Wednesday 16 January 2013

Merger of opposition: The prospects, crisis and confusion ahead

WITH a history replete of  prospects, but devoid of  selfless drive to achieve set objectives, Nigeria’s opposition are once again forging an alliance to confront the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, at the 2015 general elections. CHARLES KUMOLU examines the workability of the move against the background of the historical failure of the opposition in this regard.
THE venue was Pro National Conference Organisation, PRONACO, Secretariat Lagos, while the event was the hosting of members of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, CNPP, who were visiting the leadership of PRONACO. On hand to welcome the visitors, who were led by a former Kaduna State Governor, Alhaji Balarebe Musa, along with other members of PRONACO, was late Chief Anthony Enahoro.
Given that the 2007 general elections was less than one year away, it was not a surprise that the thrust of the visit centred on the polls. At the meeting, Enahoro told his guests, that their approach to  national issues was not good enough, noting that nothing could be achieved without unity of purpose.
For a Musa, who is known for his progressive stance, Enahoro’s admonition, was not something to be dismissed with a wave of hand, hence he went back to Kaduna and wrote a letter to the octogenarian to that effect. In the letter, Musa, who at the time was the of chairman of the CNPP urged Enahoro to convene a meeting of all parties and associations, that were opposed to the ruling PDP. Subsequently, the Mega Summit Movement, MSM, or better still Mega Party Movement, MPM, was born.
Failed alliance ahead 2011: It was easy for the MSM to attract a lot of political heavyweights, since it was a period when notable politicians were fighting various political battles with then President Olusegun Obasanjo. The movement under the leadership of Chief Olu Falae was born and several opposition politicians across the country that included Alhaji Atahiru Bafarawa, General Muhammadu Buhari, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Alhaji Lawan Kaita, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Alhaji Sule Hamma, Senator Suleiman Salawudeen, Professor Pat Utomi, Femi Falana, Maxi Okwu and Chief Rasheed Shitta-Bey met at different times in this respect.
File photo; Tinubu and Buhari - leaders of ACN and CPC
File photo; Tinubu and Buhari – leaders of ACN and CPC
There were also subsequent parleys by other politicians, with the primary aim of realigning under a one political party that could contest elections on a mega political party platform.  Despite the history of failure such initiative, had before this period  in Nigeria, not a few gave it a benefit of doubt. For instance, the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC, perhaps, saw little light in it when it reported a story on it with the title: Nigeria’s opposition ‘to unite’.
The BBC report which was reported on Tuesday, March 24, 2009, read thus: “Opposition parties in Nigeria have agreed to unite to compete against the governing People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in elections due in 2011.  The 19 parties are forming what they describe as one mega-party to challenge President Umaru Yar’Adua.
Heavyweights are involved including former presidential contenders Atiku Abubakar and Muhammadu Buhari, who also led Nigeria after a coup in the 1980s.’’ However, like a pack of cards, this alliance which featured All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, the Alliance for Democracy, AD; Action Congress, AC, among others, did not achieve any remarkable result as the three arrowheads, Buhari, Tinubu and Atiku, failed to agree on various aspects of the proposed party.
Opposition at it again ahead 2015: While this failure, which was generally seen to be driven by the individual interests of the proponents, is still fresh in the minds of many, the opposition are at it again. “The progressives led by ACN were already meeting with others such as the Labour Party, LP, Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA and Democratic Peoples Party, DPP for the purpose of forming the mega party. By a kind of metamorphosis, the political parties involved which have radical politicians in their rank and file, would do everything possible to ensure the growth of democracy in the country,” said former Anambra State Governor, Chris Ngige.
Parties that have shown commitment to the merger include the Action Congress of Nigeria of Nigeria, ACN; the Congress for Progressive Change,CPC; and the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP. Other parties being courted to join the merger or alliance train are All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA; and Labour Party, LP. Already, parties have begun to constitute committees to ensure hitch-free merger talks aimed at forming a new formidable party to face the PDP in 2015. The ACN, the ANPP and the CPC have gone ahead in this regard.
At the moment, VanguardFeatures,VF, checks revealed that though the opposition failed to meet in Abuja last week as scheduled, the parties met separately to discuss proposals for a unified constitution, logo and a new name for the proposed coalition.
Legal grounds for merger: It was further gathered that the momentum, the moves had gained recently, might not be unconnected with the Independent National Electoral Commission,INEC, deadline, which specified that  parties are allowed to merge less than 90 days to the general elections.
Accordingly, Section 84 (6) of the 2010 Electoral Act said: “Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, no merger of political parties received by the commission less than 90 days before any general election in the country shall be considered by the commission.”
