By CHIEDU UCHE OKOYE

Nigeria's political big guns, who belong to political parties other than the ruling APC, are leaving their political parties in droves for APC. It is the modish, expedient, and convenient thing for them to do as joining APC will serve their personal and political interests. That tendency to defect to APC, which exists among non-APC members, is indicative of the fact that Nigeria risks becoming a one party state.

But it was not like this in the past. Since the formation of political parties started in Nigeria in 1922, Nigeria has always practised multi-party system in the true sense of the word. Even in the colonial era, when the country was in political ferment, owing to our freedom fighters' agitation for Nigeria's political emancipation, we had such political parties as Action Group, the Northern People's Congress, Northern Elements Progressive Union, the National Council of Nigeria and Camerouns, United Middle Belt Congress, and others.

The aforementioned political parties whose ideological frameworks, made them distinct and different from one another, presented candidates who vied for elective posts. Those political parties had charismatic, flamboyant, erudite, and morally upright leaders whose leaderships of their political parties were in accord with their parties' ideologies.

So not surprisingly, when Chief Obafemi Awolowo, a revered lawyer and mystic, became the premier of the western region, he implemented welfarist policies, which were in accord with the Action Group's socialist ideologies. His implementation of the Action Group's welfarist policies offered many people from poor homes the opportunity to acquire tertiary education. His leadership of the western region was undergirded by his strict adherence to Action Group's socialist tendencies and principles.

But our political culture has evolved, fundamentally and radically, with the passage of time. Although we are practising multi-party system, all the political parties in the fourth republic are much of a muchness. The ones that lay claims to being rightist have the same characteristics or features as those that pretend to be leftist. They are all ideologically hollow. And our politicians are wont to change political parties at the drop of a hat so as to achieve their political goals. .

The incontrovertible fact is that our politicians perceive political parties as platforms for solely winning political posts at different governmental strata. So, nowadays, Nigerian politicians do not care a hoot about political ideologies and economic theories, which they would abide by and execute to expedite our national development.

As a result, since the inception of the fourth republic, not a few well-known Nigerian politicians have become political journeymen. Their political peregrination has become legendary because they move from one political party to another in the same way as cattle herders herd their cattle from one grassland to another. The former Vice-President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, switched political parties several times in his bid to achieve his lofty goal of becoming the president of Nigeria. And the charismatic Mr. Peter Obi, whose popularity with the masses is soaring, jumped ship and berthed on the shores of the Labour Party.

Nigerian politicians switch political parties as frequently as menstruating ladies change their underwear(s). They changed political parties not because they experienced moments of epiphany, which imbued them with knowledge and insights into some ideological matters, but because they're keen on realizing their political goals at any cost. Their insatiable desire to continue occupying political offices in perpetuity is the impulse that impels them to desert their political parties for other parties.

So, not surprisingly, some past critics of President Tinubu have joined APC, the ruling party, not minding the fact that their criticisms of President Tinubu are archived electronically and well-documented in analogue way. They are still fresh in our memories, too. Their uncomplimentary portraitures of President Tinubu as a drug courier, master forger, and a sickly geriatric have been forgiven them. And they are accommodated in the APC family, now.

Consequently, today, the main opposition party in Nigeria, PDP, is hobbled by Tsunami-like defections, which have benefited the APC. But it is not only the top members of PDP that had migrated to APC. Some top politicians from other political parties had jumped ship and berthed on the shores of APC, too. But the defection of the sitting governor of Delta state, Gov. Sheriff Oborevwori, alongside with his predecessor in office, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, was an earth-shaking political defection that shook the political foundation and landscape of Nigeria for its grave implications.

So as troubled and out-of-favour politicians are seeking refuge in APC to evade prosecution for the financial crimes they committed; and as politicians, whose popularity have waned, are joining APC, the ranks of the opposition political parties are being depleted. The depletion of the populations of the opposition political parties, coupled with their wars of attrition, will leave Nigeria with no strong opposition political parties. This impending political situation does not bode well for our country's development.

So Nigeria is inevitably tending towards embracing the practice of one party system. Unless and until the mass defection of politicians from other political parties to the ruling APC is halted, Nigeria will, inevitably, become a one party state. And as a one party state, we will contend with the dictatorship of the president.

• Chiedu Uche Okoye, a poet, writes from Uruowulu-Obosi, Anambra State. He can be reached via 08062220654 and 09125204141

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