Introduction

This is the 3rd and final part of my threads trying to show that APC = PDP
while in the same breadth, trying to salvage some fundamental differences

Part 1: https://www.nairaland.com/1864112/change-management-pdp-apc-terrorism
Part 2: https://www.nairaland.com/1868740/when-apc-pdp-using-change

Water poured from cup to cup

Ever seen kids play by turning same water from one cup to another
then pretend that the cups magically make the water different stuff like tea or juice etc?

Well Nigerian adult politicians play the same game
One minute they are progressives in APC, the next they are anti-establishment in PDP


Despite this, the parties do represent some fundamentally different ideologies
and therefore, mean different things to different people
Some folks are explicitly concious of this, others gravitate towards the different ideologies
but cannot place their fingers on what exactly it is.

So what they do is to constantly highlight the strenght of the parties that they support
while pointing out the weakness of the other party

..DP

Ideology 1: Belle politics

-Some are paid to be e-communication supporters
-Some are presently members of parties
-The relatives or benefactors of some are stunch members of parties
and so will receive goodies if their brothers party is in power
(Remember the Cramjones/FFK/APC connection. That is assuming Cramjones is not FFK)

These set of people actually have little or no loyalty to any political party
they will switch once their meal ticket switches

Ideology 2a: Some APC "progressiveness"


APC's ideological difference from PDP is hinged on two men. They are Tinubu and Buhari.
I honestly cant say that these men are not progressives -at least within Nigeria political space.
No matter your arguments,
from their history, you can say that they are at least anti-establishment or anti-status quo

Every other politician in APC will be more than happy to decamp if the oppurtunity beckons.
Atiku, Saraki, El Rufai, Lai Mohammed, Oshiomole, ?Fashola? etc. will easily jump ship.

Now, if Buhari and Tinubu's influence in APC whittles down
there is a possibility that they might get out of the party,
or even support other parties such as the PDP against their party,
but you can be 99% sure
that they will not suddenly become card carrying members of PDP

Ideology 2b: Some PDP "conservativeness"

PDP on the other hand is hinged on some 3 or 4 men
They are Obasanjo, IBB, Annenih and maybe Ekwueme

These men (asides from Ekwueme) can best be described as conservatives
or worse retrogressives.

You can be 100% sure that they wont decamp from PDP to any party
They can support other parties against theirs
but they are not going no where
Everyone else, including their kids, followers, associates
and President GEJ won't hesitate to decamp from PDP to other parties if need be.

However the influenc of these men apart from Anenih
has been considerably whittled down in the PDP national level

Ideology 3: Enhancing Party Competition
Some although believing that the parties are no different support APC.
This is because they appreciate that is dangerous for Nigeria to be a one party state
For example, previously, under a PDP monopoly
you could go to sleep knowing that whoever emerges PDP flag bearer will be the president
Thanks God that there is now at least some doubt.

The folks who freely pushed for the two party approach is the media
they carried 'progressive' stories of the APC while ignoring some of its 'retrogressive' stories
Interestingly although the media is many times thought to be owned by the south West
a huge percentage of the top 'National' media houses are actually owned by South South and East folks
So don't be surprised if closer to elections you start seeing a more balanced narrative.

Ideology 4: Religious politics

Previously there were only 3 main religious political affiliations
1) Pro -islamist
This group have a strong inclination to vote only for Muslim candidates,
preferably muslim (especially sharia inclined) candidtates from the Core north,
Middlebelt, then SouthWest in that order

This category can be found in the core north and previously supported CPC
'For now, their loyalty is with APC because of Buhari

APC is ethnotribalists.

2)
Religious neutral (a)
This category, are not particularly bothered about the religiousness of parties

The candidate can be a christian, muslim or sharia promoter for all they care
they've lived side by side with christians and muslims all their lives
You'd find this category in the south west and middlebelt

Religious neutral (b)
These are mainly xtians who like the (a) category, are not particularly bothered
about the religiousness of parties/candidates
What they might be bothered about are parties/candidates
that they percieve to pushing an islamic agenda
they can be found in all South and Middlebelt


New Group: Pro -Xtian
Jonathan has been accused of causing religious divide never before experienced in Nigeria
The reason is because for the first time,there is a new group of pro-xtian voters.
Jonathan's team have painted APC as both a muslim and extrimist party
And has whipped up a previously silent group by empasising that muslims seek to dominate xtians
This new group is heavilly pro xtian and anti -muslim.
The aim is to push South West and Middlebelt xtians to the side of PDP

Ideology 5: Ethnic Politics

Some ethnic nationalities feel that they have been previously seen as second class citizens
In Jonathans PDP, they see a psychological reversal of fortune
You will see such people in the South South and South East

Others see APC as a vehicle to show that their ethnic group
is the intellectual driver and King makers of Nigerian politics
You will see such in the South West

CONCLUSION
Although there is another group that see Jonathan simply as a failure
and would rather that any other 'capable' person takes the reign of government
whether in PDP or APC. This group is in the minority.


SO in conclusion, when you see people pointing to ether APC or PDP as the ideal part
be rest assured that their support is driven by either one
or a combination of more than one of the 'ideologies' that I mentioned above

....which of these is yours?

..I'll edit later

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