“It is in this regard that I as a patriotic Nigerian and a nationalist in that matter not minding my membership of APC hereby urge all Nigerians, not minding our political differences to support this idea of proferring alternatives to most of our policies and reposition opposition political parties and save our country and strengthen our democracy."
Erstwhile National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New People’s Democratic Party (nPDP) and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, says it is politically unrighteous that while other climes are making frantic efforts to strengthen democracy and democratic institutions with their bounds, some elements in the seat of power under the APC administration are hatching and stealthily advancing the idea of foisting on Nigeria, a one-party system, describing such move as a deliberate invitation to anarchy.
Responding to comments credited to APC National Chair, Umar Ganduje, wherein the former Kano Governor was quoted as saying “...We work day and night to visualise Kano as a one-party state. If Kano is converted to a one-party state it means we can decide for Nigeria and its leadership. This will be in favour of the state and the party. Leave the NNPP, and come and join the APC. All the other parties should come and join the APC and make Kano a one-party state. This will enable Kano to gain from the federal government’s plans to run gas pipelines, railway and road networks from Abuja through Kaduna to Kano. The password would be to dump other parties and dissolve into APC,” Chief Eze said Nigerians must rise, unite and save the nation from collapsing into the abyss which is the direction it is currently headed under the current administration.
In a statement made available to the media, the APC Chief said should the plot to cause one political party in Nigeria to succeed, the country may lose everything remaining of its sovereignty as the scheme will mark the formal collapse of democracy.
Eze referred Ganduje and his ilks to the words of Sun Yat-sen when he stated "Remember that a civilized nation cannot just have one party; if there were only one party, this would merely be a dictatorship. Politics could not advance,” and counselled them to leave legacies that will stamp good memories of them in the hearts of men when they leave public office.
He said it is unfortunate that Nigeria has degenerated to a state where those that are opportune with power will like to stay there as long as possible not minding the consequences on the general welfare of those that they govern.
Ganduje is not the first person of his stature to voice such imperial sentiments. Sixteen years ago, the then National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), late Chief Vincent Ogbulafor, boasted that his party would keep national power for 60 years.
“It was the stand of the likes of Ogbulafor that forced some of us patriotic Nigerians to meet and exiled PDP from governance and, unfortunately, the party that we struggled to install is hatching a similar mentality.”
Such a move, Eze said will be unfair to those who risked their lives to install APC with the hope of giving Nigeria and Nigerians not only a proper progressive political party but a party that will rescue the country from the challenges of poverty and insecurity.
The fact remains that any sound and patriotic Nigerian can easily agree with Prof Vince Cable who understanding our situation in Nigeria counselled,
"And humility in politics means accepting that one party doesn't have all the answers; recognising that working in partnership is progress not treachery."
Eze quoted ThisDay Newspaper which explicitly explained the Nigerian situation, "the designers of the Nigerian constitution considered the nation’s political journey and its complexities before arriving at the multi-party option. It’s bad that the various parties haven’t lived up to the core of their statutory roles. But taking the quickest route into the dictatorship of one or few lord(s) would be more disastrous.
Nigeria hasn’t come this far in its chequered political history to flirt with any system that stifles opposing views. A culture that involves only one strong or sole party which runs the government can be expected to churn out unilateral decisions that are, in many cases, detrimental to the freedoms and potential progress fought for by our heroes right from the pre-colonial times"
As a way out, Atiku Abubakar the former Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in his usual character as a fighter who stood by us to install APC in Nigeria is now ready to unite other opposition political parties to checkmate APC for her to offer to Nigeria and Nigerians the best dividends of democracy
Atiku in this regard stated, " Nigeria needs a strong opposition to stop the All Progressives Congress (APC) from “turning” the country into a one-party state.
Speaking on Tuesday when he received a delegation from the national executive committee of the Inter-Party Advisory Council Nigeria (IPAC), Abubakar said if there is no viable opposition, the nation’s hard-earned democracy will suffer.
“You have come here today to say that we should cooperate to promote democracy,”
“But the truth of the matter is that our democracy is fast becoming a one-party system, and of course, you know that when we have a one-party system, we should just forget about democracy.
“We have all seen how the APC is increasingly turning Nigeria into a dictatorship of one party.
“If we don’t come together to challenge what the ruling party is trying to create, our democracy will suffer for it, and the consequences of it will affect the generations yet unborn.
“The project of protecting democracy in our country is not about just one man.”
It becomes imperative that all these plots to enforce political leaders and decimate opposition political parties are not ideal and not the best way to sustain our nascent democracy. Dr. Bill Owens wholeheartedly agreed with this when he stated, "While one party may possess the levers of power, one party does not possess a monopoly on good ideas. Good lawmaking, after all, is about the ability to craft effective solutions."
“It is in this regard that I as a patriotic Nigerian and a nationalist in that matter not minding my membership of APC hereby urge all Nigerians, not minding our political differences to support this idea of proferring alternatives to most of our policies and reposition opposition political parties and save our country and strengthen our democracy".
