Through foolishness, hate and unintelligent behavior, we brought disaster to our doorsteps brandishing Change. A Change mantra no one cared to scrutinize but shrouded in deceit and greed for trust. We are now heading to second slavery in our independent country. We brought remnants of colonialists to preside over our national affairs in 2015. We are now paying the price of what we bargained in a hard way. It is not only a deceitful and hypocritical government, but intimidating, manipulative, senseless and murderous for its perpetuation in power despite glaring odds of failure.
Throughout its 16 fruitful years piloting the affairs of Nigeria, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) never thought for once it was necessary to attempt muzzling life out of other parties for whatever reason. The party had all the opportunities of doing that odd job, but it chose the path of honor for the growth of the nascent democracy it sustained. PDP encouraged opposition to thrive for stiff competition in free and fair contest.
Till this moment, no single political party in Nigeria can stand the numerical strength and expertise of PDP in any free and fair election despite the ongoing drama rehearsal of defections and associated frustration that metamorphosed to third rate of madness by Nyeson Ezonwo Wike, an APC mole busy cartooning and de-marketing himself on the political turf.
From the records, defections from one political party to the other by Nigerian politicians have become a norm and shameless, laced with betrayal of the electorate. It remains a contentious and legal concern, often leading to lengthy litigations in determining whether the action deserves vacation of seat, with different Courts dishing out conflicting judgments, Sections 68(1)(g) and Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), states that a National or House of Assembly member “shall vacate his/her seat in parliament of which he/she is a member if…….. being a person whose election to the House was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that parliament was elected, providing that his/her membership of the latter party is not a result of a division in his former party, or a merger of parties or factions.”
However, there is no clear constitutional provision which expressly stipulated the punishment for executive office holders like the President, Vice-President, Governors and Deputy Governors upon defection.
The proviso of division in former party has become a lifeline for defectors who stand on that ground as reason to jump ship at the middle of the sea. In the ongoing drama of defections, it was Governors Eno Umoh and Sheriff Oborevwori of Akwa-Ibom and Delta states that opened the gate from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the cancerous All Progressives Congress (APC), citing reasons not far from party internal crisis. Then the arrival of Governors Peter Mbah of Enugu, Agbu Kefas of Taraba and Duoye Diri of Bayelsa was announced to the APC colony of power mongers, desperados and locusts on the national economy that provide cover to looting governors against investigation and exposure.
What bothers right-thinking individuals is that these defections serve the personal survival strategy of the defectors, spiced with lies of repositioning their states in the mainstream politics, raising the standard of living, or the interest of the people in the new colony.
Politics, as we all know, is a game, and the primary goal of every politician is to emerge victorious in an election, to have a voice to be heard, and to enjoy other constitutionally allowed freedoms.
Incidentally, Nigerian politicians lust after victory in every election either by hook or crook. The political step taken by those defected governors is a typical game plan to retain the seats they presently occupy come 2027 through rigging since the central government owns the rigging machines (INEC and the Judiciary). Those who seek refuge in APC are counting on the power of the president for miracle to happen for return to the seats they occupy and abuse. Bearing in this mind, they move to APC in droves and force the entire former party structure on the new breed through threat and intimidation, thereby disrupting the existing leadership equation. Unfortunately, individuals who all along had toiled and made the APC visible and viable in those states on defection are now refugees in their party and rendered powerless or pushed out of the way by the new arrivals (defectors). Commonsense shows that PDP defectors have now taken over the mantle of leadership from APC in those states. That’s a good strategy by the PDP because the leopard cannot change its spots no matter the circumstances.
In fact, those APC bona fide members are seen as threats and nuisances that may constitute an obstacle to those governors’ consolidation and takeover of the entire party structure.
Governors are powerful under the 1999 Constitution, and nobody dares challenge them for fear of the unknown. In view of this, every appointee, or elected officer has no option than to join the bandwagon at least for fear of losing crumbs dropping from the master’s table, or out rightly used as an example of how to deal with party dissidents.
To this end, they constantly message the ego of their principals with fake accolades in traditional and social media spaces to keep their appointments.
In fact, what emboldens politicians to jump ship in most cases stems from the compromised nature of the judiciary. Party in power which benefits mostly from defection always intervenes in cases to save decampees by ensuring that the matter lingers till their tenure expires. In most cases, they influence favorable judgments to support decampees.
Already, PDP is a fractured political party reeling in APC sponsored inflicted pain but on the road to bouncing back as the usual most formidable party. Those governors who defected seems not to be at peace with the Nyeson Wike faction and his G-5 dissidents who are so determined to either control the party machinery, or assuming the role of undertakers if they fail to achieve the hidden agenda of APC.
Recall that Governor Peter Mbah was leading the South-East support of another man for the position of national secretary of the PDP against Wike’s anointed candidate, Sen. Anyanwu, while Sheriff was the face of Ifeanyi Okowa, Atiku’s 2023 presidential running mate.
Take it or leave it, the fear of losing the ticket on the platform of PDP is the beginning of wisdom. Ultimately, those PDP former governors envisaged an acrimonious party primary election that may eventually be fraught with Court litigation to ruin and terminate their reelection ambitions.
Therefore, making it seem that a hurried membership of APC will open the floodgate of uncommon development for their impoverished states, South-east and South-south is only a politically motivated masturbation. People like Governor Hope Uzodinma, David Umahi and Omo Agege have been in the mainstream APC abracadabra politics but people are still trying to fathom out any positive impact they have created within their domains.
They play ostrich with the needs and aspirations of the people to sustain their interests. Their identification with APC is nothing short of self-preservation for greed.
No matter how one views it, the sun of PDP is set to shine at the long run, as no smart politician would want his ambition to end or die with an irredeemable crisis-ridden party.
That is why the political development in Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Enugu and Taraba does not seem to be a sincere love for the APC. It is a mere marriage of convenience, a smart one to stand on the podium and remain politically relevant with the centre come 2027. It is the best applicable strategy to squeeze funds out of APC and deploy same to defeat it.
This is practically the mindset of most if not all the politicians in Nigeria to deceive, betray and make fast bucks and relevance.
Before you join the bandwagon of cheer leaders, have you thought of why are the personal interests of APC leaders are protected before yours? One is always amused that it is same people that sang melodious songs for PDP in those defecting states have suddenly seen the ‘light’ in APC since 2015. Defection to me serves no genuine general purpose but a selected few manufacturing false narratives to justify their action for ultimate personal gain.
For those of us who may not understand or read the writing clearly on the wall, this is part of Nigerian politics. There is absence of morality, any semblance of principle or integrity in the scheme of the polity. The innate hypocritical nature of man is evidently at play in our brand of politics.
We have no sincerity or honesty in our brand of politics. We are ‘blessed’ with betrayers, hypocrites and mad dogs parading themselves as politicians. It is a sad situation indeed!
Muhammad is a commentator on national issues
