DEFECTIONS AND RUMOURS OF DEFECTIONS

The increasing inter-party migrations in Nigeria are undermining democratic ideals and practices, MONDAY PHILIPS EKPE warns

Bring it on, Nigerian politicians! What else can they do now to shock those who know them well? They have become so predictable in their self-centeredness that most of the citizens they claim to serve have resigned to a fate they most probably never anticipated at the commencement of the fourth republic in 1999. The latest bug is defection, an exercise that is by no means new but now assumes more cancerous dimensions. At the last count, some members of Edo State House of Assembly, including the speaker, have just moved from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). But that action has lesser implications for regional and national politics than the one that occurred in Delta State a fortnight ago.

The significance of what Vice President Kashim Shettima described in Asaba as “a political tsunami of unimaginable proportions that had never happened in the history of the South-South sub-region and the history of Nigeria” is still unfolding. As expected, the sheer magnitude of the operation, number and calibre of the dramatis personae have brought joy to the top APC hierarchy whose governmental incumbency sits pretty atop an increasingly linear, monopolistic polity. As for the deflated PDP, it remains to be seen how what is left of its bravado can salvage anything to keep it afloat, relevant and competitive in what appears to be a looming contest between an all-conquering APC and its cowered, disjointed opponents.   

I’m still trying to digest that melodrama in Delta being condemned by some as betrayal and opportunism but hailed by others as bold and visionary. Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, immediate past governor of the state who, only two years ago, canvassed for votes around the federation as vice presidential candidate of PDP, made a consequential statement of his political career the other day: “It was not about me; it was not about the governor, but about the fact that there is a need for us to connect to Abuja. That goodwill that is in Abuja, that resource that is in Abuja – of which Delta State is a large contributor – there was a need to connect to it. I was governor for eight years. I was in opposition. I did my best, but we lost a lot. As the governor is doing a lot for us, he also needs to connect to the greater source of power, resources, and goodwill in Abuja.

“It is time for us to embrace each other – our brothers and sisters who were already in the APC and those of us that have come into the family. We need to embrace each other and work with oneness of heart. It is time for us to stand together in great support for Mr President and Mr Governor because together we can truly dominate the politics in Delta State. I believe there will be no other party, with this move that we have made.”

That sounds altruistic, no doubt, but it hasn’t doused the overwhelming views that Okowa did what he did for narrow, selfish reasons, especially in relation to his pending cases with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). But does that even matter now? Survival instinct has always been on man’s priority list. And members of the Nigerian political class are not known to disguise theirs often. Sadly, Okowa is yet another reminder that there are many of his kind in critical positions who act without qualms about the larger consequences of their actions.  

Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s comment the day he led the decampees into the opposing side is equally indicative of our politicians’ tendency to weaponise half-truths in efforts to make certain doubtful steps look agreeable. His words: “What you have seen here today is a movement, not a defection. We have consulted stakeholders at all levels. Mr President has shown us love. We cannot face him in 2027 to work against him. When you consult widely, you can see that the love is organic.”

The cynics who once scoffed at Oborevwori’s capacity to command English language well in public must now, at least, recognise his ability to muster one or two quotable quotes of his own, especially on august occasions. Just see the way he threw love – delight, liking, fondness and adoration – into the less sublime mix of muscular politics on display in Nigeria today. What shall we say then? For Tinubu so loved Delta State that the Sheriff could not but hand the political soul of the place to him? The ways of Nigerian politicians are truly past finding out!

To further roughen an already challenged atmosphere, few days after the Delta experience, Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, threw the party that brought him to power in 2023 under the bus, hinting at his imminent departure from it. And he did that with a biting imagery. Imagine this: “If you wanted to travel with Ibom Airline and, on the verge of taking off, it developed a fault that won’t enable it to fly, won’t you board the next available plane to take you to your destination?”

Haba, man of God! Has it now come to this? You’re supposed to be among the highest-ranking functionaries of the party that ran the present democratic dispensation from nascency to adolescence and later handed power over successfully. No matter the current state of that organisation, you should have been more circumspect in speaking against it. Sadly, you’re indeed not alone. You’re actually in a large company of less tactful position seekers and occupants.  

A commissioner in Delta gave a similar analogy earlier. But, in comparing PDP to palm wine that loses its taste, he unwittingly accused his co-travellers of being motivated by their own appetites, thereby suggesting that any talk about pursuing general interest is merely academic. It’s obvious that political parties in the country mainly serve as vehicles for power grabbing and furthering of private aggrandisements. Even at that, we may have underrated the extent to which this mindset has degenerated.

I am not a PDP apologist. And no plans to become one. It’s on record, however, that but for the maturity and selflessness of PDP’s President Goodluck Jonathan who accepted his defeat by APC’s President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 despite his own party’s dream of ruling for 60 years, the history of democracy and, possibly, the country itself would have turned out differently. So, instead of the unfortunate gloating by some of its erstwhile pillars, PDP’s rapidly dwindling fortunes ought to sober everyone. Because of its nationwide spread and historic advantage, the party, more than the rest rivals of APC, still possesses the potential to provide the much-needed strong opposition. The ongoing attempts to forge a coalition that can checkmate APC are better spearheaded by PDP chieftains for the same reasons.

Let’s be clear. Moving from one political party to another in itself isn’t an aberration. It’s a global phenomenon. On a good day, it could even signify a healthy political environment in which members are free to make choices that do not have to be in agreement with the mainstream. Besides, cross-carpeting has been with us since the 1950s when 20 members of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) defected to Action Group (AG) to enhance the chances of Chief Obafemi Awolowo to become the premier of western Nigeria to the disadvantage of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe. The second republic also witnessed its share of political desertions.

But what we have now is unprecedented both in character and volume. Who will tell our politicians that the nation’s hard-won democracy mustn’t be taken for granted? How would they know that the repercussions for their rascality can also consume them?  

Dr Ekpe is a member of THISDAY Editorial Board