A month after the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s All Progressives Congress, APC, government, Nigerians have continued to clamor for the actualisation of the much promised change by the party despite the crises rocking its leadership.
Although, a month might be too short to assess a government that has four years to spend, the steps so far taken by the party in the election of leaders to run the affairs of the National Assembly leaves much to be desired.
A major crisis blew open in the APC when its members openly disobeyed the party by aligning with the opposition, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki as senate president while in the House of Representatives; Yakubu Dogara became the speaker as against Femi Gbajabiamila, the preferred choice of the APC.
Political analysts are of the view that what transpired in the National Assembly was a big blow to the APC which might eventually prevent the party from achieving much while in government.
They saw the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki as the senate president as not only an embarrassment to the party that produced him but an action that could spell doom for the nation which calls for urgent attention at least for the sake of our younger generations and the yet unborn ones because what it connotes is that you can get whatever you desire not minding due process or integrity.
To me that is the highest level of irresponsibility, insincerity and disloyalty. It is absolutely condemnable.
Indeed, what should Nigerians expect from a party that could not put its house in order? From what has transpired on the floor of the National Assembly so far, Nigerians should not expect much from the APC government.
But the despondent won’t last long as the PDP will soon be back in power.
Already, the party cannot be wished away in the National Assembly now while the five PDP governors that left to team up with the APC will soon find their way back to the party.
Although, selfish interests among politicians are now so rampant that they defect from one political party to the other in pursuant of nothing but their personal agendas which doesn’t align with international best practice, but as our democratic culture takes firm root, it is expected that ideology rather than personal interest would define the behaviour of politicians.
Individual members must be ready to bury or forfeit his or her interest for that of the party and ensure that at the end of the day, the result becomes shared victory or loss as the case may be. Unfortunately, we have seen a situation where the interest of an individual over-rides that of his party; where the party which successfully produced the President, majority of state governors, majority of members of the National Assembly as well as other elected seats was ganged up against by its minority members and relegated to the lowest repute thereby constituting the leadership of the National Assembly in connivance with members of the opposition party.
From what has happened in the National Assembly, it is laughable, if the president would be able to perform effectively working with such a senate president.
Without mincing words, it is obvious that the action and inactions that eventually led to the emergence of the leaders of the National Assembly most especially that of the senate president lacks patriotism.
While former President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan would have loved to continue as the nation’s president, which was his personal interest, but the interest of the electorate, which we can call national interest, is for the government to change. Therefore, the interest of the people (national interest) superseded that of Goodluck Jonathan (personal interest) and he quickly threw in the towel.
As our democracy advances, our hope is that party politics and party supremacy would be the dominating principles that would guide the behaviours and actions of members. In that case, every member should see the interest of his or her political party which was instrumental to his or her victory first and above his or her own personal interest. Party loyalty should never be compromised for any reasons.
— Awoyale, a PDP Chieftain and President-General of Orisun Igbomina, a socio-cultural group in Kwara State.
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