Guardian Nigeria
The ongoing closing of ranks by leaders of the major opposition parties in the country is a welcome development. The truth is that liberal democracy thrives when there are vibrant political parties to articulate policies and contest elections in a free and fair environment. There is danger to democracy when one single party bestrides the polity in overweening arrogance, amid weak and timid opposition parties. The absence of ideological diversity and plurality of opinions in the political space undermines democracy. That’s not what Nigeria needs.
The recent private meetings of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in 2023, Mr Peter Obi, with former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023, Atiku Abubakar as well as former Senate President, Bukola Saraki and former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, continue to make headlines and rave reviews.
Giving reasons for the meetings, Labour Party’s Director of Media, Tanko Yunusa, said Obi’s desire was for the emergence of a Nigeria that works for all people and to quickly pull them out of the unprecedented poverty in which they have found themselves. He added that Obi was “worried about the state of the nation and the increasing uncertainty in the living conditions of the poor and underprivileged. At the centre of discussions during each of these visits was the state of the nation and how to reduce the suffering of all Nigerians, irrespective of class and location. In particular, the desperate condition of the downtrodden in our midst was highlighted. Of particular interest and emphasis in these discussions was the worrisome situation in the Northern parts of the country…”
Another opposition leader and member of the Labour Party, Prof. Pat Utomi is equally canvassing the establishment of a mega party and has held meetings with Atiku, Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, wherein he canvassed the possibility of one party big enough to challenge the APC.
We believe strongly that there is a need for potent opposition parties that will offer citizens a variety of choices and check excesses of the party in government. Experience has shown that weak opposition often allows the ruling party to get away with bad governance. A ruling party with an excess majority in the legislature is a bully. It imposes a convention that abridges the principle of checks and balances, “that allows each branch of a government to amend or veto acts of another branch so as to prevent any one branch from having too much power.”
Since 1999, this time-honoured principle has been breached repeatedly by a National Assembly that surrenders itself as a mere rubberstamp for the executive, failing to exhaustively debate policies and laws before they are foisted on the people. With a vibrant opposition in the legislature, there would be critical engagement in the passage of laws and checks on the activities of the executive arm of government. There would be quality representation and the legislature would earn respect from the citizens. That’s far from what obtains now, where the legislature does not exude confidence and vibrancy. Their actions are at most, jejune, unbusinesslike and bereft of rigour. Little wonder the polity has not moved positively beyond where the military left it, instead, it has declined in substance and prospects.
But we recall that in 1962, it was the strident campaign of the opposition that compelled the late Prime Minister, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa to abrogate the Anglo-Nigerian Defence Agreement after the coalition majority in the Parliament had passed it without much fuss in 1960. That action by the opposition has remained a threshold upon which the people must demand quality representation.
We also recall that when the Second Republic floundered under the uninspiring government of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), opposition parties made a spirited effort to coalesce for a rescue, but their actions were lacklustre and sluggish. Unfortunately, it was the military that intervened in 1983, when the politicians refused to do the needful. They failed to read the signs.
Similarly, when the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), became swollen-headed and coveted to remain in government for 60 years non-stop, without delivery of quality governance, a coalition of parties formed the APC and ousted it in 2015.
As things stand, nothing shows that the APC has better knowledge and capacity to run the government than the PDP it ousted. The economy today is sick and the manifestations are written palpably on the faces of the impoverished citizenry. There is hunger and deprivation in the land. Hope is forlorn. Yet, people in government are luxuriating in affluence and are unmindful of reprove. They are arrogant.
Indeed, it is an opportunity for the opposition parties to rally towards 2027 and put their errors and losses of 2023 behind. To that extent, the opposition must present quality alternatives at the next elections. But they must be disciplined. They must think of the people first and weigh their options and capacities, arising from their poor judgments in 2023.
They must keep democracy alive by offering constructive criticism and better options. By their reconnaissance, they have put the ruling party on notice and issued a reminder that 2027 may be its exit date.
Those who are wired to malign opposition elements in unprintable terms, such as “sore losers” and “gang of desperados” should wake up and smell the coffee. They should remember how today’s ruling party began, as a rag-tag opposition coalition. They must do the needful and listen to the people if they hope to be taken seriously next time.
