• FG Can’t Get Support Through Anti-People Policies, Says PDP
• President’s Call A Welcome Development But Role Of Opposition Must Be Preserved – CUPP

Opposition parties have expressed divergent views regarding President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s call for a united front among political parties to move the country forward.

President Tinubu in his New Year address to the nation on January 1 said: “Election is over. It’s time for all of us to work together for the sake of our country.”

While some parties described the call as a welcome development as long as it would not plunge Nigeria into a one-party state, others, especially the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) rejected it outright, saying the President must reverse what it called “the anti-people policies already taken by his administration” to get support from Nigerians.

The PDP declared that the “display of insensitivity to people’s plights, particularly on insecurity, rude and arrogant disposition to issues of economy to deepen poverty can only widen the gap between government and the people.”

PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, in an interview with The Guardian noted that instead of taking steps to gain people’s acceptance, the Tinubu administration has worsened the existing apathy between it and the people by the actions it has taken in the last seven months.

Referring to allegations of gross irregularities in the conduct of the 2023 presidential election, Ologunagba said such developments do not attract support to the Tinubu-led APC administration because the issues are still very fresh.

He stated: “The greatest source of support for any government is the one earned from the people through the ballot. It is only when elections are free, fair and credible that a government gets legitimacy and support. But the 2023 elections have negated these facts in all dimensions.

“Tinubu should ask himself and provide an honest answer on whether he truly won that election. It is difficult to get the buy-in of the people because the process that brought in the government is manipulated. This is the first problem.”

Ologunagba alleged that instead of addressing the issue, the administration has taken a further step to rig future elections in the country by appointing card-carrying members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) into the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“This is why people will be more suspicious and skeptical about the government’s intentions,” he stressed.

The PDP spokesman also pointed out that another issue that has further widened the gap between the Tinubu-led government and the people is profligacy by public officials.

“It is so bad that even the President was seen the other day going to the Mosque with a long queue of 52 vehicles in addition to well-armed security personnel. What for? Same was displayed at the COP28 in Dubai with a large delegation of 1,411. Is this how to get the people’s support?” he queried.

He also drew attention to what he called gross insensitivity of the government to people’s pains and anguish.

“Look, the other day, over 200 people were killed in Plateau. We have not seen the President visit the place to console the people. In such matters, the President should immediately wear the gown of a Consoler-in-Chief. That is how to engender people’s support,” Ologunagba added.

The PDP spokesman also reviewed the policies of the seven-month old administration of Tinubu and submitted that what has happened has further alienated the people.

Ologunagba asked: “How does the policy that has chased away investors, companies and firms out of Nigeria be in the people’s interest?”

He stated that Tinubu’s call for support will continue to hit deaf ears as long as the people remain impoverished and his government “fails to address the critical issues of insecurity, decayed infrastructure, comatose manufacturing and productive sectors; crushing 28 per cent inflation rate, continuing plunge of the naira, alarming unemployment, excruciating poverty and economic hardship occasioned by the reckless, ill-advised and insensitive policies and programmes of his administration.”

For another chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olusegun Sowunmi, although the president’s call might be reasonable, the opposition parties must be cautious so that the country would not be completely in a one-party state scenario.

He also stressed the need for opposition parties to stand in the gap for the people, noting that the present administration already has the majority of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

“It is not an unusual call, but the attitude that makes that kind of thing possible is right now in the hand of the person that has won an election, and I believe that the leadership of each of those organs are known, and there is no point harvesting people from underneath their leaders when you could have easily accessed their leaders and told their leaders that given the myriad of problems in the country, there is need for all persons to come together,” Sowunmi said.

The governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Lagos State in the 2023 elections, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, on his part, maintained that democracy would be inactive if the call is heeded, noting that governance is a two-way street where there must be people that hold the government to account and ensure that they are doing what they said they would do.

Noting that the people that tend to do the work the best are those in opposition parties, he stressed that in thriving democracies across the world, opposition parties are in the best position to criticise the sitting administration.

