Between The Devil And The Hard Surface: Nigeria’s Current Political Gambit
The Oasis Reporters
January 16, 2019
As Nigerians and true patriots there is no way we can hide our utter disappointment with regard to the lack of progress of our democracy and the manner politics is played in this country.
The pages of our recent political history are replete with poor refereeing, if our brand of politics were to be viewed from the perspective of a football match. The political space is full of uncertainty much in the manner of what many Nigerians are gradually taking refuge in ” Sport betting “, but unlike in sport betting where the hordes of losers take their losses with equanimity believing in trying again and driven by the hope of winning next time, politicians hardly accept that they have lost.
There is always the allegations of rigging by the winning party and or candidate even when all the parties may actually may have benefited from the rigging exercises in different ways.
If you are aware of the politics of Kaduna State back in 1979, you are likely to recall that the governorship election was won by the candidate of the People’s Redemption Party ( PRP) which was as it were prior to the election, not as popular as the National Party of Nigeria ( NPN) . NPN went to court challenging the results alleging that the election was rigged by the PRP but the court discovered that both parties benefited from the rigging in varying degrees and concluded that the NPN in the light of its humongous resources at the time benefited more and participated more in the rigging and therefore ruled in favour of the PRP.
The culture of not accepting the outcome of elections in our clime is as old as the history of elections here. The main elements which ought to make any election acceptable by the political parties or their candidates which include such an election adjudged as Free, Fair, Transparent and Credible are usually not fully established thus providing room for litigation. Some of the election cases usually would end up at the Supreme Court before the dust finally settles down.
Indeed, our democracy is still very much at the developmental processes which explains the acrimony which follows the announcement of election results To be fair though to Nigerians, it is not only here that election outcomes have been disputed on grounds or allegations of rigging. There are very few countries mostly in developed and advanced democracies where the outcome of elections may not be in dispute.
We are already in an election year and the political space is heating up by the day. There is as it were tension within the polity. This is traceable to the grinding poverty both material and goodwill which poor governance has caused. The accusations and counter accusation of corruption between the main political pugilists, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the ruling All Progressives Party (APC) and the associated failure of governance in general along with insecurity remain the main issues of the campaign. I have consistently been saying that there is essentially no difference between these frontline political parties since they are populated by the same actors who have dominated the politics of the land for a long time, if any difference at all, it is only in name. The spade of defections from one party to another between the two dominant political parties is to say the least embarrassing.
Some observers are saying that the governing APC at the center has become a huge fortress and hiding place where some politicians viewed by critics as fantastically corrupt seek refuge.
Whilst the APC has all along blamed the PDP for Nigeria’s current economic and security challenges one need not work very hard to discover that the APC is largely PDP in content and character. One major issue I thought the PDP will hold on to and capitalize on in it’d campaign is the lackluster manner the fight against corruption has thus far been prosecuted targeting only opposition politicians. It would appear though that the adage, “If you live in a glass house, you dare not throw stones” is constituting a drag particularly for the PDP. Failure to face up to this debilitating monster by the PDP camp could be injurious to its strategy of seeking to supplant the APC from power.
Politics in a general sense is driven by the hope for a better tomorrow especially given our peculiar situation right now that our people have passed through untold hardship. I therefore find the expectations of the masses of this country for a better tomorrow in the short time quite misplaced given the state of the economy and the quality of individuals at the helm of affairs. I rather would prefer the politicians who tells the story as it is and not a lying individual. The politicians have simply been austere with the truth about the economic and security situation in this country which is why the Boko Haram and related terrorists groups have had a field day reducing our citizens to a lacrymal lot in almost every State in the North.
Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo made the difference in the course of campaigning against the NPN led government of that era when he came clean to warn that the national economy was in dire straits. The NPN called Chief Awolowo all manner of names but the truth manifested itself not long after that. Bad as our national economy is at the moment, I have doubts if any economic magician can turn things around within a short time. Anybody who let’s him/herself be the deceived by our lying politicians should ready themselves for disappointment.
I will be more comfortable with either the APC government or those seeking to supplant it telling us the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth regarding the state if the economy and the perilous security quagmire this nation has found itself.
I will be much more happier returning to the abandoned farmlands in an individual effort to grow my personal economy. There can be no justification for people expecting to be fed on imported foreign rice or other foods which we can comfortably grow locally. I heard an elderly Nigerian say the other day that most of those complaining that there is no work in this country are telling lies and deceiving themselves because they are too selective of which work to do and which not to and very honestly I cannot agree with him more. Is necessity after all not the mother of invention?
Written by Col. Gora Dauda (rtd)
