form a party. They will use their privileged position to fight PDP and mobilize Nigerians to vote PDP out."
Of course, not many people are likely to share the stand of Okwu. Some may even accuse him of transferring his ill-feeling against some top officials of CNPP whom he has been at war with to the Mega party. Musa said "I don't get bothered by the comment of people like Okwu, we know where he is coming from. Nigeria should rise above people like Okwu who are in politics for pecuniary reason". He insists that the plans has 99 percent success.
The leadership of PDP has consistently said that it has no reason to lose sleep over the move. Both the Chairman of the party, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor and its national publicity secretary, Prof Ahmed Alkali said the mega party arrangement will die like other plans enunciated by the opposition in the past.
The prounancement of the duo is seen by some analysts as indecorous and smacks of arrogance. They argued that the party officials were still adorning the toga of super human which members of the former leadership of the party were known for.
Former governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife said "Alkali and co are doing what the party is known for. They like to play god because they feel that nothing will stop them from winning and controlling power since they determine how elections should be conducted. But I know that they are getting it wrong this time around because Nigerians are prepared to defend their votes.
While resisting attempt to align with any of the political sides on chances of survival of mega party there is no running away from the fact that there is cynicism trailing the move. It is natural that such skepticism had to be there since it is coming on board for the first time. Beyond that, what seems befuddling is the possibility of the likes of Atiku and Buhari co-existing in the same political bed. The two are desperate to rule the country and there is doubt if any of them would be prepared to step down for the other.
After the defeat of the tenure elongation plan of former president Olusegun Obasanjo in 2006, there were suggestions and speculations in some quarters that either of the two will support the other in the 2007 poll. Although the two were in different parties it was rumoured that they had accepted that one of them would step down for the other and would mobilize his party members to support the one running for the top office. When the time eventually came neither Atiku nor Buhari agreed to step down for the other and that was how the duo contested the poll and flunked.
There are others in the mega party movement who would not be disposed to suggestion to step aside and allow another person fly the flag of the party. It is possible that it is based on that that Ogbulafor and his men believe that they have no genuine reason to fret over the current moves.
The opposition as Obi said must be united if it is interested to wrest power from the ruling party in 2011. But the question is how can it achieve that in the face of insatiable urge for money by politicians? The opposition must rid itself of the mercenary inclination if it must succeed but how possible is that remains the poser.
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