If what was seen at the Primary Elections of some political parties last weekend is anything to go by, then nothing has been learnt by the political class.
Apart from the primaries by the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, and that of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, those of the remaining two left much to be desired.
Despite a judgement of the Supreme Court that nullified its leadership, the Julius Abure faction of Labour Party is still clinging on to legitimacy, reason it had gone ahead to hold its own Primary Election that threw up Dr George Moghalu as its candidate.
The faction led by Mrs Nenadi Usman scheduled to have theirs last Thursday. The aspirant on its cards, Mr John Nwosu, had earlier pulled out from the initial Primary election that held last Saturday on grounds of irregularities and the Supreme Court judgement. But rather than obey the court, the Abure faction went ahead to not only hold the primary election as earlier scheduled, but has continued to claim legitimacy
But if what is playing out in the Labour Party is bad enough, what played out in the Primary Election of the All Progressives Congress, APC, was worse. Allegations of thuggery and violence were rife, as delegates perceived not to support a certain aspirant were barred from entering the venue of the Primary Election, a few were brutalized by thugs while the police allegedly watched.
Three aspirants on the platform of APC had earlier pulled out, with one of them going as far as quitting the party. They all protested against alleged manipulation and irregularities.
If these are samples of what the parties will do at the main election, then there’s little hope for our democracy.
Why must our elections toe the path of infamy, violence and manipulations? When will our politicians respect the wishes of voters? Must politics be a do-or-die affair?
With the way the primaries went in some parties, there’s little wonder why things are the way they are in the country where we have leaders that are unaccountable to those they serve.
We call for an end to this type of politics of desperation. We also condemn money politics while we urge the citizenry to refrain from engaging the politicians for money.
It is saddening that voters largely support candidates on account of the money they will get, rather than the quality of candidates.
It is time to put a halt to all this, so that our democracy can grow. We pray the narrative will change by the time the Guber Election is finally held on November 8 this year.
