the primary elections for choosing the
presidential candidates of the ruling Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP); and those of the All
Progressives Congress (APC), the major
opposition political party in the country,
slated for between December 10 and 11,
2014, would have come and gone; and the
winners and losers known. Before the
presidential primaries were the ones from
where candidates for state Houses of
Assembly, National Assembly and state
governorship elections emerged. But while
the primaries lasted, the major concern in the
ruling party and the opposition seemed to
centre on threats to internal party democracy,
particularly as it relates to the imposition of
candidates. It comes in different garbs and
colours, like 'consensus' candidacy, zoning,
etc. Even the Culprits-in-Chief behind
candidates' imposition – party leaders and
'political godfathers' – all joined in warning
against the implications of foisting preferred
candidates on stakeholders.
Deny as they always would, nonetheless, the
PDP and APC have fifty-fifty share of the
fraud. There is scarcely in existence an honest
basis any Nigerian can beat his or her chest
and say there is internal democracy in the
PDP, the opposition APC or any other political
party in the land for that matter. But in a
country like ours, where principle in politics is
very much in short supply, there are
remediations in the event of political
merchants insisting on and going ahead to
unreasonably impose their candidates on
stakeholders. Defection, which is now the
cheapest commodity available in the nation's
policy, is one precipitate option. Perhaps, it is
only President Goodluck Jonathan has not
tinkered with the idea of defecting to another
political party, for obvious reasons. In
addition, aspirants who feel short-changed
but want to battle the cheating from within
could fall back on the party's constitution and
related extant laws and challenge the
mischief in court; the problem being that
time would not be on their side. But at least
the value of their nuisance might be
appreciated at the end of the day.
What one views with grave grief, however, is
the fact that with the primaries now over,
winning the 2015 general election has
obviously become the ultimate goal of the
contending political parties and their
candidates. Next, Nigerians will inexplicably
hit the road with agitations for issue-based
campaigns, even when party manifestoes and
promises by political office seekers culminate
in regrets and the gnashing of teeth by the
populace when the chips are down.
Campaigns and promises rendered with
elegant oratory, if anything, represent more
of mere distraction than the resolve to serve
ordinary Nigerians. They are, indeed,
fraudulent crests on which politicians of all
kinds, including the most dubious – and there
are lots of them out there – fool ordinary
Nigerians and cruise to power. Once they are
'delivered', any reference to such promises
becomes irritating to them.
There is no discountenancing in any way here
of the importance of internal party democracy
and the critical need for issue-based
campaigns. For, any damage done to them
diminishes the potency and mocks the
practice of government of the people, by the
people and for the people. But of what
relevance are democratic tenets when they
are abused as pastime?
Notwithstanding the relegation of internal
party democracy, and by implication healthy
competition, which is the flagship of
representative democracy; as well as
consigning campaign promises to the back
seat at the end of elections, however, the
constitutional right of Nigerians to choose
who governs them at general elections is not
abridged as yet. In an enlightened
community of voters, attention ought to be
focussed, not only on one or two aberrations,
but on the cumulative damage any infraction
of the tenets of democracy does to
democracies. Since the vices are known to be
there; and have been incorrigibly
orchestrated by the Nigerian political elite
throughout the almost 16 years spanning
1999 – 2015; one thinks the focus of the
Nigerian electorate should be how best to
ensure that constitutionally guaranteed
voting rights are held sacred and protected in
2015; and that votes count in a transparent,
free and fair poll. When that happens, the
lucrative trade of rent-seeking 'kingmakers'
who impose candidates on the nation would
be threatened to its foundation, since the
electorate would no longer be bound or
helplessly confined to the singular choice of
merely ratifying imposed candidates during
general elections, but voting for candidates
who, based on known records of integrity and
reliability, can be trusted to deliver, all things
being equal.
A public office is a public trust. In present day
Nigeria, however, public officers, whether
elected, appointed or in the bureaucracy, are
unmindful of this irrevocable piece of truth,
from Abuja to the remotest local council.
Such officials are routinely implicated in
dumbfounding irregularities, crimes, heinous
corrupt practices and scams that erode public
trust and confidence, but they get rewarded
with higher political offices; or are granted
state pardon even when caught and jailed.
Therefore, Nigerians should spare a thought
on assisting to make their votes count if they
truly despise political godfatherism.
Posted By David Aniemeka
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