Rotimi Olawale explains why lack of strong political opposition to the party of power is harmful for Nigerian democracy. After the presidential and governorship elections, the “APC vs PDP” rivalry enters another level.
Since the APC presidential candidate has emerged victorious after the March 28th presidential polls in Nigeria, sudden defections started hitting political parties that lost. Particularly affected is the outgoing ruling party, the PDP. Prior to the APC’s victory, some vibrant members of the PDP have uttered hating, provocative and divisive commentaries against them. However, it’s shocking and unfortunate that these vibrant members of the PDP are now rushing to the APC after their party suffered defeat at the polls.
This limits Nigeria’s political participation to a matter of individual’s quick interest and not tenable ideology capable of reforming a society. Political parties are indispensable in democracy; however, political parties are primarily designed to function as an ideological movement. Thus, the membership of a political party shouldn’t be determined by the party’s victory or defeat, but the founding ideologies of such party which form its tenets.
Unfortunately, the case in Nigeria reflects the opposite. It’s alarming to note that the PDP bigwigs, who worked seriously for the re-election bid of President Goodluck Jonathan, are defecting to the APC two weeks after their party suffered defeat.
There have been various expedient arguments for and against this development but none seem to be considering the damage the defection will do to Nigeria’s democracy. The desperate and swift defection of the PDP members to the APC will weaken opposition strength in Nigeria, leaving the APC as the dominant party unchecked by opposition.
The role of the APC as the opposition party cannot be undermined in the history of Nigeria’s democracy. Its vibrancy checked the ruling party, educated and made the people bold enough to speak through various media about the government’s activities. Even though the PDP mounted some restrictions against the APC, the party succeeded in gaining confidence of the masses.
After elections, the defeated politicians tend to disappear and are hardly ever seen again until next poll. In other case, those defeated defect to the ruling party. The latter is what we are witnessing today in Nigeria, and what is systematically turning the nation into a one-party state.
The opposition must hold the incumbent government accountable for its commissions and omissions. The opposition must serve as a watchdog to ensure the government acts within the scope of the law, pointing out corruption and nepotism cases. Currently, the absence of a vibrant opposition in Nigeria implies that the incumbent will be unchecked, therefore, find it easy to commit and omit anything that will serve its interests even against the wishes of the people.
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Since the APC presidential candidate has emerged victorious after the March 28th presidential polls in Nigeria, sudden defections started hitting political parties that lost. Particularly affected is the outgoing ruling party, the PDP. Prior to the APC’s victory, some vibrant members of the PDP have uttered hating, provocative and divisive commentaries against them. However, it’s shocking and unfortunate that these vibrant members of the PDP are now rushing to the APC after their party suffered defeat at the polls.
This limits Nigeria’s political participation to a matter of individual’s quick interest and not tenable ideology capable of reforming a society. Political parties are indispensable in democracy; however, political parties are primarily designed to function as an ideological movement. Thus, the membership of a political party shouldn’t be determined by the party’s victory or defeat, but the founding ideologies of such party which form its tenets.
Unfortunately, the case in Nigeria reflects the opposite. It’s alarming to note that the PDP bigwigs, who worked seriously for the re-election bid of President Goodluck Jonathan, are defecting to the APC two weeks after their party suffered defeat.
There have been various expedient arguments for and against this development but none seem to be considering the damage the defection will do to Nigeria’s democracy. The desperate and swift defection of the PDP members to the APC will weaken opposition strength in Nigeria, leaving the APC as the dominant party unchecked by opposition.
The role of the APC as the opposition party cannot be undermined in the history of Nigeria’s democracy. Its vibrancy checked the ruling party, educated and made the people bold enough to speak through various media about the government’s activities. Even though the PDP mounted some restrictions against the APC, the party succeeded in gaining confidence of the masses.
After elections, the defeated politicians tend to disappear and are hardly ever seen again until next poll. In other case, those defeated defect to the ruling party. The latter is what we are witnessing today in Nigeria, and what is systematically turning the nation into a one-party state.
The opposition must hold the incumbent government accountable for its commissions and omissions. The opposition must serve as a watchdog to ensure the government acts within the scope of the law, pointing out corruption and nepotism cases. Currently, the absence of a vibrant opposition in Nigeria implies that the incumbent will be unchecked, therefore, find it easy to commit and omit anything that will serve its interests even against the wishes of the people.
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