POLITICAL PARTIES WITHOUT IDEOLOGIES; A PERFECT SEMBLANCE OF MANKIND WITHOUT SOULS.

The nascent democracy in Nigeria has been a historic baby nurtured in the womb of militancy and delivered on the wake of the new millennium. It was a beautiful rose groomed with the blood of patriots and tyrants alike. We all rallied round it as the Jews did crowded Jesus as he broke the words. Like the proponents of democracy he gave them message of life, liberty and hope of a brighter tomorrow.
May 29, 1999, our democracy resurrected and was consecrated on the altar of Eagle Square and it took flesh. This was after its untimely demise through an ill fated abortion executed by its present day beneficiary on 31st December, 1983.
Just as a young kid who was still learning the ropes it sought motivation from its elder siblings, the Americas, The Europeans and every part of the globe where the tenet "the government of the people, by the people and for the people" had been enthroned. We called ourselves democrats, federalists, Liberals, reformists and those delicious terms that can portray that we are indeed swimming in a government with all the attributes of freedom to vote and be voted for. It was without doubt the birth of a new dawn.
As democrats we needed political parties as tools to keep this dream alive. Political parties as we were told are the engines that drive democracy. They are the platforms by which the most important feature of democracy which is freedom to be voted for is realized. They are groups with the primary interest of winning elections and bringing into existence their policies. These policies are their ideologies.

Ideology is a pivotal element in party formation; it is the glue that binds those of like minds. They sit in one accord planning on how best to execute those life saving ideals that could send smiles to the faces of the people. They debate on not only on how to harness those benefits but how to sell it to the electorates. In the real sense of it, these ideologies are what people analyze before they decide who should earn their votes. These ideologies touch on the economy, peaceful coexistence and even belief system.
Like always we ran to the shelter of the big broad Western shoulders and sought wise nuggets The United States was the closest we could imitate. We saw their seemingly partisanship, the towering Democrats and its ever fierce Republicans rivals. They are sometimes called the Liberals and the Conservatives. Each election was a duel between those ideals. A democrat should look at abortion and gay related matters and not roll his eyes in awe. For the Republicans they are crazy ideas straight from the brains of Lucifer. Each electorate knows the government he is rooting for. A candidate is first of all X-rayed through the eyes of the party and secondly though his personality. The Labour and the Conservative Parties of the Britain make another fine example. The party is Supreme and in other words the candidate must align himself with their policies. Though both countries boast of a multi party system but those mushroom parties could only grab seats in their wildest imaginations.

Nigeria in its democratic setting had provided for the formation of political parties and went a step further into eliminating any form of independent candidates, in other words every candidate must belong and be sponsored by a political party.{See sections 131©,177©,65(2)b,106(d) of the 1999 constitution as amended.} Like all Nigerianized product, the political systems has been one of the weakest institution in Nigeria boasting of stronger individuals. Candidates have sought for parties which provide a well fertilized farmland to cultivate their political seedlings. Principles could definitely not be the determinant of choosing a party just like the Westerners. We created our own factors, religion was incorporated, ethnicity was hired, principalities as some weird commentators observed were summoned and the power of incumbency became our own yardsticks.
But has this situation been like this from time immemorial?
To answer this question we will revisit the parties of the first republic.

That is the Northern People Congress (NPC), the Action Group (AG) and the National Council of Nigeria Citizens (NCNC). The NPC was the conservatives and quite a party of the elites while NCNC and AG were more of progressives and were seen as preaching welfarism, driving strength from the socialist ideologies. All the parties maintained their ethno regional ties. Shola Omotala in her article "Nigeria Parties and Political Ideology" published on Journal of Alternative Perspective on the Social Sciences (2009) Vol. 1 No 3. 612-634 Redeemer's University Ogun State, Nigeria succinctly discussed this historical drive.
Although the Second Republic (1979 – 1983) witnessed the emergence of more political parties, the political breeze saw no alteration of course. The parties included the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) and the Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) replacing the NPC, AG and NCNC, respectively. Others were the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Great Nigerian Peoples Party (GNPP), and later Nigerian Advance Party (NAP), which was registered in 1982, after failing the first round in 1978 (Osaghae, 1998). These parties constituted major actors in the Second Republic.

