“Are politicians giving up on opposition politics which is a critical democratic content in a struggling country?” —Ebuka Onyekwelu
Since the All Progressives Congress – APC, took over Governance in Nigeria in 2015, there has been a near-total collapse of opposition to the National Government. The major opposition which is the Peoples’ Democratic Party – PDP, has been so decimated that it is now an image of its former self. With twelve states, the PDP is still largely unable to articulate its standpoint as a national opposition political party.
Yet, the ACN with only the Southwest zone was able to rattle the then-ruling party and quickly gained momentum that opened up the possibilities of taking national government where it metamorphosed into the APC and was able to unseat the ruling PDP. Surprisingly, a much more entrenched and established PDP has not been able to chart a cause for its opposition mandate.
However, beyond the national political layout, Nigeria’s democracy appears to be building up towards the extinction of opposition. The political parties that perform the opposition duties in various states are not structured or energized to fully discharge their opposition mandate. Even in states like Anambra, Abia, and Kano where APGA, LP, and NNPP are the ruling political parties, major political parties like the PDP and APC have remained nearly non-existent. In Enugu State, the LP managed to monster a serious challenge against the PDP after its 23 years of absolute dominance of the state’s politics. Although the LP did not win, however, no other political party had come any close to wrestling power from the ruling PDP in that State. Disappointing but typical, instead of building on that gain to inject a formidable opposition into the politics of Enugu, the man, Chijioke Edeoga, who was on top of that LP ticket that made the intense wave in the 2023 Enugu governorship election, has now returned to the ruling PDP. After his return to the PDP a few days ago, Mr. Edeoga pledged to be loyal to the PDP and the governor, Mr. Peter Mbah. This is the exact fate of opposition politics in Nigeria, in recent times. Apparently, no Nigerian politician is willing to make the required sacrifice to stay out of power beyond the election season. Once it didn’t work, they simply move back into the fold. With this, Nigeria’s democracy will continue to suffer from limited choice to the electorates, confusion, and blurred line between ruling and opposition parties. The more politicians are willing to compromise, regroup, and reunite from one platform to another, the more democracy will continue to suffer and the more the people will continue to have their hopes of good governance differed.
In Anambra State, the gathering of opposition figures in the APC has suffered a major disbandment with events that led to the party’s primary election last Saturday. In a rather dramatic turn of events, the APC’s most iconic figure in Anambra State, Sir Paul Chukwuma, resigned from the party. For not less than five years, Mr. Chukwuma has been consistent in rebranding the Anambra APC. His exit is a collapse of sorts of the hope of APC emerging as a viable opposition to the ruling APGA. Similarly, Hon. Chuma Umeoji and Professor Obiora Okonkwo also walked away from the primary election contest, suggesting a vote of no confidence in that process which later produced Mr. Nicholas Ukachukwu as the party’s flag bearer. Unfortunately, the Labour Party didn’t feel any better as its leading candidate, Mr. John Nwosu, also rescued himself from the party’s primary process. Both Paul Chukwuma and John Nwosu had committed substantial finance into funding APC and LP respectively, in Anambra State. Sir Paul Chukwuma procured party offices for the APC from the State, LGA, and down to the 326 wards. John Nwosu on the other hand procured LGA offices for the LP across Anambra State. Yet, both parties now have candidates who have only joined the parties less than 5 months ago. This clearly suggests that the oppositions do not have what it takes to run their own cause. More profoundly strange is that only a few hours after Sir Paul Chukwuma left the APC, his former DG, Hon. Ifeanyi Ibezi, a member of the APC and a leader of the party in Anambra State, called a meeting in his house and declared that he is working for the APGA’s candidate, Governor Soludo’s return for a second term.
This is the sort of confusion that has enveloped the politics of opposition in Anambra State. He is not alone. In 2011, then governor, Mr. Peter Obi formed an alliance with the ruling PDP and declared that Dr. Goodluck Jonathan is also APGA’s presidential candidate. In 2023, Nyesom Wike former governor of Rivers State supported the APC against his political party, PDP, and as a serving minister, remains in the PDP and has been a leading figure in the battle over the leadership of the PDP. Nigerian politicians must think beyond their interests and begin to think about how to deepen our democracy based on meaning and principles.
And so, the challenge is if political leaders are willing to bury opposition politics which is a critical democratic content in a struggling country like Nigeria where there are enough paid hands to sink the voices of reason and a lot more willing to stand with power in hope of some reward at some point. The fundamental essence of opposition politics has been lost. Without a deliberate effort to intently turn the tides, it’s only a matter of time before opposition or dissent becomes a declaration of war.
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