I’M trying hard to refrain from the kind of political talk that characterised the polity prior to March 28. But members of the political class would not let me. I thought by now we should be discussing how to translate the results of the election into templates for concrete development. But what do we have? Some bad losers in the PDP, are smuggling themselves into the APC, while some famished winners have not learned to speak the benign language of victory. They are still threatening and concocting.

From Edo State, to Ondo, Benue, Jigawa and some others, politicians, who were formerly of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are now dumping their old and fallen party for the All Progressives Congress (APC). Decampment from one political party to another is not a new development in Nigeria. Yet, it is not a good habit to cultivate, as it does not portray good character.

In the Second Republic, the movement of politicians from one party to another was likened to the practice of prostitution. It was described in such odious terms as the loose lifestyle of ‘free women’ who do not maintain affiliation with steady partners. They are available for everyman and any man who is able to pay the bill. No qualms, no gumption. It is the same feeling when politicians shamelessly abandon the parties that previously put food on their tables, gave them visibility and prominence. It is a different thing if a political party genuinely implodes due to internal crisis and the ensuing factions become irreconcilable. Even at that, it is the courts that would pronounce the status of factionalisation, to enable members go their different ways. The Constitution is very strong on this, even though politicians do not show any regard for it. But to dump the PDP in the manner we have seen, is repulsive, and a sad commentary on our kind of democracy.

The party system is very important for the survival of democracy and development. The Constitution of the Federal Republic envisages that the political party is an organic system and should be preserved and protected from the migratory restlessness of the average politician. Drafters of the Constitution must have imagined, that once the party system can no longer discharge its responsibilities of making informed and critical articulation on behalf of its members, fielding candidates for elections and contributing to the running of the State, either from the inner recess of Aso Rock, or as a stable, even though noisy opposition from the streets of Lagos and Abuja, the polity would drift gradually towards anarchy. If democracy were not pluralistic and participatory, the ruling party, over time, would tend to become arrogant and fossilized. The opposition would become restless and famished for power. It is a scenario that could be exploited by either side to cause serious trouble. And that was the stage Nigeria was pushed to two weeks ago, with a ruling party of 16 years that was not replenished. And an opposition that seemed to know it all.

That was the stage the political class had set for themselves and for Nigeria prior to the March 28 election. The opposition had exhausted all the tricks in the books and was on the verge of losing steam and visiting chaos on the polity. The APC had been shut out and dehydrated. The various strands that make up the APC worked tirelessly from different positions to access government at the centre at different times. They first tried in 1998/99 when the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and the All Peoples Party (APP) fielded a joint presidential ticket. That did not work. In 2003, 2007, 2011, they made attempts to form partnerships that did not work. The APC in 2015 is the opposition’s last joker and only God in heaven knows what would have happened if the party had drawn blank. Thank God that did not happen.

Since that ugly scenario did not happen, why are mindless politicians now running to the new winning party, to commence the enthronement of another one party behemoth? Why have they not taken a moment to study the transition process and understand where their former party failed to sustain its winning streak; are they going to carry their failures in the PDP into an opposition that took 16 years of hard work and patience to nurture?

From our democratic history, the only thing that motivates our politicians to move about aimlessly is greed and lust for power. They want to be where the cake is shared. There is no record of anyone moving out of a party because of love for principles. Those who have left the PDP in Edo State, for instance, are already looking at 2016, when the tenure of Adams Oshiomhole would come to an end. They want to be in the APC early enough, so that they may be considered for the fixtures when the time comes. It is the same thing in Ondo, where 2016 is also the factor. Governor Segun Mimiko’s tenure will end in that year and since the PDP has suffered a major electoral defeat, it is no longer a good platform to stay with.

What should be the attitude of the APC to these fair-weather politicians? A political party is supposed to admit members without hindrance, once the basic entry requirements are met. The APC has a constitution and cannot be dictated to on this matter. But my opinion is that, for the sake of this democracy, the party should revisit its admission requirement to raise the stake a little bit. For instance, if a member is joining the APC from another party, such member should come with a letter of recommendation from his/her previous party, to explain experience and possibly, reason for quitting. For the sake of sustaining the party system, which is the bedrock of participatory democracy, the APC should resist the temptation of admitting loafers and men without staying power. Such men without the ability to show commitment in the face of fatigue are not fit to be in the new party. It is possible that in another 16 years, the APC would get tired and such men would desert it. They are impediments to development because they are the ones who deserted the opposition one after the other since 1999. They made the PDP what it became, a rudderless monster that swallowed everything in sight.

Another possible impediment to development is the jostle by party leaders to share offices in the next government. There are stories out there of party leaders making demands on the party and seeking to have controlling shares in the APC government. We hear some are asking for ‘juicy’ portfolios, such as Finance, FCT, Petroleum and Works. They want to justify their investments. Some are jostling to control the Senate, not because they are gifted in the art of lawmaking, but they want raw power to gravitate around them. Such men that do not approximate public good and are not noted for delivery of good governance should be abandoned. The coalition partners must be weary of such men and strive to contain their raw ambition.

The next administration should be defined in terms of what it brings on board for the good of ordinary Nigerians and not to feather the nest of just a few. Let fairness and equity be the basis of allocating positions, so that nobody goes home cheated.

Above the principle of fairness is the need to work for the voters. The challenges out there are enormous. Oil revenue has been on a downward trend and what should be uppermost is how to access more revenue and diversify the economy. If the attitude of the APC leadership is to come and share the national cake as in the old system, that cannot go too far, because there is little to share now. Take the 2015 budget for instance, what is appropriated to the Works Ministry is just N11bn, away from the original N100bn, which is not sufficient to address the road infrastructure needs of Nigerians.

The outgoing government already has in place, an austerity measure, which the people are grappling with. The economy is choking for many and if the attitude of the government of Buhari is to relieve Nigerians of the hard times they have lived with so far, then its partners must strive to control their appetites. We know they have invested and there should be compensation for their sweat. What should be uppermost now in their thinking is how to source for revenue outside oil. Next to that is the political will to admit that it can no longer be business as usual, that is, going to Abuja to share. The next government should think of restructuring and encouraging states to produce their own wealth.

Too many years have been lost because of fear to confront the challenges of a workable federal system. Too many seasons have been lost to the locusts, political locusts and parasites. Let there be real change!