The intrigues of politics make for good following, especially when one is an observer from afar. Just as we are now intrigued by the gaffe-prone antics of President Donald Trump in the United States of America, our own stories of political scheming and misadventures must make for interesting following elsewhere around the world. Even with the lives of millions of people in the balance, the drama never stops.
Nigerian politicians, on their own part, have taken the theatrical element to newheights. This is not surprising.Politics in Nigeria has little to do with ideologies. Rather, self-interest is the premium mobile. This is evident in all the major political formations in the country, from the All Progressives Congress, APC, to the People’s Democratic Party, PDP and the others.
Ronald Reagan, late presidentof the United States of America, was right on the mark at a business conference in 1977 when he remarked that he had come to the realisation that politics, as the supposed second oldest profession, bears very close resemblance to the first – prostitution. He would be stunned by the antics of our politicians today. Men who cannot demonstrate allegiance in their affairs as politicians aresinging songs about their allegiance to the people.
The nameAtikuAbubakarreadily comes to mind in this regard. The former vice-president has been around the block for a long time. He is the face of cross-carpeting in Nigerian politics. Having once again defected from one major political party to another, the pattern in his political excursions is clearer now. Those who watch closely will have noticed that he gives the same reasons for taking flight every time. After wading through the verbal gymnastics and grandstanding, it always comes down to his being side-lined and disregarded.
Now, he says he has not really made up his mind to take a shot at the number 1political spot in the land. But Atiku’s ambition to become president is as clear to the electorate as it is clear to his fellow politicians. The concern is that in his quest to realise his ambition, he is further ridiculing our political arrangement that is already devoid of any depth. He is proof that our politicians lack character and are only interested in selfish gains. The man is like the bee in Nigerian politics, roving from platform to platform in search of the sweet nectar of presidential ticket, incidentally leaving a pollen trail of cool cash which the different political parties are glad to receive.
To avoid being unduly critical of Atiku, one must point out that weak alliances, formations and reformations are widespread in Nigerian politics. Just last week, two lawmakers crossed from the PDP to APC. One of them was a very spectacular affair.In the case of Honourable Johnson Agbonayinma of Edo State, his former colleagues in the PDP shamelessly broke into singing and dancing uponthe confirmation of his defection to the ruling party.
Also last week, it was reported that about 1,500 PDP members in Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area of Lagos State, defected to the APC, giving trifle reasons. There is also the matter of the fallout after the PDP convention in Abuja that led to five disgruntled members going ahead to announce a “Fresh-PDP” break away party. This is even afterAtikusuggested in his recent defection broadcast on Facebook that the PDP had resolved the issues that led to his exit.
Unfortunately, this is all business as usual in Nigerian politics. No positive change in direction will emerge from either side of the defections. In its purest form, the aim of politics is to influence governance in the direction and policies that one strongly believes is best for the country. Whether this influence is exerted at the helm of a plush political post or not, is immaterial. In our case, and, to be frank, in many other places in the world, the aim of politics is simply to get plush government roles; the higher, the better.
As an established businessman, one would expect that Atiku would be more prudent with his money and reputation. Obviously, his repeated defections and political about-turns do him no good on the road to achieving his coveted lifeambition. There are several other parties registered in Nigeria, and there remains the opportunity of registering new ones. Asidefrom the traces of desperation in his moves, there are also hints of duplicity and lack of confidence on his part. If not, what is his obsession with the major parties?
Having expended all this time courting people who do not share his dream, Atiku has himself become an antique politician and part of the old furniture in Nigerian politics. He could have spent all that time creating a more balanced political environment in the country by registering a new political party or raising one of the existing ones into a force to be reckoned with. That way, he would have made meaningful contribution to the country in the area of politics and perhaps, he could have been able to create his ownSchool of Atiku-ism that is now supposedly about creating jobs for the teeming working class.
It may be too late for Atiku to achieve all of that now. Even if he succeeds in doing so in the future, he would be contradicting his own message by not endorsing a vibrant, young candidate to run on the ticket of such a party. But then, it would not be surprising if he does not, as self-interest is the overriding motivation in the boat of Nigerian politics and he is the captain of contradiction.
Now is the timeto put the PDP and APC politicians on their toes. With the cross-movement between the two parties intensifying, it has become imperative for a third force to emerge as the two major parties cannot be told apart any longer. Above all, we need stability in politics and real choices to break the Stockholm Syndrome that afflicts the Nigerian electorate when it comes to old, expired and recycled leaders (and tormentors).
In the same line of this much needed stability, the ruling APC need to realise that the president, Muhammadu Buhari, is the tie that binds that party together. Old as he may be, any attempts to side-line him in the 2019 race, may boomerang.It will throw the party into the sort of disarray that the PDP is still reeling from. It could also destabilise the current political space in the country.
Definitely, there are no easy choices for the electorate now.But there are answers to many nagging questions. The answer for the frequent defections between the two major parties, for instance, is that they are too similar and therefore, are not real mutual opponents. The answer for this dilemma will naturally be the raising of strong, real opposition parties.
Already, a constitutional amendment to allow independent candidacy in elections has been approved at the National Assembly. If the amendment scales all the remaining hurdles before 2019, it will open up the field and finally give Nigerians a chance to chart their own destiny and create a Macron-esqe upset. People like Atiku, the bee of Nigerian politics, can also have an opportunity to test their mettle at the polls and find out just how popular they really are.
Napoleon Bonaparte said many centuries ago that, in politics, an absurdity is not a handicap. With many absurd happenings in our political space, another absurd event like Atiku picking up the presidential ticket for the PDP in 2019 will be no surprise.
One hopes for the rise of real opposition in Nigerian politics and with that, a rise of real politicians with honour and integrity. The present crop of politicians may have lost any understanding of these words in their public lives. Whatever Atiku says is wrong with the APC today and PDP tomorrow, he is part of that establishment.Unless we find politicians who can make this kind of realisation, Nigeria willforever remain lost in the wilderness (or Sambisa) of real and genuine politics.
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