By ABUBAKAR YUSUF

The Kukah Centre, in conjunction with the European Union, has unveiled its roadmap to resetting politics in Nigeria through administration of political parties which would rub off positively on the country’s democracy.

The “Needs Assessment of Political Parties in Nigeria” the product of a research work by Sokoto-based Kukak Centre, is tailored towards inspiring confidence of the youths in politics through gaining good knowledge of political party administration.

Speaking at the Public Presentation of the research work, the Most Reverend Mathew Hassan Kukah, the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, blamed the major problems of the country's current democracy on similarity of ideologies of the political parties. The presentation took place on Tuesday in Abuja.

“With a proper understanding of Political Party processes, young men and women with vision can have a clear idea of the imagination and the resources required to form Political Parties,” the Bishop said.

“You will see from the Recommendations in this Assessment that we have presented many options for parties to consider if they are really to become the ideological engine rooms for driving our political processes and Democracy. The Report has drawn from not just academic analysis but a range of interviews across a wide spectrum of our society, listening to the views of ordinary citizens.

“The Report has recommended a constant review of the Electoral Act, the need to incorporate the Opposition as part of the political process, the need to create more innovative ways of financing political parties, re-examining the place of Party Financing and so on,” he said of the work.

“Political Parties are the platforms on which politicians are weaned, trained and deployed to serve the public good. We want to dredge up some of the good, the bad and the very ugly phases of our national history so that we can have an idea of where we have come from. In the process, we need to see if there are any good markers or signs that those who came before us left.

“Hopefully, from their experiences, we can begin to think more clearly about how to make politics noble,” he said.

“Without a proper understanding of the role and place of Political Parties in a Democracy, we would be playing a game against the backdrop of what I have described above. We believe that no matter the energy of the youth, they will not be able to do anything different from their past and present set of politicians if they see politics a blood sport. Politics was not meant to be a Casino machine, nor a Betnaija parlour,” he added.

Bishop Kukah who is the founder of the Kukah Centree, insisted that that Nigeria went of the track when it abolished the study of History as a subject in schools. According to him, democracy in Nigeria was akin to a football competition without goals posts and referees.

“The missing links of history have left our people vulnerable to the rapacious attacks of raw politics which is leaving so much blood, pain, sweat and tears in its wake. The quality of actors suggests very clearly that there are no teachers, no guardians, no mentors in our political history.

“The result is that we are witnessing an end to the age of innocence and the nobility of politics. This is not an inspiration to the younger generation who are likely to shun politics with the understanding that this is how things have been since the beginning,” the Bishop said.

The Convener of National Peace Committee maintained that the need to present the Needs Assessment to the public was to develop acceptable political ideologies, both to the ruling and minority parties, as opposed to the winners-takes-all syndrome in Nigeria today.

“Without clear thinking about politics, we are simply playing a game with no goal posts, no referees nor linesmen. Even the Video Assisted Referee cannot function because there is no light.”

“In such a situation, the stadium will be full of confusion with the spectators calling out the fouls and the penalties. In this case, there will be a field of confusion, but definitely not a game of football,” he noted.

“To say that the Nigerian political scene is a forest of chaos is to be charitable. That we are watching the big fish consuming the small fish is not out of place. Today, we have no collective political memory, no thanks to the disruptive and corrosive years consumed by the military."

He said because of current practices and trend, it was difficult to see political actors with strong ideas like we had in the early 70's and 80's in the likes of Mallam Aminu Kano of PRP, Obafemi Awolowo of UPN and Nnnamdi Azikiwe of NPP who occupied and were also major actors of our political corridors some decades away.

Kukah, who commended the European Union for its synergy, said the best political culture was to move away from the current dispensation that had metamorphosed into socio-economic, and by extension, social security problems in the country.

He commended both the ruling party’s leadership and the opposition parties, stating that this was crucial to kick-starting a new political movement for Nigeria.

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