The past few months has witnessed opposition political parties strategizing for 2015 general elections. Series of meetings were held and it was resolved that there is need for opposition parties to merge and form a single political party that will give the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) a good fight in 2015. This gave rise to the All Progressive Congress (APC). After series of consultations were held, the plan to launch APC into the fold of Nigerian political parties was climaxed on Saturday, 11th May 2013, when all major parties that are part of the new APC held their final congresses. The All Nigerian Peoples Party held its congress In Zamfara, while the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) held its congress in Abuja. The Action Congress of Nigeria had earlier held its congress. A faction of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) led by Imo state governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha held its final congress too. These congresses held, signaled the dissolution of the former political parties and the birth of the new APC. The APC also has a faction of the Democratic People’s Party (DPP) in its fold and a breakaway faction of the Peoples Democratic Party who walked out of the party’s Convention held on August 1st to form the new PDP. Some of which later collapsed into the APC. The APC may welcome more members into its fold as time passes by. While most Nigerians see the merger of opposition political parties as a welcomed development even though it is long overdue, the new APC should be wary of some challenges which if not properly handled will cause disarray within the party and weaken its base.
Firstly, the new APC should as much as possible avoid politics of tribe, religion, region, zone or race. This has been the bane of Nigerian politics. They should field candidates who are true Nigerians that will be marketable to the electorates, candidates who will perform as expected. Candidates with good track records. There exist such people around the country, the right time to start shopping for such prospective candidates is now.
The APC must also be wary of money politicking. We have witnessed cases in the past where the highest bidder wins party primaries. Party delegates and executives are bought with money. This has being the cause of division among various opposition parties. If candidates are voted based on money, it might not give room for the best candidate to emerge. The richer candidate might eventually emerge if money comes into play. The APC should insist on fielding the right candidates that will be acceptable to all electorates rather than the normal practice of having party executives and handpicked delegates deciding who bears the party’s flag for a token amount of money and other largesse.
There may also be a problem of conflict of interest among key stakeholders in the APC. As it stands, it is glaring that many stakeholders came together to form the party. Each of these stakeholders may want to lay claim of being the one who calls the shot and decide what happens in the party or in the state and also ensure their anointed candidates fly the party’s flag. If one stakeholder succeeds in installing his anointed candidate, especially in an unfair situation, the others might revolt and this might spell doom for the party. Similarly, with the entry of some PDP governors and other stakeholders into the APC fold, control of the party in the state may be ceded to the governors or some key stakeholders to the dismay of other stakeholders who initiated the idea of forming the APC.
There is no doubt that some former and serving corrupt political office holders constitute the membership of the APC. The party should be wary of such individuals, most of whom still have cases of corruption to answer. This could be used as bait by the ruling party to install and use such individuals as moles in the party. They could be used for special assignments such as causing conflict, deliberately disagreeing with the party’s policies, failing to conform to the party’s rules and factionalizing the party in to splinter groups. This again could be a major blow to the opposition party, as it is on record that if such disagreement or factions exist within opposition parties, it becomes difficult to settle both parties.
The APC should also guard against decampees of other political parties who may want to join the party to seek for election/realize their political ambitions. It is on record that in the past most of these decampees defect to opposition parties that have good followership to actualize their political ambitions, only to return back to their former parties after being elected.
The APC as a party should come up with a manifesto and agenda and ensure its elected officials key into it. Lack of manifesto is a basic problem faced by most political parties in Nigeria. The party should also ensure it is supreme above its elected officials.
Halilu Hassan, Kaduna state
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