The Limping Opposition
By Monday Philips Ekpe
In 1992, the then government of General Ibrahim Babangida, in a fiat, dissolved the numerous political associations that were contesting for attention and approval and, in a move that was both dramatic and novel, established two political parties - one," a little to the left," the other, "a little to the right." The military had felt that what the polity needed at that time was a situation in which Nigerians, irrespective of their political, economic or ethnic backgrounds, could join the political organisations as equals.
As expected, the decision elicited the anger of activists and commentators who vehemently protested that it was an anomaly for the government to decree political parties into existence; that they ought to evolve on their own by allowing the dynamics of social engineering decide the criteria for alliances and group formations. And they had credible, ethical reasons for their stand.
It is difficult to fully x-ray the motives of Babangida and his men for their action and one must agree that the circumstances that surrounded the birth of National Republican Convention (NRC) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) ran counter to the doctrines expounded by most political science textbooks. What must not be waved away casually, however, is that the move might have been informed by a thorough, studious understanding of the Nigerian situation. With two official parties, a strong platform for opposition which lends credence and vitality to democracy in a multi-ethnic and cultural entity like Nigeria could be guaranteed.
Another point worthy of mention is that even though Nigerian politicians claim to have distinct ideological leanings or principles, events in the many years of its existence have shown that when the chips are down, the lines between them get blurred easily. And the picture left is that of a politician whose self interest and primordial sense of survival dictate to him the steps he should take and the causes he should defend and clamour for. In that kind of scenario, it may not matter after all if the political class is not given the choice to develop "naturally."
Many Nigerians may not want to support the two-party system on that basis but the quality of opposition the country has had ever since may have vindicated the structure that produced the most successful election to date. In 1999, even when the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was yet to become as powerful and monstrous as it is today, the other two parties then, the All Peoples Party (APP) and the Alliance for Democracy (AD) had to present a joint presidential candidate in order to have the boldness to go to the polls.
At the moment, the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), the second largest political party in Nigeria is in troubled waters. But what is on trial is not the party per se. It is the capacity of organised politiking to create the political sphere that makes good governance and individual and corporate accountability possible. In other words, an opposition that is capable of keeping the government in power on its toes. What is on trial is the Nigerian politician whose responsibility it is to provide leadership in its true, pure and sincere form. What is on trial is the practicability of democracy in a land whose umbilical cord has evidently not disengaged from the placenta called military adventurism and domination. What is on trial is the experiment to prove to Nigerians and the world at large that the promise of the good life occasioned by democracy is better than the alternatives; that the future, if the nation continues on this path, will be better than yesterday, if there is no relapse.
One does not need special extra-sensory endowments to know that ANPP would be in its present state of confusion and a cracked sense of purpose and direction. The convention of the party that produced Major-General Muhammadu Buhari as its presidential candidate in the last general elections came and went. In addition to the stated objectives, it sowed seeds of discord and disintegration. While some members joined the ruling party to keep their career alive, others ceased to contribute meaningfully to the well being of the party. Many of those who stayed behind, ostensibly to make it work, did not do so with a good dose of commitment.
Some hours after the results of the presidential elections were announced in favour of President Olusegun Obasanjo, while Buhari and his late running mate, Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, and some other party leaders were raising objections and addressing press conferences, some of the ANPP governors were thinking of their own good fortune, having been re-elected. One of them was actually by the side of Obasanjo when he cut his victory cake at the Presidential Villa. Many observers did not see that as being sportsman-like. They saw it as being a quintessential Nigerian politician, simply acting out the law of survival. They knew well that it would be most unwise to be on the wrong side of the man whose control of the all-powerful Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the security agencies made him a co-decider of their fate.
Last week, the Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa made an instructive remark about the National Chairman of his party, ANPP, Chief Don Etiebet: "Here is a man who could not even win his local government area, not to talk of his state and he is just suspending everybody he met in the party just like that. Who is he and what contribution has he made to the party? He has to go because he cannot be comfortable remaining in the party. And if we send him out, what do we lose? Nothing!"
Who is Etiebet? Re-echoing Bafarawa's question at this point is pertinent. But then, who is Bafarawa himself? Who is Jerry Useni, the factional head of the ailing party? Who are the other ANPP governors who are content with preserving their seats in their various government houses while doing nothing for or harm to the organisation that brought them to power? Who are the ANPP legislators, particularly in Abuja, whose loss of liver has made it easy for PDP to run Nigeria the "family" way? Who are the party's state chairmen who, instead of stepping out to be counted among the men who make democracy work, prefer to sit back, form cliques and queue behind men whom history may condemn for inaction, indecision and indirection?
If ANPP fails, if opposition proceeds from a coma condition to the mortuary, if people find it difficult to set aside self and work for the common good, Nigeria may have developed a variant of democracy. One that would confound everybody.
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