How Not To Build A Party

By

Dr. Hadiza Isa Wada

Washington DC

HadizaWada26@aol.com

 

INTRODUCTION

Much uncertainty remains on the horizon as Nigeria sets its eyes on elections within a year.  It is not unusual to see some shifts and decamping from one party to another at this time.  It is in fact healthy for the political process to undergo such changes for political strategy.  But the rate at which that is happening now in Nigeria is phenomenal.  Many reasons immediately come to mind.  One that is critical and looms big, is the way politics was played within those seven years.  The whole system became a victim of itself.  The ruling People’s Democratic Party, PDP, became famous for arm-twisting. Within years of coming to power, it used all its resources to wage an all out war on the main opposition party, the All Nigeria Peoples Part, ANPP.  While some actions were normal political maneuvers, much of what happened was conducted in a way that was not only illegal but unconstitutional.  After it crushed the opposition, it soon turned on itself.  Both parties came out weak, broken and suffering crippling ailments.

1.  Opposition is healthy in politics, protect it:

Hausa proverb says Munafuncin Dodo Yakan ci Mai Shi This means when one creates a monster he has to be extra cautious least he becomes the victim of that monster. Initially when the executive got too powerful, dominating events in all three arms of the government, it appeared as though members of PDP who were at that time genuinely in the majority, may have been thinking that as long as their party is not affected, it is alright to crush the only real opposition the ANPP that controls roughly one third of the Nigerian states during the first four years of the administration.  But soon the monster turned on itself.  Immediately after re-election, or could we say weeks before it, weaknesses began to surface within the ranks of the ruling party itself.  The announcement of Muhammadu Buhari as the opposition presidential candidate at the ANPP convention which came days before PDP’s, played a major role.  It shook the PDP indeed.

2. An impressive and mature political move.

It was not easy on the ANPP side either.  Many candidates had their eyes on the ticket of ANPP.  Most of those who have spent time campaigning for the party’s presidential ticket have also invested a lot of money in it.  General Buhari on the other hand has not invested much, if anything.  He had just come into the scene not long ago, and does not have much capital anyway to invest, compared to the likes of Rochas Okorocha and his counterparts. ANPP went through hot debate and discussions before finally settling on Muhammadu Buhari as the Presidential candidate and Chuba Okadigbo as his running mate.  Nigerians could readily see why. The party needed someone credible with a track record of performance.  Nigerians’ main concern at that time was finding a candidate that is credible enough to run successfully against the incumbent that they have already decided against. ANPP was remarkably able to overcome individualism and self-centeredness that has besieged the nation’s politics.  It was also able to overcome the regional, and the ethno-religious element that has plagued Nigerian politics.  Its strategy and the maturity of its leading decision makers was and still remains an outstanding achievement in Nigerian political history.

3. Counterstrategy essential, but comprehensive solutions only.

 

The ruling party immediately convened meetings after meetings trying to strategize.   Many ranking members of PDP came out against the idea of allowing the incumbent President to run for a second term.  It appears that Nigeria’s main weakness, ethnic and regional differences might have weighed big in the outcome of that meeting. PDP has already tied itself to rotational Presidency, which by the way is not a part of the constitution.  We would have thought Mr. President might have agreed to someone credible from the same southern Nigeria to carry the banner for the party’s winning strategy.   I still believe that there should be credible personalities from the south, including those of the same ethnic and religious background that might have been called on to fill the shoes of the incumbent President.  But even then just as Nelson Mandela realized that it may serve his country South Africa better if he served only one term, and left the scene with his dignity intact, Mr. President in Nigeria decided to stay on. The result was disastrous for everyone.

 

4. Bad strategies result in bad outcome.

 

In order for PDP to implement its chosen strategy, the party, individuals within the party, and some Nigerian Institutions were sacrificed.  Instead of arriving at strategic decisions that will benefit and strengthen their party, the people and the country in general, self-serving decisions were made.  In realizing that decision, the nation’s Independent electoral commission, INEC was compromised to a level that it commands little credibility now.  Security forces too, as important as it was that they remain neutral and concentrate on securing the nation, were used to their own peril.   The will of the people, the party itself, and the professional dispensation of duty by Nigerian institutions were forcefully suppressed.  Soon tension began to surface.  Rumors of tension between the President and Vice President Atiku Abubakar surfaced.  Though the duo seemed to be hiding the real animosity initially, it was actualized by the firing of the Vice Presidential office staff not by their boss, but by the President himself.  Cabinet Ministers and Senators from the same PDP were exchanging accusations and counter-accusations, like the one between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Mallam Nasir El-Rufa’i and Senator Ibrahim Mantu of Plateau State soon after reelection (during ministerial list review and ratification by the legislature). The PDP party structure did not escape either.  Any meaningful advice aimed at solidifying the party was viewed suspiciously by the incumbent President, now that he knows how the nation and his own party truly feel about his leadership.  The party chair Mr. Audu Ogbe was soon sacked.  The President’s cabinet reshuffle, though expected to possibly happen at the initiation of the second term became news, when some moves were considered vengeful i.e. getting back at those who gave their honest opinions at the brainstorming session called to strategize for presidential elections in the interest of the party.

