Politicians, parties and ideologies
Changing one’s political party seems to be the new game in town. Politicians from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and also other parties are crossing over to All Progressives Congress (APC). This is predicated on PDP’s loss at the May 28 presidential ballot. Some of the politicians decamping from PDP to APC now allege, after several years of belonging to the party, that PDP does not have the interest of the people at heart.
This development brings to question the the mission, vision and core values of the political parties that attracted people to join in the first place. The mission statement of a political party is expected to clearly state its purpose clause which talks about the reason the party exists in society. The mission statement is, in addition, expected to state clearly the activities that the party will engage in over time. Similarly, the vision of the party is expected to indicate what the preffered future of the party will be. Is it the largest party in Africa? The third element of the mission statement spells out the core values that all party members share in common. Core values are important because they ought to include an ideology that guides the behavior of party memebErs in the way they relate to others.
Ordinarily, the mission and vision statements of a political party are expected attract credible politicians who believe in the same ideals. If existing political parties comply with this framework, it will be more difficult for politicians to arbitrarily jump from one party to the other the way some are doing today.
We believe that the incessant decamping we are witnessing in the Nigerian political environment is not healthy and should be discouraged. Mass decamping has been a regular occurrence since Nigeria returned to civilian governance in 1999. Some of the reasons include loss of party nominations and the questionable desire by the decamping politicians to join in any possible cake sharing instead of working hard to bake a cake. If not, how come the decamping politicians just abandoned their political party ideology which is in tandem with theirs overnight for a new ideology?
Though section 68 of the 1999 Constitution gives room for cross carpeting by lawmakers within the ambit of the law, several politicians have cited both tenable and untenable excuses to decamp from their parties in search of lucre.
The lack of political ideologies that set parties apart must now receive serious attention in Nigeria. The trend is, to say the least, worrisome. In Nigeria, belonging to political parties is no more seen as an avenue for serving one’s community but an opportunity for personal gain without scruples.
Therefore, judging from the avalanche of decamping going on, we have cause to re-examine the issue of defining guidelines requiring political parties to spell out thir ideologies as part of requirements for getting registered. The current chaoitic situation should not be allowed to continue unchecked.
It is worrisome that politicians have become promiscuous only belonging where the ovation is loudest. It is also a concern that political parties do not have strong ideologies well spelt out that endear adherents to what the parties represent.
In some instances, parties have celebrated politicians joining them from other parties, but we caution that these decampees could be double faced politicians who will equally decamp when the baton changes. As the electorate becomes more politically conscious, they will demand that politicians show more devotion to the ideals of political parties that can earn their votes.