There’s an Igbo proverb that claims: When a girl marries the second husband, she understands the true value of the primary husband. It’s the identical for a person who divorces his spouse and marries a second spouse. Often, the primary partner appears unhealthy till the divorce happens and one other marriage takes place. Some folks get a greater partner. However many get a partner worse than their first. Nigeria’s expertise appears to be the latter.
It’s scary to confess that, as unhealthy because the Peoples Democratic Celebration was in its 16 years in energy, it’s higher than the All Progressives Congress, which had criticised the PDP and promised to do issues higher if voted in. In its nearly 9 years in energy, the APC has appeared shockingly completely different from every thing it stated it could be.
Technically, there was no APC in 1999 when the PDP took over from the army. What the nation had was the All Peoples Celebration, which later grew to become the All Nigeria Peoples Celebration and the Alliance for Democracy, which later grew to become Motion Congress after which Motion Congress of Nigeria. In 2009, Muhammadu Buhari, who was the presidential candidate of the ANPP in 2003 and 2007, pulled out of the ANPP to type the Congress for Progressive Change. The APC was fashioned in 2013 by the CPC, ACN and ANPP. Subsequently, in actuality, the APC had been in existence because the opposition occasion by the ANPP, ACN and CPC.
In most true democracies, two or three events normally rotate energy amongst themselves. The voting lots by no means enable one occasion to be in workplace for too lengthy. Whether or not the nation practises the presidential system, which has phrases, or the parliamentary system, which isn’t termed, it’s uncommon to see any true democracy enable one occasion to rule for greater than 12 years. The folks normally get bored with one occasion and vote it out. That manner, the folks really feel that energy really belongs to them. It additionally creates a chance for a brand new occasion to return in with new concepts. The nation is the higher for it because it continues to enhance.
When Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999, energy fell on the PDP. The APP disputed the outcomes, however the Supreme Court docket ultimately dominated in favour of the PDP. The APP grew to become the primary opposition occasion supported by the AD.
However the important thing pleasure of most Nigerians was that lastly, the army had left governance. It was time for the folks to take cost of governance. And in contrast to up to now when democratic rule had been short-lived, not lasting as much as six years on three events, this Fourth Republic has lasted for nearly 25 years since Might 1999. That’s unbelievably lengthy.
After being in workplace for some years, the PDP was contaminated by hubris. Regardless that the Unbiased Nationwide Electoral Fee carried out elections whose transparency and constancy couldn’t be ascertained, the PDP was a lot forward of the opposition that it appeared indomitable. It was not stunning that Chief Vincent Ogbulafor, who was the chairman of the PDP, boasted in 2008 that the occasion would rule Nigeria for 60 years. The angle of many PDP politicians was that no one might unseat them, as a result of they understood find out how to “win” elections
(learn “outcomes engineering”). Certainly, if the PDP continued to supply presidents like Chief Olusegun who believed in profitable in any respect prices, the PDP would nonetheless be in energy by now.
Nonetheless, Obasanjo dedicated “the error” of selecting a gentleman who was not determined for energy like Dr Goodluck Jonathan because the vice presidential candidate of the occasion for the 2007 election. The loss of life of former President Umaru Yar’Adua in workplace meant that Jonathan, as his deputy, would turn out to be the president. After finishing the tenure of Yar’Adua and finishing his personal tenure, he needed a clear election in 2015, which didn’t finish properly for him. That was how the PDP left workplace and the APC took over.
Mockingly, regardless of being a beneficiary of Jonathan’s clear election through which he allowed the electoral physique to behave independently, Buhari didn’t give the electoral physique the kind of free hand it had underneath Jonathan. Regardless that Bola Tinubu has been in workplace for lower than one 12 months as president, his antecedents because the strongman of Lagos politics since 1999 don’t point out that he would wish to act like a Jonathan. Subsequently, it is going to be laborious for energy to be wrested from the APC.
Whereas the PDP was in energy, the three events that later grew to become the APC often got here laborious on the PDP, criticising it as incompetent, and promising to run a extra democratic, clear, inclusive, productive, result-oriented nation, if elected. Mockingly, the APC has fallen beneath the PDP in all parameters. However what makes the APC case worse is that whereas the PDP didn’t faux to be saintly, the APC nonetheless tries to undertaking the facade of being incorruptible, democratic, clear, strategic, frugal, people-centric, result-oriented.
Regardless of the shortcomings of the PDP, it has given Nigeria considered one of its finest durations of development within the final 40 years. For instance, whereas Obasanjo was overbearing and egotistic, his eight years in workplace reworked Nigeria’s economic system. Obasanjo saved enormous cash for the nation, paid off Nigeria’s Paris Membership debt, reworked the economic system to a degree that many individuals stopped shopping for second-hand garments, electronics, autos, and so forth. The PDP met the naira in 1999 at about N90 for a US greenback and left 16 years after in 2015 with the naira at about N230 per US greenback. Due to the return of democracy and revamping of the economic system, it impressed some Nigerians dwelling overseas to relocate to Nigeria.
As compared, the APC met the naira at about N230 per greenback in 2015, however lower than 9 years after, the naira is exchanging at over N1,600 for a US greenback. For many years, Nigerians have skilled the depreciation of the naira. Earlier than the approaching of the APC, the naira had depreciated at a considerably sluggish price, which made the costs of fine to vary step by step inside months. Nonetheless, underneath the APC the naira has been depreciating at such a quick tempo that generally the costs of products change plenty of instances throughout the identical day, making it very troublesome to plan.
Past the economic system, insecurity has been essentially the most troubling for Nigerians. In direction of the latter years of the PDP, insecurity rose within the nation by the actions of the non secular fundamentalists, Boko Haram. Some elements of the North-East had been affected. Often, Boko Haram made forays into Abuja, the federal capital territory, in addition to some cities within the North-West. The PDP was roundly criticised for not having the ability to tame Boko Haram. The APC positioned itself as finest suited to finish insecurity in Nigeria. When Buhari, a retired main common, took over, many assumed that he would use his army experience to finish the violence perpetrated by the group the best way the US ended the actions of Al-Qaeda. Quite the opposite, extra teams sprang up and violence unfold to all of the six zones of the nation. Below Tinubu, it has continued to get unhealthy.
Previously, many Nigerians left Nigeria primarily for financial causes. Below the APC, financially secure Nigerians began leaving due to insecurity and uncertainty.
Below the PDP, it was believed that corruption was prevalent. The APC portrayed itself because the occasion that might stroll its speak. However underneath the APC, corruption appears to have turn out to be brazen.
One can not level at one side of governance the place the APC has carried out higher than the PDP. Even the Labour Celebration that’s seen as the choice to the PDP and APC doesn’t encourage a lot confidence as regards its management and elected political workplace holders. A lot of those that supported the occasion on the 2023 election did so largely due to its presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, who has displayed some frugality and ease in governance.
This Might will mark 25 years of unbroken democracy in Nigeria. It’s by far the longest Nigeria has skilled. However the kind of democracy the PDP and the APC have performed on the expense of Nigeria up to now 25 years has been mediocre. There is no such thing as a manner what the PDP and the APC have to supply will take Nigeria out of the woods. Within the ultimate evaluation, the reply will nonetheless be to have an electoral course of that isn’t prone to human affect, which is able to produce leaders which are fully chosen by the true votes of the folks. That’s the solely factor that may assist to maintain the events on their toes.
