Isaac Olawale Albert is a Professor of African History, Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Ibadan. He speaks with WALE AKINSELURE on the ongoing debate regarding political parties using direct primaries to produce their candidates.
The National Assembly recently passed a bill on direct primaries for political parties while the President’s assent is being awaited. There are those who are for and against direct primaries. As a scholar, what is your holistic view of the issue of parties using direct primaries especially as Nigerians crave for a better electoral process?
The direct primary debate must be located in the exiting discourses on godfathers in Nigerian politics. Since we started our politics in 1999, we have been having this phenomena of godfathers dictating candidates. But as we refine the political process, we come across new layers of political godfathers. For example, in 2019, godfathers in several parts of Nigeria were displaced; they were decommissioned. They were decommissioned to the extent that in Kwara, Bukola Saraki was pushed away; we saw how Adams Oshiomhole was pushed away. In several places, people tried to assert their political independence by pushing off political godfathers. But what happened, at the end of the day, was that after displacing all political godfathers, what we have now is a new set of political godfathers called governors.
The governors are very powerful. They dictate who succeeds them; they dictate who goes to House of Assembly; they dictate who goes to National Assembly. In a state recently, the governor bought off all the party nomination forms and allocated the papers to his preferred candidates such that the others did not see any nomination papers to buy. This direct primaries bill is expected to take a little bit of powers away from the governors so that the process becomes better democratized. What direct primaries would do is to enable all card-carrying members to have a say in who gets the nomination of a political party such that you line up behind you preferred candidate. It will be an open process and everybody will have an opportunity to say this is the direction they are going.
It is different from the present indirect system that is controlled by governors. But, like every political opportunity in Nigeria, the governors will not let go easily and that is why the governors are fighting very hard to convince the President not to give his assent. But you ask, what is it in that bill that will make all the governors to be working together towards prevent the President from giving his assent to it. It is a gang-up against the people.
Any opposition against direct primary is against the Nigerian people to ensure that the Nigerian people do not have a say in who governs them. But, I see a tricky situation before us. Pressure is being brought to bear on the President not to sign the bill. The problem is that the governors that are putting the President under pressure are very powerful. If the governors choose to gang-up against the President, he will not find it easy. So, I see a danger there. If the President is to sign, he is most likely to consult the Minister of Justice. The Minister of Justice wants to be a governor in Kebbi state; he needs the support of the governor of Kebbi state; the governor of Kebbi state is one of the governors saying that the President should not sign. So, I do not see the Minister of Justice asking the President to sign. The waiting for now is to see whether the President and the governors will side with the people or with those who don’t want us to experience true democracy.
But the picture you have painted also presupposes that the ‘powerful’ governors can also have their way with direct primaries.
Apart from their wealth, all the governors will want to determine who succeeds them because they need somebody who will close their tracks while in office. I don’t think the governors will just let go like that. In addition, it is traditional for every governor to want to retire to the National Assembly. And many of the governors know that if they opt for direct primaries, they might not have anybody voting for them when they leave office. The only way by which they can squeeze themselves into the system, by at least getting the tickets of their political party and doing everything possible to win their election is to use indirect primary. The indirect primary allows for all kinds of primaries so they have nothing to gain from law and order. What they want is system is one that they can manipulate and that is why they are putting pressure on the President.
You seem to be saying that members of the National Assembly also had their own reasons for passing the bill into law.
The National Assembly members that have passed that bill also did what they did to protect their political future. Most of them know that the governors will not allow them to come back. They know that if they continue to allow the governors have control over their political party, through indirect primaries, many of them will not come back because their governors will not give them ticket. Some the governors want to take their seats after serving two terms in office. The two term governors are coming to Senate and a member of their constituency must leave that position for the governor. So, what the National Assembly members are doing is to disentangle, to take the parties away from the governors so that they can have a political future. It is a struggle across several constituencies; the parliamentarians are struggling for survival; the governors are struggling for survival; and the ordinary Nigerian is just an onlooker because we are powerless.
You have painted a dicey situation. How close or far is Nigeria towards having a credible electoral system?
We still have a long way to go. All that is happening is a gang-up against the people. As of now, no commoner knows how his governor or House of Assembly member was produced. Governors dictate it, not you and me. They have evacuated our powers and these powers they have evacuated is what direct primaries wants to take back from them and they will not allow it.
What if the president braves all odds and signs the bill?
If the president assents that bill, they will fight back.
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