In terms of political ideologies parties of the Second Republic would appear, safe from GNPP a reincarnation of the parties of the moribund First Republic. It was a rebirth of ethnic quest for superiority, there was basically no stated ideological difference and as expected the parties with their weird alliances broke down sooner than expected.

The aborted Third Republic witnessed a new experiment in party formation, when for the first time in the history of party politics in Nigeria; the government created and imposed two political parties on the system. The parties were the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and National Republican Convention (NRC). Ordinarily, the existence of two political parties should represent two different ideological camps, as has been the case between the Labour and Conservative parties in Britain and Democrats and Republican parties in the USA. This was not the case with respect to the SDP and NRC in Nigeria. Although, while one was a little to the left and other a little to the right, nothing much differentiates the parties, at least not in ideological dispositions (see, Jinadu, 1995; Lewis, 1994; Oyediran and Agbaje, 1991; Adejumobi, 1997).

The fourth republic came on the heels of the desire of the military government of General Abdusalami Abubakar to handover to the civilians. This was after the butchered attempt by the then Head of State General Sani Abacha to transform his military regalia into Suits and Babaliga. Three parties were formed. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), The All Peoples Party(APP) and Alliance for Democracy (AD). Given the obvious poverty of ideology that pervaded the first three political parties of the Fourth Republic, - PDP, APP and AD, it should not be surprising that almost all the other parties that sprang up or broke away from them did not do so because of ideological disagreements. Neither was it that they have articulated alternative views of governance for sustainable democracy and development as a viable basis of popular mobilization to wrestle power from the incumbent party. Rather, they were products of adversarial elite behaviour taken to the points of irreconcilability. Little wonder, these parties also have no ideological stance on major national questions other than the transformation and manipulation of forces of identity particularly ethnicity and religion (see, Simbine, 2005). The implication is that the “so-called political parties are not in competition with one another. They are in factions; these factions are more in competition within themselves than with another party” (Omoruyi, 2002:17).

Fast forward to 2007, after PDP won its third consecutive presidential election some opposition parties chieftains headed by no other person than Sen. Bola Tinubu galvanized negotiations to wrestle power from PDP. He was active in the call for fragmented opposition parties to form a mega party capable of challenging PDP in 2011 election. This effort was fruitless as the then presidential candidate of PDP Dr. Goodluck Jonathan coasted to an unprecedented convincing win of the said election. The dream was laid to rest until 2013 when another effort saw the dining together of most opposition parties. These romances and eventual matrimony gave rise to a baby on 6th February, 2013 who was christened All Progressives Congress (APC). It became a unifying force for all opposition parties. The emergence of APC became a moment of celebration for true disciples of democracy. It was a season that gave rise to a strong opposition party that stood head to head with the ruling party. They gave the PDP a run for their money, votes, schemes, propaganda and finally with their multicoloured brooms drove them out of power. We all rejoiced at the thought of such an impossible feat. Nigeria has arrived and democracy has come to stay.
We beat our chest and boasted that we have cloned the Democratic Party and the Republican Party of the United States. We could now sit down and see PDP keep the APC on their feet with their fierce constructive opposition. That was not to be!
PDP like some toddlers denied their early morning breast milk couldn’t accept the fact that they lost. They turned their opposition to themselves, sulking and pointing accusing fingers to one another. It did not take much time before the Wadata house began to crumple, like a pack of cards it bent backward and felled on the ground. Instead of fighting for the people they fought themselves, they picked fault with their leadership and soon the House was divided. And as expected of a house divided among itself the members sought refuge in nearby huts. As if it were a prayer answered the APC threw ajar their doors and welcomed those blessed refugees who were almost suffocated with petty issue.
The opposition role handed to them especially by Alhaji Lai Mohammed the former opposition spokesman became redundant, their opposition became as lame as water poured on stones. Lai had offered to avail them a crash course on running a successful opposition party but as always they demeaned him. They easily forgot that he tore their mighty edifice with auspicious propagandas never heard of since the world began. They are now bemoaning that rushed decision. Some who tried to raise their voice were called aside and shown their rotten files and they took to vocal exile. Others like Femi Fani Kayode, governors Ayo Fayose and Nyesome Wike have been the lone voices crying in the wilderness. To avoid the unforeseen evils attached to the name opposition, many fled the once biggest party in Africa; they realized too soon that their proposed sixty year rule has been cut short. The number of decampees increased from past legislators to present legislators, bigwigs, past governors and every soul that has one flimsy excuse to advertise. This adumbrated the popular belief that politicians especially of Nigeria descents are like vultures that cared not for the source of their livelihood. As far as there is a carcass then the issue of hunger is resolved. The fallen house of PDP has given justification to all the power thirsty former loyalists to quit. They all realized that PDP has been the parasites sucking the blood of Nigeria since 1914; it came to their knowledge that Nigeria has been so stagnant.

