Currently, the Nigerian political scene is ‘hot’ with the recent defections of some politicians from the ruling party to other parties.
Cross carpeting has always happened, but what do Nigerians think? Daily Trust Saturday sought some views.
Mr Isaac Job, Political Analyst, Uyo
Changing political party is a clear demonstration of the fact that there is no political ideology. With an ideology, that cannot happen. Compare Nigeria’s democracy to America, you’ll hardly find a Democrats cross carpeting to the Republican party or vice versa. Even if the Republicans win the elections against the Democrats, the party goes back to the drawing board and work on ways getting the votes in the next election. But here in Nigeria, somebody can breakfast in the morning as PDP, take launch in the afternoon as APC and dinner in the evening as APGA. So there is no clear cut political ideology.
Mr Patrick Titus, Journalist, Akwa Ibom
It boils down to the Electoral Act, we have in place. The law we are using in Nigeria is borrowed. We do not have a law of our own, based on our cultural values, norms and the society we find ourselves as Nigerians; these should define our law to make it people-centred. The Electoral Act lacks integrity and does not look at the real meaning of what is being practised. Nigeria adopted such law in a hurry, otherwise, it should be stated that if you were elected to serve on the platform of a party, you should be obligated to stay in that party and serve on that platform until the end of your tenure, instead of switching political parties. Once you are elected on a political platform, you are not going there to serve your interest. The practice of decamping to another political party should be stopped. There should be a law in place where you sign an undertaking that you would remain in a political party and If you decamp, you would forfeit that office. Doing that would check that problem.
Bright Ogbomudia, 71, Businessman, Port Harcourt
The reason why politicians are changing from one political party to another is as a result of selfish interest. The so-called politicians who move from one party to another are doing so for what they will get and that is the reason why we are having instability in governance.
I don’t see the reason why politicians cannot stick to one political party as it is done in advanced nations. They move from one political party to the other all in the name of what they can grab.
Uko Etim, 30, Uyo
The frequent switching of political parties is not a welcomed idea. Even the political system we borrowed the idea from doesn’t act like that. Changing political party started during the time of President Obasanjo; that is when the act of cross carpeting was instituted. Today, it is not helping the development of the nation. A person will be elected on party A and make promises, only to leave for another party, and the party he is now would not be willing to fulfil the promises he made while in party A. This is stalling the development of the country.
Elijah Mikyes, 55, Security Official, Abuja
Politics is not a dirty game and political parties are not bad. What really counts is the intention of the politician. If he switches political parties to another on the needs of the society, that is okay, but when he does that for selfish reasons, then that politician lacks honesty and doesn’t have integrity. One attribute of an honest politician is his loyalty to his political party over time. Politicians should understand that switching political parties will not make citizens vote for them.
Freeman Paul, 38, Building Contractor, Abuja
Politicians change from one party to another because of the lack of truth within the party. Some of them have skeletons in their cupboard of which their fellow politicians are aware of, so they do not feel secure. When a politician doesn’t want to be accountable, he switches to another party. They are more conscious of their godfathers because they feel the vote or say of the electorates do not matter. An honest politician will remain loyal to his party because, wherever he is, he has the support of his followers.
Kazeem Ibrahim, 30, Accountant, Kaduna
Politicians may switch parties if they believe their views no longer align with those of their current political party. As in every occasion witnessed in the country, most of the changes in political parties happened as a result of lack of regards to the ‘political godfathers.’ When the rift between godfather and godson becomes public, change of party is used as a tool to show that the damage is beyond repair. So, I will urge political parties to have strict laws that will prevent candidates from switching parties especially when elections are near.
Bilkisu Yunusa, 25, Digital Content creator, Kaduna
Nigeria is in a democratic setting that allows for freedom of conscience and allows one to belong to any party. Every political party wants to be relevant in the polity, so luring bigwigs into their party is what they do. We all know that politics is about the fight for political resources to further one’s cause. That is why a multi-party system of governance is always advocated in a democracy. Though a political party should have an ideology which is its bedrock of existence, in Nigeria, most political parties do not have a clear-cut ideology rather political parties are seen as a means to power and in the long run, the objective of governance is defeated since the rise to power is not guided by a definite principle. Most political actors in Nigeria are after their pocket instead of serving the nation, that is why we have issues of leaving one party for the other when the situation does not suit them. These actions will further sink the country into bad governance if the aim to attain power is merely for the interest of those who wield the power.
Chidinma Costant, Nurse, 37, Port Harcourt
Politicians are into politics for what they will get. There is a saying in politics that interest is what matters in politics and that is the reason why politicians always move from one party to another to achieve their interest.
Daniel Abia, 47, Media practitioner, Port Harcourt
Politicians who move from one political party to another are doing so because of selfish motives and nothing more. They are there to line their pocket and that is the reason why they junket from one party to another. They don’t have the interest of the masses or even the interest of their political party ideology, but they are moving up and down for what they will grab.
Titus Yershima, 41, Civil Servant, Makurdi
Politicians moving from one party to the other cause confusion. They do so because they want to win elections at all cost, though I think some of them have good motives while others don’t. For me, the motives of these politicians are what really matters.
Ayuba Musa Okpanachi, 54, Journalist, Makurdi
We don’t have political parties with clear cut ideologies in their manifestos in Nigeria. What functions here is individuals using their personal integrity and popularity to win elections. Political parties mostly depend on the personalities for their survival, so they don’t have strong checks and balances of leaders. Political parties in this country are merely platforms to win elections so every leader uses the available political party platform to win his or her election.
Rita Agber, 21, Manager, Makurdi
Politicians change parties at will because of interest. The reason for some is to enable them to remain at the forefront of power with the political party in government. It is personally intended on their parts for benefits accrued to them. Politicians change parties at will to also acquire tickets to run for desired offices and that’s where their motives count which could either be bad or good.
Haruna Adamu, 32, Trader, Kaduna
There is a reason why someone joins a political party. Most politicians join politics for their personal interests and not the well-being of the masses they are meant to serve. I believe they are driven by material and political gain and so if they don’t get that pre-conceived interest, they will definitely change to where they feel those interests can be met. The recent occurrence in Edo state will not be the last we will experience and this is encouraged because most voters vote blindly. For example, the masses suffered immensely to ensure APC came into power due to the 16 years ineptitude of PDP. Once the election was won, politicians forgot those who brought them to power and the electorate was sidelined to continue to wallow in their pre-election problems. APC itself is a combination of people who left other parties because their interests were not met. That tells you that all the parties we have in this country are the same with different names.