 

5. Premature abandonment. 

 

The Opposition party appeared to have abandoned their party as soon as the election was over. Though massive rigging, reported all over the country, deprived ANPP of any meaningful muscle to provide the much needed voice to counter some of the ruling party’s action, ANPP did not help itself either.  Even though PDP controls 28 states after re-election, most of it was artificial.  Many PDP state governments do not enjoy the goodwill of the electorate to date.  With the momentum that followed the presidential election in 2003, one would assume that ANPP will work towards retaining the confidence that the people showed in them.  Many people, especially the youths volunteered their time and resources to ensuring the success of ANPP.  People were mobilized in unprecedented proportions.  In fact most of the ANPP governors have been able to maintain their credibility against all odds in their respective states to date. But ANPP neglected the health of their party, its structural strength, and ideology.

 

6. Unmaintained momentum spells doom.

 

In order to win any race, one has to maintain his momentum to the last second.  Soon after the 2003 election however, ANPP turned its backs on two groups of people.  Their presidential candidate and his running mate, who have taken the incumbent government to court over the conduct of the election, and the teeming Nigerians who supported them against all odds condoning harassments and intimidation by security forces. Irrespective of the fact that the Nigerian Government had used its incumbency factor to muscle its way, severely curtailing ANPP successes, the masses of the people were for the first time willing participants in the political process.  Even in western countries where democracy has taken a strong root, mobilizing the youth into the political process is the most difficult task.  And that is the group with the strongest momentum, and the backbone of any nation.  ANPP neglected that advantage.  Today most of the people that are literally the flag bearers of the party in their various states have deserted the party.  If history is anything to go by, ANPP stalwarts by their actions are today telling Nigerians that they do not necessarily care for the wellbeing of their supporters but the individual members’ political future.

 

We have no option but to believe also that Gen. Buhari was used at the last minute when ANPP realized that without a very credible Presidential candidate they do not stand a chance against the incumbent government.  While almost all registered parties have voiced and reported mass rigging by the ruling party, ANPP was the main casualty of that rigging.  But as soon as the election was over, Buhari and his running mate the late Okadigbo were virtually left alone to face the federal government in court in challenge of the election.  The duo held their head high, though with no much hope of success, owing to the way the federal government has already set a record of overriding each and every institution including the nation’s courts.  The party supporters were more proactive than the leadership of the party itself.  Irrespective of the party’s abandonment they were the only remaining support for the court case.  They attended the hearings to the last day.  They came by the thousands in buses for the verdict amidst threats and victimization by the federal security forces.

 

6. The results of the build up of past mistakes.

 

Both parties today, PDP and ANPP who started a very promising political journey in 1999, have now been so fragmented.   Decamping by important members of the party have left the parties virtually hollow.  One lesson that has surfaced is that, the evolution of a Party needs to be well guided.  Once a party’s ideology and goals are defined, they need to be sustained against all odds.  The leadership of a party who generally remain on the sidelines as political office holders are engaged with their daily work must steer the course of the party, documenting records that back its ideology, for use whenever called upon to show that the party has matched its words with deeds.  Credibility and track record in Politics are essential, since emerging politicians are generally distrusted.

 

Political office holders on their part need to launch and clearly demonstrate their dedication to their new party’s ideology as they go along.  Challenges are inevitable in any political arena, but it is not the avoidance of problems that demonstrate leadership and party stamina, but how the challenge was confronted and overcome that adds credibility and track record to ones portfolio.  Many party members on both sides did not work in the interest of the party, though they used the same party as a platform to run and win their seats.  Most politicians were engrossed in building their individual political castles.  It is now that, with less than a year to an important general election, where this time power must be transferred with stakes wide open for both parties, that the politicians suddenly woke up to find that they do not have strong parties.  With weak parties, and mass decamping and launching of new parties, we are confronted once again with a rush to judging the new parties being formed.  Our hope is that history is not going to repeat itself.  May be the new parties formed will reflect the lessons learnt from past experience.