Maybe Enough of parties without or with tired ideologies.

PDP

AD, AC, ACN

APP, ANPP

APGA

PPA ?

Can Labour Party be the 21st Century Left-of-Centre party of the digital age for Nigeria's party?

Go, do it, Labour Party, Action Congress
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Written by Jide Oguntoye
Tuesday, 20 July 2010

NO matter how young the age or small the stature of the Labour Party (LP) amidst the numerous political parties in Nigeria today you cannot but stop to give the party a thought as a potential arrow-head of the opposition in Nigeria.

Because Labour Party has an air of universality in its name and gives the workforce a sense of proprietorship, it lends itself for easy perception and ready acceptance. But how far could it go in the Nigeria’s situation in which the opposition has seemed accursed to wallow in disarray while the ruling part has perpetually rough-ridden?

The Action Congress, the darling, dominant party in Lagos State and now the new sensation in Edo State was once fielding a presidential candidate as a progressive, leftist party. It has made so much waves as a political force in Nigeria but yet it has been repressed by the conservative PDP.

The Labour Party and the Action Congress which are both leftist in disposition, have recently make claims to overtures by some other political parties for a merger or a fusion.

While the Action Congress specified the parties merging with it under a probable new name, Action Congress of Nigeria, the Labour Party is yet to name the political parties teaming up with it or mention the terms of the fusion.

Since this fusion moves were being reported however, one has wondered why these two political parties, the AC and LP never thought of coming together first, magnetic as they should be to each other, being both distinctively leftist.

“ One had wondered what they are waiting for and for how long they think they can afford to wait with the unfolding political reality in Nigeria, knowing too well that they both would attract an avalanche of many more political parties and groups than they bave recorded separately.

We all should wonder why it is often so hard for political parties to come together to form a formidable force in Nigeria. Why would they rather stay apart like the proverbial scattered twigs of a broom that would never sweep a grain?

Don’t the legion of opposition parties in Nigeria know that a government has no obligation to perform optimally unless there is a formidable opposition, an alternative government, waiting to replace it, and that they, the opposition parties, have been slowing down Nigeria’s progress by being disunited, fragmented, even when a one-party system is staring them in the face?

Perhaps political immaturity or crass nativity is it that has been disuniting the opposition in Nigeria; the mentality of an overjoyous decolonised people who would rather ceaselessly scramble for vacated political offices merely for the joy of it.

This spirit of greed for power and positions which led to formation of mushroom political parties had led to proliferation of states and local governments, has led to falsification of census figures and voters registers, corrupted electoral system and the endemic economic crimes that have retarded Nigeria’s progress for fifty years.

Not even military interregnums could tame the crude love of power which now shamefully suggests that our leaders were all along imitating the colonialists whose mission was to acquire the wealth of our nation for their home government. And, ironically, the dubious leaders have been looting our treachery to the banks of the former colonial masters for safe-keeping!

The ongoing merger initiatives would still not amount to a struggle for freedom from the resultant political repression by the rightist PDP for as long as parties of like-minds would want to stick to their separate identities, as long as their party leaders would love their positions and individual ambitions more than the struggle.

What” goes for the AC and the Labour Party goes for ANPP, PPA and which others in the long list of Nigeria’s mushrooming political parties.

Incidentally, the dominance of the PDP has also been aided by the same individuals’ mad ambition to acquire, posses and control public funds for selfish ends like the colonialists. Every ambitious individual wanted to be in the PDP that could make such ambitions happen. It thus became secondary whether the polity was healthy. The polity could ail or go comatose, of course, as long as such inimical ambitions were realised!

But thank God today that even the PDP is now aware of the inevitability of a healthy polity, which is why the president who is a PDP man is insisting on a culture of credible election, in words and in actions. Certainly we’ve got to learn now to put the nation first, above our political parties, above our political ambitions. That is how to truly, creditably, love ourselves, of course.

The new reality of the opposition’s struggle should therefore be in coming together and burying party or personal egos, in legitimately pursuing the acquisition of political power for public good.

The dominant People’s Democratic Party as the name implies, must have been a beautiful conception at birth, you know. It must have been conceived to champion the cause of the people and thus the cause of democracy but it has, instead, side-tracked the same electorate along the way in a substituted system which the president recently aptly described as arbitrariness. The party dumped its belief in the people and democracy and embraced brute use of power. Its emphasis thus shifted from people to power, to perpetuate itself.

Now that the PDP itself has gratifyingly agreed to be tamed for the nation’s sake, the opposition too must seize the opportunity of reforms to reason together and unite under a progressive umbrella.

The Action Congress and Labour Party definitely will achieve much if they fuse. Both are progressive in all ramifications. They can proceed to talk to ANPP which is also now dying of PDP’s repression and the APGA which is not finding its feet.

If ,a new name is a problem, they can consider adopting the universally magical name, Labour Party, or Grand Labour Party. Do you say Action Labour Party or All Nigeria Action Labour Party? Let not ego push us to the ridiculous fancies of fusion.

Ego, the age-long problem of Nigerian politicians should be crucified at this point. Enough of being penny wise, pound foolish.


http://www.tribune.com.ng/index.php/opinion/8441-go-do-it-labour-party-action-congress-

The only way to defeat PDP is to offer the country a fundamentally new kind of politics.

New ideology
New style of choosing leaders
New way of conducting the affairs of the party
New agenda

[flash=600,600]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvrCTdynF3c&hl=en_GB&fs=1[/flash]


Get the Joke?

A generator sound in the begining, followed by total blackout and a question asking "fit for Nation?"

Then you have a stamp that says enough, Nigeria needs 100,000 Megawatt to actually achieved industrialization.

I think this campaign video is very innovative. It just needs a little talking point at the end.

Enjoy.