He said: “So, I’m very much against this idea. That means we want to run a one-party state where everybody must come and work with the government and just close their eyes to whatever the government is doing and accept even when we see the broad daylight rape of our state and our democracy.”

Rhodes-Vivour stated that a healthy political atmosphere has a vibrant opposition that is issue-based and also ensures that the government is being held accountable in the maximum interest of the people.

“It is expected that the ruling party has a listening ear and can make corrections and spot oversights that they might have made because they have to be on their toes and be accountable. So, I think that having a vibrant opposition in Nigeria, in Lagos, is in the interest of the common man,” he added.

Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Adewole Adebayo, urged the president to go beyond “just reading what his speech writers decided to compose for him on that occasion” and lead by example if he meant what he said.

He added: “So far, he has not conducted himself as a Head of State intentionally about uniting the country or a Chief Executive determined to utilise all the best human and material resources available to the country. Ten months of last year were spent on election victory parades.

“As far as the Presidency is concerned, those who need the president will find their way into the Villa by hook or crook and by all means necessary. But for those whom the president needs, the president has to look for them by reaching out. Such people are not available to hang around State House verandas.”

Youth Party National Publicity Secretary, Ayodele Adio, stated that political parties have a separate role to play in multi-party democracies, stating that their role is to hold the government to account, provide alternative ideas and ensure adherence to the rule of law.

According to him, to expect political parties to simply get in bed with the party in government would only make a mockery of democracy.

“Those in office must do their jobs and resist the urge to consistently pass the buck,” he said.

Nevertheless, the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) applauded the call, but warned that it must not undermine the role of opposition in a democracy.

CUPP’s National Secretary, Chief Peter Ameh, said: “The call by President Tinubu on the opposition political parties to join hands with him to move the country forward is a welcome development but this must be done without undermining the role opposition leaders should play in deepening democracy like that of being the watchdog of democracy and good governance.

“Just as we have across the globe, opposition parties have a primary responsibility of holding the government accountable for its actions and inactions and also enjoy the right of questioning the decisions made by the government, which affect her citizens negatively, under the constitution.

“Opposition parties in any given society represent an alternative government and are solely responsible for challenging the policies and programmes of the government with a view to producing alternative policies and programmes where necessary.

“Democracy being the government of the people, for the people and by the people is clearly indicative of the fact that good governance can only be effectively entrenched in any society when the people understand and support the role of the leader of the opposition at all times.

“In nation building, opposition parties play a crucial role in determining the outcome of citizen’s representation in government and can effectively and democratically change a government in power when they unite for a common purpose. So, if an opposition party is subsumed by the government in power, then it becomes weak to mobilise or differentiate itself from the ruling party and will share in the success and failure of the government. So, it is important that the call by the president to opposition political parties be allowed to remain within the confines of the role of opposition as clearly stated above. Opposition remains fully in the opposition and continues to advise objectively from the sidelines.

“This they can achieve by building strong and sustainable political numbers like what we witnessed in the 2023 general election with Mr. Peter Obi, which indeed increased and showed the voting power of the people.

“As earlier mentioned, the most crucial role of opposition parties in any system of government is to hold the government accountable to the people and to challenge and question any decision made by the government, which will directly or indirectly affect the lives of the people. Yielding to the President’s call could lead to a one party state and end up messing with our multi-party democracy system as practiced and enshrined in our constitution from Section 221 to Section 229.

“The positive effect of this form of engagement is that it compels the concerned government to quickly and effectively address the concerns raised by the opposition in favour of the citizens. It is to the benefit of the people whenever there is any form of strong and effective opposition leadership within the country’s political system.”

Ameh pointed out that another critical role of the opposition is in the field of law making through careful consideration and vigorous debates on bills sponsored to be passed into law by the opposition parties. He noted that there is an enrichment of the legislative process as such bills receive more scrutiny than they would ordinarily have under normal circumstances.