At this point when we thought that nature had given us two platforms that could offer competing policies, varying ideals and seasoned opposition; like always we lost this golden opportunity because the pot bellies of our so called leaders have started to slim. I would have asked why they wouldn’t stay put and fight but no I will not, Res ipsa loquitur.
This has definitely boiled down to lack of political ideologies. The APC as a party has through their actions showed that the only manifesto they choose to honour is to wrestle power from the PDP. We thank them for that and so we ask what is next on the agenda?
It has not remarkably shown us the reason to believe that a new sheriff is in town.
The poor we, gullible as ever had failed to ask them pointblank what is in there for us. We have failed to analyze their stand and sieve their policies from the towering lies they have fed us. Desirous of change we have voted in a government that is just nothing but chip off the old block.

This is the junction where Nigeria had suffered serious head collusion with reality, barging twin problems of a concussion and a sudden partial amnesia. Nigerian Political parties are always after stronger persons that could only treat the party’s manifestos if any, as some mere piece of suggestions that is good only for the trash can. Those individuals that could have the courage to deceive people without any of their veins objecting or sway them with peanuts and white prophesy.
We have political parties that are inferior to their candidates. Political parties without ideologies or perhaps whose ideology is just to win elections.
Such parties know the purpose they serve, as toilet papers they are immediately discarded the second they are used. This is not how a democratic society should be run. We ought to establish political parties that stand for something more than repeating vague promises. A party that even if they are not in power will still work hard to positively influence government policies.

Today I weep for our democracy as it takes a reverse cause heading on to where it all began. The days of glorified ethnic rivalry, religious sentiments and pseudo national entities that had forced this nation to a life support.
In conclusion I will borrow the words of Shola Omotala who stated as follows:
“It is argued that despite all pretences to the contrary through their manifestoes, as much as the superficial classifications as the “left” and “right”, “progressive” and “conservative” parties, Nigerian parties seem to be bereft of clear ideological commitments. This conclusion is predicated upon the relegation of politics of issues to the background across the various republics, and in its place the ascendancy of identity and money politics. Other factors include the rising magnitude of political vagrancy on the basis of selfish and parochial interests, the high level of party indiscipline, absence/weakness of party cohesion and internal democracy, and the high mortality and turnover of party leadership.”

Unfortunately Peoples Democratic Party has found itself in such state that its foster children had seen it as a Titanic heading to the rock. They have jumped into a more vibrant lucid ship, a former opposition party that had metamorphosed into a ruling party. Time will tell if the new ship can withstand the numerous whirlwinds besieging its path.

More unfortunately APC as a party has been the recipient of those street beggars, political prostitutes, loose lousy gladiators bankrupt of any electoral value, greedy "stakeholders" that could think nothing but their fiscal policies. I wonder why they should of all things celebrate these ill winds, which are merely the last nails on our democratic casket. They have made an altar call and every soul is seeking for their mantra. I don’t have issues with people waving brooms to high heaven but I am worried about a party that has unreservedly granted asylums to those "sinners." It has built a river of Bethsaida where they jump into and are made new. Soon if immediate actions are not taken the present of PDP will be more welcomed than the future of APC. They will destroy the party and zoom off to another willing landlord with no need for a rent review clause in his tenancy agreement because nothing will be left by the time the tenancy is determined.