By Dr Kabiru Danladi Lawanti
The Nigerian opposition is, frankly, a joke. Since losing power in 2015, the PDP has descended into chaos and has never truly recovered. What we are witnessing today may well be its final burial. This reality exposes an uncomfortable truth or reality about Nigerian politics – political parties often appear effective only when they control the public treasury.
Whether at the state or national level, a party’s performance is largely determined by the resources it controls. Not its political ideas, programmes or manifesto. During its years in power, the PDP dominated the political landscape, controlling 31 states, while the opposition held only five. This is simply because it has enough resources to share.
Today, the tables have turned dramatically. The PDP now controls only two states – Bauchi and Oyo states. APGA the party that became the darling of the south-east controls one, Accord party one, and the Labour Party (that revolutionary party in 2023) now controls one, while the APC dominates with control of 31 states.
So, are we moving toward a one-party state? In many ways, yes. But the reality is that Nigeria has effectively been in a one-party situation since the beginning of the Fourth Republic. That party is not the PDP, APC, LP, or APGA. The real party is the party of the elite.A party they use as a platform for winning elections.
We should stop deceiving ourselves. Political parties in Nigeria are little more than platforms for contesting and winning elections. Whether in APC, PDP or LP they are the same.The only time politics can work for us is when we all agree to make our leaders accountable. This means challenging them in terms of governance, accountability and calling them to order when they fail or refusing to re-elect them.
Dr Kabir Danladi Lawanti is a public affairs analyst based in Zaria.
