Are Nigerian political parties structural flawed for democratic processes?

Nnedinso Ogaziechi

For the political philosophers that fashioned the democratic system of government, they believed that the system is best suited for the people of any geographic space as a government of the people by the people and for the people. It is planned for the people to, through electoral processes elect their leaders both for the executive and legislative positions. In this way, the people are viewed as the mandate givers.

However, the history of democracy in most of Africa seems flawed in most instances as the systemic neo-imperialism often sip into the political space. What we then have is a somewhat wobbly democracy that in most countries is controlled solely by either families or the political elite. In a country like Nigeria, the political elite is so entrenched that they almost own the electoral processes starting from the political party structures that ought to be the valid vehicle through which candidates emerge to contest for elective offices.

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The result of the influence of some ‘powerful’ party members across party lines then often make elections less democratic. The influence of godfathers, party chieftains and party financiers has greatly affected the Nigerian political space very negatively and the whole country reels from the effects thereof.

The Roundtable Conversation this week involved an Professor of Structural Engineering at the University of Illinois, Chicago and a one-time Senatorial aspirant in Anambra state, Gene Nonso Mojekwu. Even though Nigeria seems not to practice full representative democracy in terms of allowing pace for women, youths and the minority tribes, he believes that the idea of political exclusion is not bought by every male in the society even though there is a seeming monopoly of the political space by the men. To him, the entire male segment of our population cannot be painted with the same brush even though certain actions of the male politicians seem to reinforce that feeling.

To him, there is no political Eldorado for women in any continent including the United States, however, the only difference with the United States is that there is enough space for political growth of both genders in a very inclusive way. The reason is that personal effort for inclusion according to Mojekwu is often rewarded with an opening for entrance. To him, the political success of an Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a former waitress now the youngest woman elected to US Congress after defeating a ten-term Democratic Party Chair, the then 2018 incumbent, Joe Crowley is very remarkable. Her victory was possible because of the structure of party politics in the United States.

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She won the election at the age of 29, is of Hispanic descent and a woman. She is the youngest woman ever to serve in the United States Congress. She did not have to be selected by the political party as a favour by ‘Party Chieftains’  as often is the case in Nigeria. Again, she was not nominated as a token for the women. She worked her way through to success but the door was open for her. Mojekwu believes that all the excluded parties in the Nigerian political space, women, youths and minorities can begin to re-strategize because their world view is different from the current political elite.

The political party operations in Nigeria in his view seem very undemocratic as there are the same old politicians recycling themselves and they are quite aged and almost out of tune with modern political economies across the globe. In his view, if the Nigerian youths are to step up and step into the political space, there would be more room for equity because the modern world takes cognizance of competences devoid of gender tags. He however believes that the younger people seem unprepared to step into the political space given the apathy they often show.

In a way, Mojekwu believes that given the situation in the country, a no experience for the youths seems better than having a bad experience under the old politicians. He believes the youths must begin to chart a course that can give them seats at the political table. Their inexperience notwithstanding, they cannot do worse than we already see with the old politicians. The rise of the youths would bring equity in the political space.

A major flaw in the structure of the Nigerian political space he says is the fact that instead of the people, the owners and beneficiaries of the democratic system, a few political leaders have and enjoy the monopoly of nominating candidates at party primaries and in such an instance, their anointing often goes to the highest bidder in an environment where election funds are neither monitored no barricades set.

Prof. Mojekwu believes that elections in functional democracies are the monopoly of the masses but in Nigeria, once the primaries are flawed, the whole process gets ruined. It is the structure of our brand of democracy that is not really open to new entrants and as such the tiny percentage of ‘political leaders and financiers’ often arrogate to themselves the selection process at primary elections and in doing so, disenfranchise even better and more prepared candidates.

In climes where the people and not a few people decide the wrong use of party machinery, the people have a wider choice and candidates sell themselves to the people and are elected on their personal merit and not on imposed or proxy qualifications. He believes that a Kamala Harris despite her qualifications is today a Vice-Presidential candidate because the democratic party is playing on her mass appeal and mass hunger for certain political trajectory. The Nigerian political parties need to listen to the people and give them what they demand for democracy to successfully thrive.

He believes the political party structure and electoral processes in Nigeria need to change to allow candidates access to the people and not a few party leaders who are often far from altruistic in their affairs. Let candidates get through and talk to the people rather than being carried to electoral victory by party leaderships. Raising the hands of candidates and handing them a party flag is not all there is to electoral processes. The people must be free to choose and party primaries must not be sold surreptitiously through party delegates and all other forms of manipulations.

Mojekwu believes the solution to the present situation would be a more open political party system that gives all aspirants unfettered room to reach out to the people and be accepted or rejected on their merit. The youths must step in on their own without an apprenticeship period with the old guards that might end up corrupting them, better learn on the job than learn from bad workmen. There must be a rise in individuals that are more accepting of the diversity of the nation and focused on the value of individual candidates devoid of regional tags. A non-violent revolution can ease out the dysfunctional system and open up the Nigerian political space for better and more competent leaders at all levels. But again, candidates must step up and work their way through the party machinery and be of admirable private and professional pedigree. Leadership demands those.

Maria Mbakwe, a business woman and the People’s Democratic Party Woman leader in Imo state believes that there are too many odds against inclusiveness in Nigerian political parties but she as a woman party leader has decided to adopt certain strategies to include more women in partisan politics. As a beneficiary of another mentorship by a woman who encouraged her to be more actively partisan, she started as a Counselor in her Ifakala ward.

However, from councillorship, she rose through the ranks to the state women leader and has been in the vanguard of pulling more interested women into the party executive and in her almost a decade as a woman leader, she has tried to come around the obstacles that prevent many women from party politics. She adopted the community advocacy style where she and her team across the state re-orientate women towards being more active politically and that has resulted in more women joining political parties and seeking more executive positions at the party congresses.

She still sees financial muscle as one of the oppressive tools men have against the less economically strong women and youth but she believes that with some plans she is not ready to release yet for strategic reasons, the male politicians might just be doing a rethink of their own strategies because the gender parity would be more productively viable for the people.

To her, it is time for women to rally around each other and meet male politicians at the barricade given the short end of the stick the men have for long handed the women in Nigeria. The use of violence at elections often rob women politicians of victory and in her words, she has introduced the PDP Babes – a group of young women across the state being  groomed as an answer to the male youth thuggery. To her, women too can raise modern day amazons to protect their votes as the men have sworn to always use violence to instigate flawed electoral victories.

The idea of using financial might to edge out the women might just be a thing of the past because the women who form majority of the voters have decided to look inwards for competent women to give the men a run for their money. To her, when the voting processes at the primary and general elections are free and fair, more women would definitely win elections and have more voice and capacity to rescue the state and national economies because women actually wear the shoes and know where the shoe of bad governance pinches.

In all, both Mojekwu and Mbakwe are hinging the progress of our democracy on improved party structures that give the power to the people as a strong democratic principle.

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