He added: “It is indeed not out of place for opposition parties to align themselves with policies and programmes of the government in place, when such policies and programmes enjoy overwhelming acceptance by the people.

“The duty of oversight by opposition parties, on the activities of an incumbent government, remains vital to entrenching good governance and has the anticipated tendency to enhance a well-ordered society and should not be compromised by merging both sides together as one body in government.

“The effect of these oversight duties can be seen in the way and manner the government in power responds to burning issues resulting from ineffective representation and inability to fulfill the people’s mandate.

“As we currently see in Nigeria, opposition parties play a crucial role in the Nigerian electoral process by ensuring that all parties in the country’s elections are given an equal opportunity to participate in and win elective political offices for their members.

“With a population of over 200 million people, the growing number of opposition parties in Nigeria has, to a great extent, deepened the country’s democracy and afforded millions of Nigerians the opportunity to be part of the electoral process. What is however lacking is the absence of a truly democratic electoral system that will ensure transparency and fairness in the conduct of our elections and it is the work of the opposition to challenge and ensure that a proper system is put in place and it will be difficult to do inside government.

“The preservation of the sanctity of an effective opposition movement in democratic system is vital to the success and stability of the country.”

He noted that APC got into power as a result of the effective struggle by the opposition party, stressing that they wouldn’t have achieved the feat if muddied in government.

“Opposition can participate by continuing the critical role of proposing and promoting alternative views towards the policies and programmes of government as one geared towards entrenching good governance and consequently, nation building. This important role by opposition parties affords the citizens the opportunity to deliberate and debate on issues that affect them.

“Being in opposition, the role of presenting an alternative government remains an integral part of the intention by the opposition, to offer a more credible, viable and responsive government to the people, which role is better performed, when opposition parties join forces together.

“The opposition parties can present this alternative government by clearly defining their position on views expressed by government which they consider not to be in the overall interest of the people.

“The role of opposition parties in maintaining a defined identity remains extremely important in entrenching good governance and promoting nation building.

“We need to encourage, promote and strengthen opposition institutions to achieve a better governance model for our people. That is the easiest way to make people in authority know that true power belongs to the people,” he noted.

Also speaking, Associate Professor of Political Science, Lead City University, Dr. Tunde Oseni, stated that the president might have made the call given the belief that the central reason for going into politics is to render service.

He then urged opposition parties to sheath their swords and work, advise and if necessary criticise the government in power.

Oseni stated further: “I think when the president made that statement that the election is over, that people, particularly political leaders, should work together for the sake of the unity of the country, what he meant is that the central reason for going into politics is to render service. However, we know that not only in Nigeria but also everywhere across the globe, presidential politics is always divisive. Those who lost the election would not want to agree with those who won the election even after the election and it is therefore important that we situate that statement within the context of to what extent do you go in opposition with the government even after the election?

“We know that government is the machinery of the state (the country). It therefore means that those who have contested elections should shift their swords metaphorically speaking and work, advise and if necessary criticise the government in power.

“However, politicians generally think about the next elections even when the last election is yet to settle down. Presidential politics or political competition 2023 has been settled at the Supreme Court level and it therefore means that individuals who are involved in this electoral process should be less antagonistic to the government.

“I think I agree with that statement (President’s) to the extent that if you continue to have fragmentation and unhealthy destructive criticism of the government, you will not only be distracting the government but you will also be giving some kind of negative impression of your country to the outside world.

“However, I think that it has to be balanced; those in government must try as much as possible to be magnanimous in victory and of course, they are in power today, they must know that power is transient and at the same time, those who are out of government should know that those who are in government were once out of government. So you strategise, rebuild your power base in silence and when it is necessary for you to criticise the government you can do that but not in a destructive way that may even derail the government and by extension the country.

“Unity, prosperity and of course integration are central. Both those in government and those who are out of government should always strike a balance of national correction which is central to political stability and good governance.”