Labour Party Candidates: Opportunist or Competence?
When Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999, there was a ray of hope for a better future everywhere in the country. “The worst democratic rule is far better than the best military rule”, became a cliché. With the massive rejection of military rule in the country, Nigerians could not wait to see a change in governance.
While they anticipated the change, little or no attention was paid to who was on the ballot. As long as it was not the “khaki and the gun”, any other class of persons were acceptable. And that was how “agbada and greed” replaced the “khaki and gun” .
Many of the experienced politicians who were driven by ideologies were scared after the previous bad experiences they had when the military promised to return the country to democratic rule. At that time, many of them lost their entire life savings, and only by divine intervention did some have their lives spared. This made many of them stand at a distance while the discussions about return to democracy were going on.
Unfortunately, while they stood aloof, some political gamblers took chances and got on the ballots themselves, while some sponsored candidates who they believed would protect their interests. And it was only a matter of time before their intentions were known.
Every ward meeting was a “love feast”. There was always something to share. From contracts to appointments, money to alcoholic drinks, the sharing spree was the order of the day. After all, they say “there is love in sharing”.
Howbeit, the sharing was detrimental to the growth of the nation, as the poor masses were at the receiving end of the careless sharing. Money meant for infrastructure was spent on political parties and for servicing political investors cum godfathers. Just as sharing almost brought division in the early church, save for the wise management of the situation by the disciples before it escalated, the ruling party could not manage theirs.
Those within the party who felt short-changed gathered themselves and became the loudspeaker of the masses, amplifying the cries of the downtrodden. This got to its crescendo in 2012 when the ruling party proposed the removal of fuel subsidies. The aggrieved political class whose hands were partially removed from the nation’s cookie jar, took advantage of the situation and became overnight human rights activists.
The gullible masses fell for it and soon took them as their would-be saviour, who would deliver them from the hands of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who were in power at the time. The gimmick was a master stroke, as the tempo was sustained until the 2015 general elections, thanks to their spokesman, Lai Mohammed who became renowned for his ability to dish out propaganda from everything and anything.
In the eight years that followed, Nigerians realised they had been used again and that the real intention of those political activists in 2012 was not for them, but a mere opportunity to be in charge of the national cookie jar. In their desperation, they went everywhere looking for another set of Saviours!
This search brought to the limelight Peter Obi and the Labour Party. It is the party for the masses, they said. A third revolutionary force that will change the face of our national politics for good, they proclaimed.
The ‘political revolution’ gave rise to a new set of politicians. In my state, (Edo State), they have a Senator, a House of Representative member, and another at the state House of Assembly, It is only a matter of time before we will be able to answer the question if their emergence was based on competence or if they are another set of opportunists!
May Nigeria succeed!
Idede Oseyande
Social Commentator.
Edo, Nigeria
(c) September 2023
