Iliyasu Gadu
Ilgad2009@gmail.com
08035355706 (Texts only)
A couple of weeks ago speaking to the media after he emerged from a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to brief him on the planned defection of the three People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Senators from Kebbi state to the ruling All Progressive Party (APC), the APC Chairman Dr Abdullahi Ganduje stated that ‘’ a shift towards a single-party system could be considered legitimate and democratic if achieved through voluntary political developments’’. He noted further ‘’ If a one-party state is a wish and blessing to Nigeria then so be it…We are not saying we are working for a one-party system. But if this is the wish of Nigerians, we cannot quarrel with that. You know they say too many cooks spoil the soup, too many political parties spoil governance.
Echoing similar thoughts President Tinubu on a later occasion said that it was the desire of the APC to establish a one-party state in Nigeria, but the party cannot stop Political figures and parties from joining the APC.
Right away it is pertinent to let the APC chairman know that Nigerians are not fooled by what appears to be an elaborate show of deception on his part on what they clearly see and perceive as a trajectory to a one-party state by his party the APC. Over the years Nigerians have witnessed similar capers by previous governments that they can discern the unmistakeable signs right from the onset.
From the inception of this administration I have written several articles in this column bringing attention to the authoritarian tendencies manifesting in the policies it enacted. My articles were based on the psychoanalysis, political history as well as empirically observable data from speeches and actions of the principal actor of this administration who is undoubtedly the main driving force behind the policies.
We have ample proof of this in his tenure as Lagos Governor where he ran the state with an authoritarian iron fist subjecting every political and government institution under his whims and caprices often circumscribing or even disregarding what the constitution prescribed about such interactions. In the cult-like structure of Lagos politics under his tenure it was what he said or what he preferred that was implemented not necessarily what the constitution or extant laws said in terms of separation of powers between the arms of government and in the state’s relationship with the Federal Government.
Further proof of this authoritarian streak was manifested in the way President Tinubu has been conducting and implementing his policies and relating with the constitutionally recognised independent arms of government. His political and economic policies have been implemented without the benefit of necessary consultation and consensus of stakeholders as required under democratic practise. From the way agent provocateurs beholden to him have been working to disrupt the opposition parties from within, we need not be told that President Tinubu does not tolerate democratic dissent.
A clear indication of his intolerance for democratic dissent is in the way President Tinubu has caged the National Assembly and the Judiciary both of which are expected to operate under our constitution as independent arms of government providing the necessary checks and balances as required under our democratic set up.
We see a similar trajectory in the economic sphere. His economic policies critical as they are to national well-being, have not been products of detailed discussions and inputs from sectors of our national life; but a reflection of his own limited view and understanding of political economy, which is centred mainly on a baffling compulsive need to tax Nigerians and spend the proceeds on his fancies. Implementation of his economic policies are done by a select few, cut and paste policy wonks controlled exclusively by him and who are not allowed the leverage to explore and consider options in the wide range of economic policies available in the field of political economy.
Against this background, it is no brainer to Nigerians that indeed there is a one-party state brewing as we approach the 2027 elections. In the past two years since the coming of the administration, analysts, Statesmen and Nigerians from across the country have observed and pointed out the disturbing tendency of state capture manifesting in the policies of the Tinubu administration. At this stage, about 70 per cent of national institutions expected to play pivotal neutral roles in the 2027 elections have now been brought under the partisan control of the administration.
It should not come as a surprise to the APC that Nigerians who have been monitoring these developments and its effects on their lives, would believe that the administration was not trying to foist a one-party state in the country. Not only have Nigerians experienced this before with previous administrations who have similarly tried it, the Tinubu administration’s efforts in this regard have left barely disguised footsteps that lead us to believe that indeed the intention and desire to foist a one-party on Nigeria is true.
But just as Nigerians discern and believe that the APC administration is steadfastly going ahead with plans for a one-party state, Nigerians are also hoping that the administration will for both its sake and the country’s to reason and desist from such a dangerous caper that had not succeeded in the past.
As with past attempts, the current one is driven by a combination of fear and megalomania. The fear that drives this attempt is based on the perception that the administration may not win over the voters in free fair 2027 elections and hence the need to capture and compromise state institutions that will play significant roles in the elections. On another level the fear also leads to the desire to disrupt opposition figures and political parties in order to prevent a gathering and possible presentation of a formidable opposition personality and bloc that will challenge and possibly defeat the ruling government as happened in the 2015 elections.
The one-party idea is also driven by an abiding sense of megalomania in the political trajectory of President Tinubu who has expressed an entitlement to the presidency and who has indicated in several ways that he will be willing to do all that is possible, fair or foul, to extend his stay at the presidential Villa beyond 2027.
I daresay the ruling APC administration should know from previous experiences that the caper of foisting a one-party state on Nigeria will not fly. In a complex country like Nigeria with different and often mutually conflicting interests, a one-party political system will be a clear negation of our tradition of multi-party democracy in which the complexities of Nigeria are accommodated. A one-party state will thus only suit a select few and invariably deny millions of Nigerians the necessary representation and sense of belonging as required in a democracy.
It should also be clear from the experiences under military regimes of Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha and under the civilian dispensation of Olusegun Obasanjo that Nigeria has built-in repellents to authoritarian rule driven by megalomania. Babangida attempted it through convoluted political transition programmes that ended up with him hightailing it to Minna unprepared. Abacha could not find his way through the maze of political traps deliberately set for him until he was eventually called to join his maker. Obasanjo’s unconstitutional third term attempt which followed a similar path of denial and elaborate dissembling that the APC and the Tinubu administration is currently following met its comeuppance in the Senate chambers before a live national television audience.
The fact that the APC is going to all these lengths just to win re-election indicates that the party is desperate and lacks the confidence to honestly face the voters in the 2027 elections. And in the unlikely event of the administration succeeding in this caper, chances are that an implosion will occur within the party and government which will negatively affect the country.
Although the APC and the administration seem hell bent on this trajectory, it is necessary to state that Nigerians in a blowback will likely consider it as a political provocation and a coup against democracy against which democratic resistance will be both necessary and legitimate.
