The ongoing APC primaries for the House of Representatives and Senate have revealed more than the party’s dilemma. They reveal our own struggle to balance two competing impulses: our trust in established politicians, and our craving for alternatives born from political fatigue and envy.
We feel like no one should hold a position indefinitely, no matter how well they perform, especially for roles that deliver more personal empowerment than collective benefit. Yet the same people who express fatigue are often the ones who depend on the “juice” these incumbents provide.
This struggle isn’t about political parties. It’s about a persistent tension: big names vs. untainted names.
The ruling party is caught between settling for established politicians, the incumbents who have the resources and networks to win, and responding to demands for fresh faces. Meanwhile, opposition parties often hope the ruling party fails to accommodate all its heavyweights. Their calculation is simple: those disappointed aspirants will defect, and that loss becomes the opposition’s gain.
But the contradiction isn’t the parties’. It’s ours. We set the agenda they follow.
When the average citizen says an aspirant “won’t win” or “isn’t strong,” what they often mean is that he lacks money to survive a contest decided largely by who can spend more. Ironically, these are the same people who trust candidates with deep pockets as the most electable, usually incumbents. Even former officeholders who are out of government for a short time struggle to compete with incumbents whose access to resources is still active.
We value the largesse that comes from these “active ATMs,” yet we are the ones who complain about political fatigue and the overfeeding of a few names in positions that reward occupants so richly. We say we want change, but we also crave the benefits that only the strong can provide.
This is the dilemma for most political parties: Do we replace incumbents who can mobilize and sustain large followings, or do we respond to the demand for replacement as a way to refresh interest and renew hope? The albatross isn’t party confusion. It’s public confusion that come from contradictory values, standards, and ideals that pull us in opposite directions.
This explains the dicey outcomes around figures like Plateau State lawmaker Hon. Yusuf Gagdi and other heavyweights behind the APC’s dilemma.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the new electoral law limits defections by the losers in primary elections. Politicians who lose primaries can no longer easily jump to opposition parties that rely on their patronage and resources. Opposition parties know they cannot become strong without absorbing these disappointed heavyweights, the same people they often condemn as villains. Yet these are also the people with the resources that make a party viable and boost morale, compared to untainted names or former officeholders who lack the new muscles and goodwill to match incumbents.
It looks like a comedy play. But it’s real. Very real.
Bagudu Mohammed
bagudumohammed15197@gmail.com
