This column, in January, did a gaze into what could be the level of political activities in the year, just as others had done for the economy and for other sectors. That was the time some trusted clerics and other men of God did predictions for the year, as their calling permitted. Some posted mild admonitions for the country, while others saw calamities and posted very harsh and damning propositions. I do not go into areas I’m not conversant with, so, I stayed with politics. And it came to pass that, after I had watched the crystal ball carefully, I came up with my findings, which were that the year would post a gloomy outlook for politicians and their trade.

I advised that given the furiousness with which the war on corruption is waged, many would get bruised, and some, especially, those in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would find the new environment a little bit rough, because of the tactics to be deployed. I said that some of them would chicken out and keep away from limelight. Others, in order to gain traction and remain relevant, have since denied their old friends and taken shelter under this government. Even though it is just six months into the year, my predictions are coming true.

I also saw in the crystal ball that many in the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC) would not have much to do in the year, because President Buhari’s lean and austere style cannot engage their restlessness. And to stay out of trouble, many would see the truth and refuse to speak. They have imposed on themselves a self-censorship duty not to allow their party come under the weather too soon, even when they know that democracy demands regular interrogation of self. The other reason why they must protect their party from internal fission and also not to make the president angry is to avoid the same treatment their colleagues in the PDP are going through in the hands of anti-corruption agencies. But their acquiescence and fright have not made the party as progressive as they promised.

In one year, the APC, as a political organisation, has not moved a step forward, apart from helping the government to repeat excuses that have now become stale and boring. This party once aggregated the hope of many for a vibrant democracy when citizens were close to losing hope on participatory governance. When members of the PDP became ensnared in glued and ensnared in public resources, citizens looked hopefully for an alternative. They got one in the APC and went all out to celebrate it, believing that its claim of being pro-people will not be abandoned too soon.

Given the caliber of men who groomed the party, citizens were too sure that the APC will remain their protector and that leaders will not abandon it to one man. But in one year, we have seen members fret under a regime that’s not into ego massaging. Instead of regular internal dialogue, we now have an APC that looks up to Mr. President’s body language before they do things parties normally do in a democracy. Meetings of the party sparingly take place; and when they do members do not feel free to engage in issues that require regular ventilation. In the few times leaders of the party come together, there is no robustness in the engagement as they return to their constituencies wearing long faces.

Appointments that should be shared among party members are idling in the Presidency.

The situation in Kogi, where the state legislative arm of government is embroiled in crisis is enough to embarrass a party that brands itself as a lover of progress. The APC saw it coming, but chose to work against itself and has now enthroned an awkwardness that will require only an APC to solve.

The situation in Kogi is damning and God help if it were the PDP that got so messed up. Getting out of it is even more difficult, because it is now a crooked hole and the more the combatants dig, the more they get sucked in. The National Assembly where the APC is majority has intervened; an increasingly meddlesome Attorney General has joined the fray, also the Inspector General of Police. But we continue to have a situation where the party that promised to do it better actually misled the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to render the last governorship election inchoate. There are tribunal cases and court cases on the Kogi election and until they are resolved, the state must continue to run like a jungle. All thanks to APC.

The party also failed woefully when it refused to intervene in the face-off between Labour, on behalf of workers and the people, and the Federal Government on the dubious and contentious fuel price increase. The rude manner government forced its way through is most undemocratic and unkind. Here was a government that proclaimed itself as a lover of the people; that promised heaven on earth while it needed the peoples’ votes. This is the same government that now got swayed by neo-liberal arguments that do not add up, and has now expanded its revenue base by inflicting hardship on the people. Labour’s argument, which is the same old arguments of persons who were once progressives, has been that government should first fix the refineries before fixing new prices or removing subsidy. Does it mean the refineries have stopped refining? If the refineries are still working, why should imported fuel and that which is refined locally all sell at the same price of N145? This is question for APC to answer, because the party has shown that it is not different from the others before it. All the noise about caring for the people ended with the campaigns, but they have three years to show otherwise.

There is trouble now in the Niger Delta. In those days, it was the business of progressives to articulate and advocate on behalf of those who are marginalised and exploited. It was the job of progressives to seek to protect minority elements from exploitation and extermination. But the APC has not spoken on the declaration of war by their government in the Niger Delta. The APC government is looking for revenue at all costs and is willing to sacrifice the values it proclaimed two years ago.

In no other department is this well amplified as the power sector. The new tariff structure supported by the party and their government is anti-people. If you put together all the bills citizens have to pay under the APC government, very few salary earners would survive from one month to another. The facts are out there, but this government appears to be just starting, in terms of fleecing the poor. And that is contrary to the manifesto of their party, which preaches material wellbeing of the people.

It is better now for the APC to evaluate itself and retreat from this path to totalitarianism. The party is not doing enough of internal debate and has left too much on the table of an inexperienced executive, all in the hope of preserving a non-existent cohesion. When Asiwaju Tinubu spoke out against the incoherence in the management of the oil industry under Mr. President and the minister of state for petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, he was branded a disloyal party member. I disagree. Democracy is too costly to abandon and surrender to the dictates of one man. Now, former vice president, Atiku Abubakar has spoken. Democracy is about freedom, that is willingly given and not the government of one man that is rigid and unbending.

Before things go too far this is the time to interrogate what the APC stands for. This party held so much hope for the common man. This party did not promise to unleash a state of terror on itself and on other citizens. APC did not campaign to use state security apparatuses to intimidate and harass citizens. Let APC leaders outside government continue to reecho the founding principles that brought it about. The party is the one that brought about this government and not the other way round. Therefore, this is the time to tell the government where it is missing the point, so that come 2019, there will still be a party to take out. Let APC unbundle self!