It was the late Arthur Nzeribe who once asserted that Nigeria is not matured and prepared for democracy. While it is generally agreed that democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people, what is flagrantly practiced in Nigeria is obviously the government of the elites, by the elites and for the elites.
Let’s take the forth-coming governorship primary elections as case-study. The political parties guidelines and rules of conducting primary elections are well spelt out just as the processes are expected to be transparently conducted through one of four major routes: consensus, congress, and through the delegates of the participating political entities or through the state wards executives.
However, in the prevailing circumstances, the powers-that-be at the state levels have successfully hijacked the process. As a result, the primary elections which should have been democratic, transparent and acceptable to the generality of the electorate and in the interest of all the contesting aspirants are in great peril.
The powers-that-be at the state levels, or more precisely, state governors have successfully eroded the powers of the ward executives of political parties to freely elect the most popular and acceptable aspirant in consultation with party members and for the people whom they represent.
Similarly, the consensus option of electing or selection of political party flag-bearers is also, being hijacked or denied the enabling free environment for the process to produce the most popular and acceptable aspirant by most state governors.
In this circumstance, the only option left for the people and the aspirants remains through the delegates. Unfortunately too, it remains an open secret that state governors also control and tele-guide these delegates, by virtue of their exalted positions and influence; largely due to the fact that most of these delegates were sponsored by the governors to their present positions or status or are under the payroll of the state governments. Is this not a matter of he who pays the viper dictates the tune?
The result is that the delegates must dance according to the dictates of the state chief executives or be sanctioned. As it is now, the delegate option of electing a flag-bearer for political parties is subordinated to the interest of the governors.
What do you think would happen in a situation where a counselor, secretary or chairman of a political party in a given ward in any local government as the case may be, all sponsored by the state government to assume their positions, are among the few selected delegates who are expected to elect their party’s flag bearers – and this in a situation that the governor has an anointed candidate? Would they vote according to their conscience or according to the directive of the governor?
The alleged interference and manipulation of party delegates who are supposed to conduct primary elections by state governors is responsible for the mass-protest votes being witnessed across some states. Such tendencies have in most cases resulted in the defeat of incumbent governors and the ruling political party in some states, due to the imposition of unpopular and unacceptable aspirant by them against the general consensus with other relevant stakeholders.
The Plateau State example stands out in this regard. In 2014, the then governor of Plateau State allegedly single handedly imposed a governorship candidate as the flag-bearer of the ruling People Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, against the wishes of the generality of other members of the party. The people, who were mostly PDP members in the state became aggrieved and as a result mobilized for protest votes in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC) which was the least expected political party at the time to win the governorship election.
As a result, the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Plateau State clinched the governorship seat with Governor Simon Bako Lalong as beneficiary. That was how the APC emerged as the dominant and ruling party in Plateau State. Before then, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had been the dominant and most popular political party in the state.
Now, history is about to repeat itself on the Plateau. Already, the unfortunate path has been taken as the APC has already lost the Bassa-Jos North Federal constituency by-election conducted some few months ago to the PDP, largely due to the failure of Governor Lalong to embrace the popular and most acceptable candidate identified by party members.
It is instructive to note that, the APC governorship primary elections are scheduled to hold in barely two weeks’ time. This being so, Governor Lalong should do the needful to avoid a repeat of the tendencies that brought him to power.
In this, the governor Lalong could borrow a leaf from his colleague, the governor of Kano State, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje who just few days ago, endorsed and anointed his deputy to succeed him. Governor Ganduje had remarked that his decision to endorse his deputy, Dr. Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna was predicated on the fact that he has absolute confidence in him and secondly, that being his deputy all this while, Gawuna would be in the best position to continue with his legacies for the sake of political stability and in the interest of continuity.
In the case of Governor Lalong, he would have saved Plateau from the tense political atmosphere and potential social belligerence if he could also endorse and anoint his deputy with whom they together weathered the storm of inherited but polarized citizenry. .
The fact is, it will be easier for the dozens of other eminently qualified governorship aspirants seeking to contest the forth coming primary election to compromise, consensually to the candidature of Professor Sonni Tyoden, a man who most of the other aspirants have respect for, not only for his towering intellectual background but for his well-known humble mien and gentlemanly disposition.
I am afraid, if the reverse be the case, it is likely the scenario of 2014 may repeat itself, a situation where the ruling PDP lost to the opposition APC in which Governor Lalong remains the greatest beneficiary.
Of course, in the permutations of the All Progressive Congress (APC), no one ever imagined the APC would win in Plateau, Taraba and Benue states; rather, the selfish interest of the former governors which subverted the popular choice of the people made it possible for the APC.
- Bilal sent this piece from Jos, Plateau State.