Section 84 (2) of the Act also stated thus:“Political parties intending to merge shall each give to the commission 90 days notice of their intention to do so before a general election.” Also, Sections 222 to 225 of the 1999 Constitution, said  political parties cannot approach the commission for re-registration or registration as another party.
Specifically, Section 222 stipulated that, “No association by whatever name called shall function as a party, unless the names and addresses of its national officers are registered with the Independent National Electoral Commission. The membership of the association is open to every citizen of Nigeria irrespective of his place of origin, circumstance of birth, sex, religion or ethnic grouping.”
“Even in the face of this constitutional backing, there is a lot of apprehension across the land on the matter, particularly among those who strongly believe that the individual interest of the proponents of merger, would kill the moves. Hence questions such as: Has the opposition critically evaluated the problems of mega party and why the need to merge these political parties now, would controversy over who flies the party’s flag at the presidential polls not arise, would the individual interests of the leaders of CPC and ACN as claimed, not frustrate the plans among others, have continued to agitate the minds of political observers.
Evil alliance: On the strength of these puzzles, a former governorship candidate in Anambra State, Mr. Emeka Etiaba, told VF that, “unfortunately it will not not work because in Nigeria people tend to kick against the person in power and not the system.
It is the right step in the right direction if you want to have a credible opposition but in Nigeria people kick against the person in power instead of the status quo because they want to be in power. A situation were the people who are in opposition see themselves as the only solution to the nation’s problem, they will always have difficulties coming together.
“If you look at the major parties, you have mentioned in this merger talks, their leaders are not those, who will take the back seat while others selflessly wrestle power from the ruling party. They will always want to remain at the centre at the expense of what they ought to have achieved as a strong and virile opposition. So, I know that they will make efforts as they are making currently, but I doubt if it would yield results.”
Supporting the argument with the last attempt at merger, Etiaba said: “In 2011, it happened between ACN, CPC, ANPP and others. Because the vision is not to solve the problem of one party state in the country, it failed. It happened like that because they all want to be the one to call the shots. So in any endeavour in life, vision determines the success.
So there are two things, it is either they are driven by the vision to take over power from the PDP and offer credible leadership or the vision to just grab power for individual or sectional interests. Nigerians behave like warlords and the opposition act like that also. Every political party has a war lord, the question now to ask is if the various warlords in these parties are willing to give way for the emergence of the best among all the parties?
“It is very difficult because some people would insist that they would produce or produce the candidate for the party at the presidential elections and it will not not. The much I know is that, there is need for a virile opposition the prospects of the merger producing good result is difficult because of the type of politics we play.”
Opposition, a problem to itself: Etiaba’s position also found support in a 2010 report by the Committee For the Defence of Good Governance and Accountability, CDGA, which observed that, “the opposition in Nigeria constitutes a problem to itself, given that its goals and aspirations are sectionally and individually guided. This is one aspect of Nigeria’s democracy that is helping the ruling Peoples Democratic Party to reign unchallenged since the restoration of democracy in 1999.”
The vice presidential candidate of the CPC at the 2011 general election, Pastor Tunde Bakare, also believes that the merger is ill-conceived. Bakare, who made the comment last Sunday while briefing newsmen, described the proposed merger as an unholy alliance, noting that it would fail.
He said: “All attempts to corner the resources of the people of this country and not because they want to do anything for this country, is such that will fail. All the the groupings that are coming together against our people will fail. Have they not done the grouping in the past? What is dangerous is when good people start mixing up in such unholy alliance. They will dig their own grave and bury themselves.”
Efforts were made to ask Bakare, if he was still a CPC member at the press breifing. But the Presiding Pastor of the Latter Rain Assembly was evasive, as he noted that he only contested alongside Buhari in the elections. However, that this is coming from a supposed member of the opposition, VF findings indicated, has added more doubts on the workability of the proposed merger.
But the Director General of Centre for Governance and Democracy in West Africa,|CGDWA, Professor Abdullahi Saidi, dismissed fears that the current realignment of the opposition, would be counterproductive. Saidi told VF: “History has shown that it never worked in Nigeria in the past.
And as a civilised people, we are bound to learn from history, because George Santayana, an American philosopher postulated that those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it. But we should also realise that despite the historical reasons for us to dismiss it, it should be given a chance. So, I refuse to join those, who feel that it might tread the old patterns of the past.”
Vanguard

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