POLITICAL HARLOTRY IN
NIGERIA’S POLITICAL SYSTEM
During the time of creation,
everything that God created was good in his eyes, of which they are still
maintaining the status-quo, thus, being blessings to mankind. The seas have
remained in their positions; the sun and moon have never been rivals; the
nebulas have equally maintained theirs. Contrary to this is man (both male and
female) who is seen as an insatiable being. Man has not maintained the position
that God gave to him, and has played the harlotry right from the beginning.
Political harlotry in my own
perspective is a system of leaving or decamping from a political party on the
ground of ideological differences. Political harlotry is synonymous with
cross-carpeting, and it took the centre stage some decades back when political
parties in the country experienced a large pull-out of members from opposition basically in search of what appeals to their
quest for power and affluence.
Cross-carpeting was legitimized
in March 2010 by the Nigerian Senate according to Section 68(1), (109(1)) of
the 1999 Constitution on the basis of a division in a member’s political party
or there is a merger of that party with another or factions in the party. In
recent times, Nigeria’s political parties have experienced series of crises
which brought about defection from one party to another.
Chief Ikedi Ohakim, a former
governor of Imo state who lost to the incumbent governor Rochas Okorocha in the
April 2011 gubernatorial election, was formerly a member of the Progressive
People’s Alliance (PPA). He left the party for the All Progressives Grand
Alliance (APGA) and finally pitched his tent in the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) where he was ousted from office.
Isa Yuguda, a former governor of
Bauchi state was a member of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) after which
he decamped to the ruling PDP.
The intra-party crisis in January
2014 which rocked the Peoples Democratic Party under the chairmanship of Alhaji
Bamanga Tukur, also brought about massive exodus of members from the party to
the opposition party. During this period, governors Murtala Nyako (Adamawa),
Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Idris Wada (Kogi), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara,) and many
of their loyalists cross-carpeted from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress
(APC).
Former governor of Ekiti state,
Segun Oni, also decamped from the PDP to the APC on the candidacy of Ayo Fayose
as the party’s flag bearer for the June 21 election in the state. Mediocrity of
the latter was the main reason for his decamping.
A former minister of aviation, Chief
Femi Fani-kayode, who was a stalwart of the PDP, cross-carpeted to the APC,
after which he dumped the party, accusing the leadership of the party of having
an Islamic agenda and insincerity among its members.
Presently, there is a rift
between Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun state under the platform of the APC
and a national leader of the party, Chief Segun Osoba, on the ground of
exclusivity of some party faithfuls from the state government. If this feud
between the duo is not resolved, then, cross-carpeting is imminent as the 2015
general elections draw near.
People defect from one party to
another on the ground of party ideological differences. The value system of our
political landscape is gradually being torn apart due to sentimentalism. Let us
do the right thing so as to secure our posterity.
.jpeg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*)
.jpeg){kind=link}