We know that the standards in everything that we get as Nigerians are always different from what is obtainable in the developed world, one of the major shortcomings in Nigeria’s politics is the inability of opposition political parties to offer better roadmap or people’s centred ideologies while being out of power.
We’re used to ramblings of party’s press secretaries delivering thousands of incoherent press releases that only carries various condemnations of the ruling party’s actions and policies.
PDP is one of the oldest and foremost political parties in Nigeria. For the larger part, they’ve been the leading political party since the beginning of democratic rule on May 29, 1999.
Since they lost power at the centre in 2015, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has repeatedly delivered constant examples on how not to be an opposition political party through the conduct of their internal affairs.
The Lack of a Core and Central Ideology.
What are the core values and central ideology that drives the working committee of a party like the PDP except the simple goal to take over power once again?
The lack of good leadership in Nigeria has a lot to do with the lack of good leadership within the political parties in the country. The PDP has shown in its conduct since they lost the majority of the country to the APC that they are not fit to demand better governance from their counterparts in the ruling party.
In the last couple of years, PDP as an opposition party has not been able to show clearly to the people the essence in their slogan and their conducts has been totally disorganized, selfish and far from being united.
The PDP’s lack of a core and central ideology means that the people of the country that they should be serving are far from being the major priority on why they constantly seek power.
The People and the Party.
PDP’s slogan says that power belongs to the people but their conduct since they lost power in the 2015 general elections show that the power in the party belongs to the individual players with financial clout.
The people are constantly regulated to the background as the party cannot particularly show what they’ve done that focuses on citizen’s development since they lost power.
The act of being an opposition party should always be about demanding better governance from the ruling party centred around making the life of the citizens better. It should transcend plotting how to recapture power at the centre without a roadmap visible to the people on how to lead a better government.
The Constant Internal Crisis and Division.
How can a party expect the citizen to trust them with the leadership of the country again when they’ve repeatedly failed to manage their own internal affairs?
There’ve been several crises majorly bothering on the chairmanship position of the party both in the national and in various states of the country. Since 2015, there have been reported cases in states like Lagos, Osun, Kano, Kogi and various other states.
These internal crises and divisions are key indications that the PDP has failed in the act of being an opposition political party as they’re constantly scrabbling to manage themselves instead of demanding good governance for the people.
They’re so many internal crises that it is impossible for anyone to trust them as the right replacement for the failed administration of the All Progressive Congress. (APC)
In conclusion, the major political parties both in the national and state level must recognize that they have a key role to play in demanding good governance and holding the ruling party accountable when necessary.
Their failure to adequately perform this role will only compound the woes of bad governance and extend the suffering of the people they’re meant to serve.
