A credible third political alternative in Nigeria?

UNLESS anybody would like to live in self-deception, it is not difficult at all, in my humble opinion, to realize that the political class that has emerged in Nigerian in the present civil political dispensation has failed us; as fully as anybody would like to seek or clarify it! By the emerged political class in Nigeria, I naturally mean all these people in the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), the All Progressives Congress (APC) and all those running around between and among them, for whatever reasons. It is for this reason that most non-partisan people in the country have been talking about a third and credible political alternative to those two, for quite a while now. It is true that some of these discredited politicians sometimes themselves talk about this third and credible alternative. However, their subsequent actions show them clearly to be fake; as any good watcher of the goings on would have been able to say from the very beginning of those unhealthy incursions of such people to this genuine and highly needed national change.

Just in case anybody is wondering why I say this, of the two APC and PDP candidates, who does not know that Atiku Abubakar allegedly does not have a good record of economic honesty in many things? This is what OBJ was referring to when he told him to try to settles those matters as he gives him his support as presidential candidate of the PDP. Who does not know that Muhammadu Buhari, while not enriching himself financially while in office, has allegedly enriched all others of his supporting crew, all of the time; including the present time. Who does not know that he is the greatest and the most rabid, uncontrollable tribalist and religious fanatic in government that Nigeria ever had or will ever have; and that those twin evils are the father and mother of all the systematic corruptions in the country? So, what is corruption in Nigeria outside of religious fanaticism and tribalism; and how can somebody be said to not be corrupt or indeed fighting corruption, if he is the father or mother of those? Has corruption been decreasing in Nigeria since Buhari got there?

• I am still a bonafide member of PDP ― Senator Ewuga

So, as everybody can see, there should be little or no place for people like these in our national governments, if we intend to make real progress in the world. But where are the credible alternatives, both in terms of political parties or of presidential candidates? As at the last count, there are over 40 political parties in Nigeria, another sign of the inherent corruption in these affairs nationally! Where, in any developed or seriously developing countries do we see any more than 3 or at the most 5 political parties, registered and operating? So, what are we doing in this place? Also, as at the last count, the five front runners for the 2019 Nigerian elections presidency were Buhari from the APC,Abubakar from the PDP, Oby Ezekwesili from the ACPN, Kingsley Moghalu from the YPP and Fela Durotoye from the ANN. With the socio-economic and political records that Buhari and Abubakar have clearly written about themselves, can these other three (or more, if so) not get themselves together to find this third and credible alternative to the other two? Well, if they do not, it will be clear that Nigeria will be in this political pit for a while as yet. If they will not do so, or at least make efforts to do so, but let it fail, then they will just be telling us that they are not as good as we really need.

The evils in most Nigerian political gladiators were created and nurtured by the overall Nigerian corrupted situation. So, we should not be too quick to blame them; even if we make all efforts to vote them down or out. When we do so for everyone of them, except for the one that does differently – at the state and the federal levels, that are the only ones where any forms of elections have been happening -they will begin to learn their lessons. Otherwise, on the whole, we should vote for the best of any set of candidates, at each level and every one of these individual elections. We must stop voting on the basis of political parties; because “the majority party syndrome” in the parliaments and governments has become the most supporting infrastructure for these systematic corruptions. If there are no such majorities but the most honest people from many of the parties, it will be more difficult to play these corruptions by the majority ruling party.

Meanwhile, as for any of these past political leaders who repent of their particular brand(s) of corruption, let us know it. There should be no shame at that, for we all know and feel it. Let them work hard to show that repentance in action, we should be able to still vote for them; but obviously not before then! Those who love Buhari and Abubakar more than myself or most of us would do well to go and let them know the necessity and the benefit of this said repentance. For Buhari, it will not be enough to say that he has repented of his tribalism-nepotism or religious fanaticism but it must be followed by actions that must start from the sacking of all those relatives, in-laws and other religious and tribal fanatics running his Aso Rock mafia as everybody from Aisha herself has been reported to say as well as many people even on the street knows. God bless Nigeria!

• Asuzu is Professor of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of Ibadan