My party is called GGP – good governance party. As a matter
of fact, I have been fascinated by the names of political parties,
especially at inception. The year I started showing interest in how we
are governed – though not belonging to any political party or voting at
elections – was 1979. Believing that a party’s name would reflect its
performance when it captured power, I have, since then, admired the PRP
(1979), the slogan of Waziri Ibrahim’s GNPP (“Politics Without
Bitterness”), SDP (1992), GDM (1998), PDP (1998), APGA (2002), and APC
(2013).Today, the only Nigerians that applaud the ruling party (either at the state or central level) are those who have benefited or are still benefiting from its candidates in power. Dissatisfied Nigerians have placed high hopes in the APC, a merger of four parties, because they feel it is strong enough to win. When I expressed this optimism, in the thick of the PDP crisis sometime in November last year, a friend asked me to just wait for a greater crisis that would erupt in the APC. Is he now being proved right by the rumours we are hearing?
Those of us in the GGP can only keep hoping that the APC would not be bitten by the bug named “Nigerian factor”. Below are extracts from this column of February 10, 2013, entitled “An Old Party Is Born”. If the APC gladiators have ears, let them hear:
When I heard the new opposition party’s name, I remembered a popular analgesic in the 1970s. As kids, we were given APC whenever we had a headache or a fever… A party’s name may not matter but this one is just apt. And I want to be optimistic this time round. May the APC (All Progressive Congress) provide soothing effect like the pain killer we used to take in our younger days…
Any credible opposition party in the country now should be sailing with the wind at its back, what with the monumental failure of the ruling party since 1999… Besides, I have always known that the PDP is not as strong as it appears: it is only feasting on mass poverty and unemployment in the land – the PDP governments worsened them – that have made most Nigerians insecure.
Because free, fair and credible elections have rarely been witnessed in this country, many don’t believe change is possible through the ballot box. That’s why the results of the first elections always produce the bandwagon effect. I have listened to many people swearing to never be in opposition again because, both in the First and Second republics, it was winner-take-all politics. Once you were not in the ruling party, you did not expect any appointment and your people did not benefit from new roads or pipe-borne water; jobs in the civil service were denied them.
Since the PDP-led governments have refused to reform our politics – only the late Yar’Adua promised to do it but sickness never gave him a chance – I suggest the APC leaders should adopt certain short-term measures. For the next three months, they should set aside all considerations as to who will fly the party’s flag in 2015. The search for an acceptable presidential material – preferably a new face, one that has not been tainted or known in political circles – could begin, but it is not the first thing. What should preoccupy everyone’s mind now is how to build a formidable structure for the party – starting from the grass roots.
From my experience in politics – and it’s both long and rich – a good candidate cannot win an election in a poverty-stricken and corrupt country like ours merely on the strength of character. Votes rarely count here because members of the ruling class – military leaders, civilian leaders or secret cult members – have always determined election winners, at least at the highest levels.
In this Fourth Republic, godfathers have always determined who emerges as governor, and governors have often selected national and state lawmakers. I believe that APP, not PDP, won the presidential election in 1999. I also believe that ANPP won the presidential election in 2003. Most PDP governors and senators were rejected at the polls in 2003: in Enugu where I voted then, everyone knew that APGA won the governorship contest. But, as in other parts of the country, the courts and moneybags constituted the electorate!
Therefore, to jumpstart the APC – I won’t describe it as a new party but an allied party – the gladiators must seek money fast. In the course of mopping up funds, they should ensure they do not soil their hands. But, to get rid of this monster by 2015, money will play an important role. There is nothing to suggest that INEC will be able to organise free and fair elections in the near future. So, let the opposition take their destiny in their own hands.
They should start preparing for war. Elections into the party’s offices should be democratic and devoid of acrimony. In fact, religious people could be preferred – pastors and imams should be encouraged to identify with the new-old party. The money to be raised should be used to pay ALL officers of the party at least at the ward and local government levels. State and national executives may be able to endure hunger until after the elections, but those at the ward level cannot. Apart from receiving salaries, the ward and LG executives should have funds that will enable them to hold meetings and mobilise voters regularly.
Mock congresses should follow. It is important to identify all those that will contest elections on the party’s platform early so they could start spreading the message in every nook and cranny. The official congresses and convention – recognised by the Electoral Act and INEC – would then be a celebration. As I said before, the presidential candidate should be a new face: no Tinubu, Buhari, Ikimi or Okorocha.
The candidate I prefer should be less than 60 years, and his running mate should be a woman, a new face also. Away with the “tested and trusted”; we’ve had them since 1960 … but see where they have left Nigeria. I won’t mind seeing a man who has lived for a long time in another country where things work, where corruption has been tamed, and where competence pays. The geopolitical zone this candidate should come from? It doesn’t matter and yet it matters! Let’s prefer one from the middle belt in 2015. There is no state in Nigeria you won’t find a competent hand…
All the preparation and mobilisation across the country will be driven by money. APC may not be able to match those with unlimited access to public funds, but it should be able to defeat the ruling party with 25 per cent of the latter’s funds. The ultimate goal should be to stop evil people in their tracks. I know that incumbents rely a lot on the police and armed forces, but a strong opposition can expose and fight bribe givers and takers.
With close marking, vote thieves will not have the chance to get away with the crime at polling stations and collation centres. Nobody should hope to get justice at the courts – the courts belong to the government in power. Now is the time to tackle the electoral body, so we can have a credible voter register and a transparent voting process.
If the APC is well managed, I’m sure many good people (even from the PDP) will join it. Let those who know their onions get to work immediately. The future is bright.
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REF http://leadership.ng/columns/365696/apc-ears
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