Paradoxically, political parties are causing problems for the country when they should bring solutions. With a confounding multiplicity of parties, the country’s political landscape reflects a poverty of plenty. There are so many parties but so little political progress.
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu, highlighted this problem of unproductive plenty at a National Stakeholders’ Forum on Elections in Abuja on December 19. The event followed INEC’s announcement of general election schedules: February 16, 2019, for the Presidential and National Assembly elections and March 2, 2019, for the Governorship, State Assembly and the Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Yakubu, who was represented at the forum by INEC’s National Commissioner Adekunle Ogunmola, said: “We will continue to register parties as long as they comply with the legal requirements. Our hands are tied. There is no way we can stop registering parties. We will continue to register them until the time stipulated in the constitution. By the time the issue of independent candidate takes off, there will be more problem for INEC. The highest number we have done in governorship election is in Anambra State, with 27 parties.”
As things stand, there will certainly be more problems. A startling December 15 report said: ”Nigeria now has 67 political parties.” This new figure is a result of the registration of 21 new parties by INEC. If INEC properly followed the registration process and the new parties satisfied the registration conditions, it does not make the number of existing parties less problematic.
Now, let’s check out the names of the latest additions to the list of parties. According to a report: “The 21 newly registered parties are: All Blending Party, All Grassroots Alliance, Alliance for New Nigeria, Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party, Coalition for Change, Freedom and Justice Party, Grassroots Development Party of Nigeria, Justice Must Prevail Party, Mass Action Joint Alliance, Legacy Party of Nigeria, Mass Action Joint Alliance, Modern Democratic Party, National Interest Party, National Rescue Mission, New Progressive Movement, Nigeria Democratic Congress Party, People’s Alliance for National Development and Liberty, People’s Trust, Providence People’s Congress, Re-Build Nigeria Party, Restoration Party of Nigeria and Sustainable National Party.”
It is unclear how these new parties formed their names, and what factors and influences prevailed at the stage of name formation. But some of these names are curious, suggesting that they are creations of curious minds. Some of these names are clearly fanciful, suggesting attention to form over substance. It is worth pondering on this question: What should be the important considerations when creating a party name?
But a name is not enough, no matter how it sounds and what it is meant to say to the public. A political party will not be rated according to what its name says. For example, the former federal ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was not progressive and could even be said to have been ironically anti-people. It is easier to give a party a progressive-sounding name than to ensure that the party is progressive-minded.
These questions are unavoidable: Does Nigeria need 67 parties? Does the number of parties mean that they are so different from one another? Why do more and more people think they must form parties? How many of these 67 parties are parties properly so called? How many of these parties are sustainable? Further questions: What will happen in the 2019 general election? How many of these parties are strong enough to compete for power? Additional questions: Will more parties be registered? Are more associations seeking registration?
Even INEC is uneasy and reportedly seeking the intervention of the National Assembly to enable it control the number of political parties through an enabling law. An INEC National Commissioner was quoted as saying: ”From the way we are going, we need to apply legal control on the formation and registration of political parties in this country. We should think outside the box for the way out. So far, INEC has registered 67 parties. This number is unwieldy for general election… we cannot afford the luxury of having uncontrolled number of parties.”
If nothing is done, it is likely the number of parties will continue to rise. The official gave an insight into the situation: “And the law is fluid; INEC is mandated to register parties at least six months to the general election. As an electoral agency, you may base your projection on a number of parties and new registration can alter your plans.”
He added: “We have about 94 pending applications from associations seeking to be political parties. By implication, we may still register more parties before the 2019 general election. The latest 21 registered parties were among the 115 pending applications before INEC. We are hamstrung by the law; we cannot reject the applications of associations seeking to be parties as long as they have met the basic requirements.” For manageability of the party system, he called on the National Assembly “to revisit the laws on party registration for a tidier electoral system guided by the Electoral Act.”
Perhaps it is too easy to register a political party in Nigeria. Before the 21 new parties, there were 46 parties, and there are applicants expecting to be registered. It is true that democracy encourages diversity, but it is also true that diversity can be difficult.
Interestingly, every party claims to be interested in progress, but not every party is progressive. Indeed, it may be said that not all progress is progressive. Tragically, the scramble for party registration may well be a self-serving project for many of those involved. The history of the party system in Nigeria has several examples of parties formed by self-absorbed individuals for self-centred purposes.
It is easy to see that the country’s undesirable level of development easily creates room for the formation of new parties. There is room for the promoters of new parties because there is room for progress. After the failure and fall of the PDP, which ruled from 1999 to 2015, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is struggling to show that it is positively different.
In the final analysis, the problem with Nigeria is not a shortage of political parties, but a shortage of progressive politicians who can work for progress.
