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.