….The Argument of a One-party State

Since after the 2023 general elections, there has been a back and forth confrontation between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the alleged plot to plunge the country into a one-party state.

The PDP has not relented in accusing the APC of using every machinery of government it could muster to undermine democracy and also forcing members of the opposition political parties to join in dumping their parties for the party in control of government.

Umar Damagum, the acting National Chairman of the PDP threw the first salvo recently when he told a news conference that some ‘cabal’ in the presidency were using the judiciary to undermine democracy and that the ruling party was gradually sliding the country into a one-party state.

Damagum said; “The activities of a cabal in the presidency which is out to emasculate institutions of democracy, especially the Judiciary in the desperation to subvert and overturn the expressed Will of Nigerians in the various election matters across the country.”

He particularly said the APC was using the judiciary to subvert the will of the people by upturning the victories of its members in some states in favour of candidates of the ruling party. He gave example with the now controversial rulings of the Appeal Court in the legislative and governorship elections in Plateau state where most of the seats originally won by the PDP have been decided in favour of the APC.

“The sinister agenda is tailored towards a systemic emasculation of the opposition and foisting of an oppressive one-Party system is evident in the conduct and outcome of certain election petitions in Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Delta, Ogun and other states of the nation where the Election Petition and Appeal Panels were used to rob the PDP of victory won at the polls.

“Also of serious concern is the continuing stay of the patently biased Plateau State Election Appeal Court Panel sitting in Abuja despite widespread demands by the people of Plateau State and the PDP for its immediate disbandment having regards to its varying and contradictory judgments against the PDP, which are also in conflict with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the Electoral Act, 2022, INEC’s Guidelines and Regulations for elections”.

However, the APC will not let this slide without responding; and they did that through its National Publicity Secretary (NPS), Felix Morka who in a statement last week berated the PDP for accusing his party of totalitarianism and attempting to plunge the country into a one-party state.

The APC equally descended heavily on the PDP, accusing the main opposition party of denigrating and blackmailing democratic institutions like the judiciary especially any time they lose a court case.

Morka wrote; “In its morbid apprehension that it may yet lose more Governorship or National Assembly seats that it won against clear legal provisions of the Electoral Act and Constitution of the Federal Republic, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has continued to wage attacks calculated to disparage, denigrate and blackmailing democratic institutions, particularly the Judiciary into submission to its nefarious electoral agenda.

“PDP’s hallucinations about the one-party state is understandable only in the context of its unrealized plan to rule Nigeria for 60 years but now seeks to taint APC with its own scripted crude, intolerant, unpatriotic and anti-democratic zealotry.

“What is by far more repugnant, devious and a clear and present threat to our democratic way of life is the PDP’s relentless and unjustified objurgation of our courts and judges. The PDP has maligned and poured invectives on our judges at every turn since its miserable performance in the general elections.”

Indeed, what is happening today between the APC and the PDP is not new because it is a clear manifestation of the nature of Nigerian politics; where the party in power would usually want to frustrate the opposition parties. It happened during the 16 years reign of the PDP. During the era of the PDP, it was so dominant that its former National Chairman, Chief Vincent Ogbulafor in 2008 boasted that the party would rule the country for 60 years without break.

Ogbulafor had also said the PDP was ready to have a one-party state because the party was able and strong enough to cater for everyone.

He said then: “Some time ago, I used to read in the newspapers that the umbrella of the PDP was torn. Each time I read that, I would laugh and then say to myself that the umbrella is still strong and very intact and ready to accommodate more people.

“The PDP is a party for all and it is set to rule Nigeria for the next 60 years. I don’t care if Nigeria becomes a one-party state. We can do it and the PDP can contain all,” 

The former PDP Chairman made that statement then because his party was controlling 28 out of the 36 states of the federation with a large number of seats in the National Assembly.

Already, the National Chairman of the APC, Dr. Abdulahi Ganduje even before the recent back and forth of a one-party state between the two parties had also claimed that his intention was that the APC would swallow most of the opposition parties.

In August, shortly after he received the then Minister nominee and chieftain of the PDP, Nyesom Wike, the APC boss enthusiastically boasted that most of the opposition political parties and politicians are willing to collapse into the APC.

Ganduje said Wike’s visit was the beginning of better things to happen to the APC membership drive under his leadership, adding that it was in line with his inaugural acceptance speech on August 3 when he became the national Chairman. He added that Wike’s defection will be an added advantage to the APC ahead of 2027.

“It will certainly improve the chances of this our party, especially in 2027, and not only that, we are coming out with a new blueprint to increase the followership of the party and this will include all strata of officials; those who are in APC and those who are in other political parties. We did not discuss the issue of his coming to APC or not coming to APC. That issue will arise later.”

 “I assure you very soon some of the political parties will even merge with the APC. We are doing that underground”.

To further buttress that position, recently, the former national Chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Prof. Rufai Alkali led some members of the party to the APC national Secretariat where they formally announced their membership of the ruling party.

Ganduje who was on hand to receive them said the APC was well vast in accommodating as many people as may want to join its fold. He said the APC is an expert in the management of diversity, while promising that the new members were fully integrated into the party’s scheme of things.

The danger of a one-party state is that there will be little or no virile opposition and since absolute power corrupts absolutely, the party in power will have nobody to call them to order when they go overboard. It will be more beneficial to the country if politicians in the ruling party will focus on delivering the dividends of democracy to the people instead of the phantom thought of emasculating the opposition parties.  

The leadership of the APC should learn from what happened to the PDP and cut down on some of this unproductive rhetoric of enlarging its membership by luring the opposition to join them. It is always for the country to have a virile opposition that will continue to put the government on its toes because those in power will always be conscious of the fact that there are capable alternatives lurking behind them.

Another danger of a one-party state is that after everyone had joined the ruling party, there would be an implosion because those that will lose out within the scheme of things or not satisfied with what they have gotten will begin to undermine the government even when they are insiders.

The truth is that if those in government at the moment fail to impress the people, time will come when the people will resist them no matter how they try to hold on to power. The outcome of the last general elections should be a lesson to them that they have to sit up.  

If not for the unproductive and vain attachment to power driven by ego, the preoccupation of any government in power should not be how to lure or force opposition politicians to its fold; it should rather concentrate on delivering the dividends of democracy to the people. In fact, when the people see and believe that a government has done well, they will definitely support and also ensure that such a government returns to power.

Indeed, what one can deduce from this quest to emasculate the opposition parties is that the votes of the people may not really be needed for them to return to power; if not a ruling party should rather concentrate of satisfying the majority of the masses instead of dissipating energy on getting the opposition to join their fold.

Conversely, the PDP as an opposition party should also concentrate on proffering credible alternatives and suggestions on how best to ease the pains Nigerians are currently going through instead of crying over a phantom one-party state that is very hard to introduce and even harder to sustain.

By Jude Opara