In practice, no politician survives on personal influence alone. Without control of the party structure or leadership, they lose relevance.
Whether defecting to APC, ADC, or any other party, the pattern is the same: negotiate the power structure or hijack it, then install loyalists in key positions. This is the only strategy that works, and it’s almost impossible to beat.
The Bauchi State governor negotiated to anoint his successor and secure a senatorial ticket. Kwankwaso negotiated to produce the ADC governorship candidate in Kano. Recently, he was accused of hijacking the ADC state congress. When Buhari allowed a free contest for Senate President, which favored Saraki, he nearly lost his influence.
The hypocrisy lies with politicians who accuse those in power of “dishonesty” or not playing by the rules, yet they offer no alternative. As far as Nigeria’s politics goes, they have no other way to accumulate power. The strategy is simple and requires no ingenuity: place loyalists in positions of influence and use the party as a tool for the godfather’s agenda.
With this cycle repeating endlessly, and no sign that any politician will abandon this tradition of consolidating power, it’s not just naïve, but living in denial and dishonesty to trust that one politician is saintly enough to allow fair play, equal rights, or genuine internal democracy.
Truth is, most high hopes are based on fantasy, not reality. We all know the basic game of accumulating power and influence in Nigeria. You can’t beat it, you can only join it.
Bagudu Mohammed
