OBSERVATION: Time For Poor People Party

• ADEMOLA YAYA

It is crystal clear, even to the blind, that virtually none of the existing political parties in Nigeria today represent the interests and aspirations of the poor people. They are all same of same but with different nomenclatures. As a matter of fact, politicians of different shades merely use different political parties as platforms for achieving personal political ambition with no clear-cut ideological idiosyncrasy.

Apart from All Progressives Congress (APC) with majority in both Senate and House of Representatives, parties like Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and Young People’s Party (YPP) won seats at the National Assembly. None of these opposition parties could rock the boat vis-a-vis N160m SUV for each and everyone of them in the period of hunger and prohibitive high cost of living in the land and none has said anything about humongous Christmas and New Year recess bonuses distributed among them last December. And that explains why no singular opposition voice was raised from any Senator from all political parties vis-a-vis Senator Abdul Ningi’s alleged 2024 budget padding largesse as they are all at peace with suspending him without a thorough investigation of his allegation; it’s all business as usual.

It is instructive to state, however, that since 1999, when this unbroken civil rule began, there had emerged some political parties with clear-cut ideological lean that would have promoted and served the interest of the poor but were not embraced by the very poor based on their low political consciousness, amongst other factors. Hence, they were deregistered by INEC as they could not win any elections over time and fulfil other INEC conditions to remain as political parties. Some of those parties were the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN), the National Conscience Party (NCP) when its founder, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, was alive, Democratic Alternative (DA), to mention just three. There is a saying that a slave is half free the very moment he/she is conscious of his/her slavery status and is prepared to struggle for his/her emancipation. No manner would fall from heaven; no Messiah would liberate the poor from misery and poverty in the midst of stupendous natural resources. Only the poor can help and bail out themselves by forming or joining a political party of their choice whose manifestoes are in tandem with their interests, desires and aspirations and muscle their numerical strength with sweat and blood to install their own party leadership and candidates for general elections.

Ordinarily, the party that should have been a ready made platform for the poor would have been the existing Labour Party but it is only a Labour Party in name and conception but not in practise and orientation. How do I mean? In 2002 under the reactionary Pascal Bafyau NLC leadership, Party for Social Democracy (PSD) was registered by INEC. PSD was established and championed by doyens of labour with Comrade S.O.Z Ejiofor as the pioneer Chairman of the party. PSD was built on Social Democracy ideology aimed at promoting and defending social democratic principles for the ultimate goal of achieving social justice, progress and unity. It was this PSD that later transmuted to Labour Party when Ejiofor handed over to Dan Anyanwu.

The reason for PSD must be put in context. Military incursion into government was a routine in those era; fight against military dictatorship and enthronement of civil rule were the struggles in vogue. Hence, LP was no party for poor working people and that is why somebody who had been a two-term Governor under the platform of PDP could overnight emerge as LP Presidential Candidate in the last General elections. A real Labour Party is supposed to be a party of the poor working people. Poor working people are wage and salaries workers in public and private sectors, the artisans, traders, market men and women, students and unemployed who collectively are the majority in any society and dominant majority in Nigeria. As it was constituted in the past and now, it has nothing in tandem with the poor working people in terms of orientation, ideology and programmes; it is only a labour party in name.

As the next circle of elections are approaching, especially staggered gubernatorial elections in some states before the general elections, the poor people must be prepared to come together and make sacrifices of their time and lean resources to form and build their own political party in name, ideology and programmes and above all, elect or appoint candidates with unblemished profile if they are desirous to change their pathetic life of misery to a decent working and living condition. Yes, forming a political party is not a child’s play as INEC criteria are very cumbersome.

The poor should shine their eyes to search for a party that has pro-poor ideals and programmes and join such, use their dominance to penetrate its structures and make people of impeccable backgrounds and characters as their leaders and candidates for elections. Although, there are a few shining characters among them, the political leaders and gladiators in the last quarter century have been kleptomania and very corrupt with crude accumulation of public wealth for their personal aggrandisement that the few exceptions have been overwhelmed. To state the least, things had never been so degenerate! The progressive governance, socio-political sagacity and wizardry of Action Group and Unity Party of Nigeria under the leadership of Chief Obafemi Awolowo no longer exist today.

What exist are progressive parties in names but reactionaries and pro-International Monetary Fund and World Bank dispositions to inflicting neo-liberal policies of perpetual pains, hunger and starvation and expanding the frontiers of poverty. That informs why a politician can have his/her breakfast in PDP, his/her launch in APC and dinner in LP in the same day as morality, values and virtues are none of their business as far as politics is concerned.

Until the poor overwhelmingly say ‘No’ to this prevailing arrangement and are prepared to take the bull by the horn in opening their eyes and aligning with a political party that can beautifully represent them and their interest, misery and poverty shall continue to be their lot. This is not a curse but a scientific reality.

The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author. They do not represent the opinions or views of OSUN DEFENDER.