The moles within Nigeria’s political parties

Who is a mole?
A mole is an individual who appears to be a loyal member of a political party, who under the guise of loyalty, works covertly to undermine the party, create internal divisions, sabotage the party’s agenda or disrupt operations of the party from within, often for monetary, selfish personal gain, unpatriotic or external interests.

In Nigerian politics, moles abound in shades of multiple colours, in their multitude, across the ranks and file of each stratum of political parties and they serve as instruments of sabotage within political parties, weakening their ability to function as credible opposition forces, unable to checkmate bad governance or to effectively challenge the ruling establishments clear breach of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution as amended.
Moles are planted by opposition parties, interest groups, or individuals with bad faith or sinister ulterior motives to cause Apathy, Disorderliness, Mistrust, Disorientation, Hysteria, Panic, Opportunism, Confusion, Havoc, Terror etc. That is the phenomenon in Nigerian politics.

It’s a well-known fact that Nigeria’s democratic journey is under siege. The ideals of transparency, accountability, and robust opposition are being systematically eroded by internal saboteurs(moles) whose activities within political parties and governance structures have derailed the country’s democratic progress. From sham local government elections that overwhelmingly favour a ruling party, to bad and ruinous government policies, to opposition leaders sabotaging their own parties, these silent, criminal and unpatriotic saboteurs thrive, subverting and weakening Nigeria’s democratic fabric and perpetuating bad governance.

How to identify moles and their characteristics in a political party
According to a comprehensive review document and article titled “Of Moles and Molehunters: A Review of Counter intelligence Literature”, published by the U.S. Government Publishing Office and “Insider Threats: A Closer Look at Infiltrators and Movement Security”,An article by the International Centre on Nonviolent Conflict and several other authorities, the publications examined the intricacies of counter intelligence and the challenges associated with identifying moles against a backdrop of historical cases and goes further by providing lessons learned from past mole hunts.They show amongst others that;
Moles can be recognized through their disruptive behaviours, their reluctance to support collective decisions, their refusal to drive agreed course of action, supporting crystal clear policies and strategies meant to institute illegalities or perpetuate bad governance, and their alignment with rival interests. Additionally, they often foster disunity, leak confidential information, and create conflict within the party. Generally, look out for the following too.

They have Double Loyalty, an outward loyalty to their party and secretly working for an opposing party.
They Gather Information by seeking access to confidential party plans, strategies, or communications through Manipulative Behaviour

They Exploit internal disagreements, create factionalism, or spread rumours to destabilize the party.
They Lack Commitment and Sabotage by intentionally repeating, evading, refusing, delaying or disrupting activities, such as campaigns, deliver on set course of action or decision-making processes.
Inconsistent Behaviour and InformationLeaking, watch for members whose actions do not align with their words or party principles.

Overt Criticismis also another example where excessive or unwarranted criticism of the party or its leadership, often aimed at weakening internal cohesion is obtainable.
They Create Confusion and Discord, leading to a lack of focus and unity.
Their disruptive activities,Undermine Accountability thus ensuring the party cannot hold the ruling party accountable.

A case study in democratic subversion and tale of opposition betrayal
In 2024, following a Supreme Court ruling that prohibited federal allocations of local councils to states, several states rushed to conduct Local Government elections with at least 14 states, including Kaduna, Kogi, Bauchi, Katsina, Osun, Enugu, Benue,Delta, Rivers, Jigawa, Imo, Kebbi, Abia, and Anambra, scheduled or held their council polls in response to this directive. And in these states, the ruling parties secured victories in all council polls. However, Abia State was an exception, where opposition parties won substantially.

Thus, the local government elections across Nigeria became a reflection of the country’s democratic decline. Where in many states, ruling parties subverted election outcomes, subverted the will of the people, used instrument of government to do according to their whims and caprices.In some instances, elections where not held at all, or when conducted, they are sham exercises designed to rubber-stamp predetermined outcomes. This led to the consistent sweepingof all seats in the elections, leaving no room for opposition victories except in the one- in- a- million- chance as highlighted above.

Opposition parties were unwilling, were unable to,condone illegal States Electoral Acts containing clauses with no connection or alignment to the Nigeria Constitution of the 2023 Electoral Act, starkly refuse to hold ruling parties at all levels to account during these elections, blatantly refuse to assist or come to the aid of the candidates that ran under their platforms, and supported whatever results that gets announced by compromised government electoral officers. The presence of moles within opposition parties made the illegalities possible which has further weakened their capacity to challenge these undemocratic practices. Rather than presenting a united front, opposition parties are often plagued by internal sabotage, endemic appetite for the crumbs that gets thrown their way by the ruling party thus leaving the ruling parties unchallenged.

On a Final Note
The activities of political moles sabotaging opposition efforts, the conduct of sham elections, the betrayal of opposition ideals by self-serving politicians, the uneven and pot-holed political terrain, the ability of ruling parties to continue unchecked, the lack of clear regulations to check the excesses of those in elected positions, the provision of immunity for certain office holders, the poor governance structure, endemic corruption, and the absence of transparency have all combined to undermine and bring Nigeria to the present sorry state it finds itself in.

But do political parties have the capacities and will to rid themselves of these infiltrators, silent criminals and saboteurs, and to prioritize the collective good over personal agendas?

• Alhaji Adamu Rabiu is a Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist on Policy, Finance, Risk, Politics, Good Governance & an Advocate for Sustainable Development and writes from Kaduna.