The former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, has stirred the hornet’s nest with his statement on why Nigerians should reject both the All Progressives Congress, APC, and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2023 general elections. Jega said that the two parties have ruined the country in the last 20 years they presided over Nigeria. He described them as Siamese twins which under them, the country nosedived into anarchy with insecurity, poverty and political brinkmanship becoming the order of the day.
The poser begging for answer remains: Is Professor Jega, who conducted the 2015 election that ushered in the President Muhammadu Buhari administration the first person to berate our polical parties, blame them on lack of ideologies, and called for their substitution? Certainly no. Ahead 2019 general election, former President Olusegun Obasanjo made a similar call. Obasanjo, who in 2015 worked against his party, PDP, and installed Buhari of APC, suddenly found his voice.
Disturbed by what he described as the poor performance of APC in office, Obasanjo mulled the idea of floating a new political party named the Third Force and hoped to harvest membership from dissenting voices. Unfortunately, his conceived Third Force, which would have served as alternative to APC and PDP, failed to see the light of day.
Since the return to democracy, Nigeria is yet to fully and maximally benefit from the dividend the system offers as obtained in other democratic nations. While democracy literally means government of the people, by the people and for the people, in Nigeria the reverse is the case. The system is being controlled and manipulated by powerful forces who decide who gets what and where. That is why our today’s political parties are not driven by any ideology. During the first and second republics, our politics were shaped by great personalities and what their different political parties could offer to the electorate. One remembers with nostalgia how NPC and NEPU became the darling of Nigerians in the first republic. Even the NPN, PRP and other political parties of the second republic were great and built based on sound ideologies. With the restoration of democracy after decades of military rule, many Nigerians thought that the new political parties would weather the country’s political atmosphere with their well befitting displayed manifestos, strictly adhered to and enforced. However, both the PDP and APC have failed the country as noted by Jega and other political observers. Their failure to transform the country economically and politically has become the subject of discourse among Nigerians.
By advocating the Third Force, is Attahiru Jega, who joined PRP, not cleverly inviting Nigerians to his party? PRP is the only surviving second republic political party. It was founded by the late radical politician, Malam Aminu Kano. For those who were opportune to witness their administration both in Kano and Kaduna states, under late Rimi and late Balarabe Musa, could testify how they stuck to their party’s ideology. The party was founded for the emancipation of Talakawa from the anti policies of northern oligarchies. Furthermore, the fear being expressed by political pundits is that the proposed Third Force or whatever name you give it, would end up like PDP and APC. Many political parties, which should serve as leadership recruitment platforms, monitor government policies or oppose it, have derailed from their manifestos. Instead of calling for the Third Force, Nigerians should discard party politics and look for credible candidates. Let the electorate beam their search light and elect only people with impeccable character, irrespective of the parties.
Ibrahim Mustapha,Pambegua, Kaduna state 08169056963.
