This bad song has been playing from a distance for so
long a time, but today it is fully here with us: And so all of a sudden, as
long as you are in the opposition, you are a progressive, but for so long as
you are on the other side, you are a non-progressive element; you are corrupt,
and you are the one to be booted out of office. This is politicking a la Nigeriana.
Now the ACN or its off shoot - the APC have always
touted themselves as the progressives. And so anything that is not on this side
of the opposition is condemned to the dust bin of non-progressives and a bunch
of no-goods. My disappointment is that
politics in Nigeria and by extension, Nigerian politicians and their parties
completely lack structure, and are also completely bereft of philosophy, and
most importantly – ideological leanings of any sort.
It is rather befuddling to see the level of political
‘prostituting’ going on lately in the political landscape in the nation where
politicians cross-carpet at will without the slightest remorse. It is indeed
shameful and I dare say a huge betrayal of trust on the hapless electorates
that voted these people into power. Why would somebody ‘win’ an election under
a political platform only to cross over to another without being voted for; Why
are we surprised at all that it is happening today, even unabatedly? When this immoral phenomenon first reared its
ugly head (just like in the case of Boko Haram) some decade or so ago in our
ever ‘nascent’ democracy, nothing was done to check it, probably because it
favoured those who were in power then, etc. I strongly think a law should be
passed to make such behaviours illegal.
And so, for the APC to be constantly wooing members of
the PDP to come join the party absolutely leaves a sour taste in the mouth. The
PDP or its members that are supposedly ‘anti progressive, corrupt and,
destroyers of the people’, are suddenly finding willing suitors in the
blossoming APC! But this is nothing more than politics of the belly. These
people are just after their own selfish gains – get power and of course wealth
which ever way. It is all about them and not us. By the way, I am neither a fan
of President Goodluck Jonathan nor the PDP because they have failed all of us.
But for these so called progressives to even pay a visit to Obasanjo in his
Otta farm settlement in the same bid to woo him to their side, leaves a lot to
be desired. I mean, if you are inviting
everybody to join you, is it not the same as going to join everybody in the
first place?
Like one columnist – Calistus Oke once asked recently
– please I want to reiterate, “Where are the Nnamdi Azikiwes, Obafemi Awolowos,
and the Ahmadu Bellos” of today; Is there nobody out there with a vision, or a dream for the
future generation? Like-minded patriots with vision must come together to
rescue this nation. And I must remind us – like a wise man once said: “The evil
persists because good people do nothing.
By: Morgan
Nwanguma
