In my previous article, How Many Political Parties Should Be Allowed in Nigeria?, I advocated reducing the number of political parties to three ideological groupings in order to have a strong opposition party in Nigeria.

This article is about identifying the hurdles to achieving political parties that are based on shared values and beliefs. Once you understand the hurdles then you begin to understand why the Nigerian party system is failing the electorates.

Contrary to what some people would have us believed, political patronage is not unique to Nigeria. You will find evidence of it everywhere in the world, from South Africa to USA. While some people may argue that political patronage is not the same as corruption, I believe the boundary is very thin. For example, if someone donated money to a political party and that party wins the next election and the donor was then awarded a lucrative government contract, then it is difficult to argue that is not corruption.

What some people failed to understand is that the nature of the party political system is such that there has to be a way to encourage, enforce and reward party loyalty. This is usually done by appointing, not on their merit, these loyal party members to senior government posts. The problem with Nigeria is that square pegs are put into round holes. Worst still is the fact that when it becomes obvious that the people appointed on the basis of patronage cannot perform in their roles, the party machinery insists on them remaining in their jobs.

The best way to look at the failings of the Nigerian political party system is to examine how well it is performing on the six essential functions performed by political parties. It is only by doing this that Nigerians can understand what currently shape the Nigerian politics and hopefully guard the review of Nigerian political system in the future so as to move the nation forward.

The first and probably the most important is the promotion of ideas. Political parties are the result of people who share common ideology coming together to take political action to promote their ideas. Although, since 1990’s political parties in every part of the world have become less ideological as they used to be.

Generally, an ideology can be defined as a belief or a set of beliefs on which people base their actions. If you look at the political parties in Nigeria, you cannot be too certain what exactly they stand for. In Nigeria, the driving force for people to a party seems to be where they believe they can easily rise to the top and acquire personal power.

Second function of political parties is the drafting and conversion of policy options into a clear programme of action, which becomes the party manifesto. The processes for agreeing these party political policies are in the constitution. The party campaign and are voted for by the electorate mainly on the bases of the party manifesto. That is, the solutions to national problems that the party is offering. The biggest problem with the Nigeria political system is the subversion of the party machinery by individuals whose main interest is the acquisition of personal power.

Thirdly, the political parties recruit new members into active politics so as to ensure they have sufficient support amongst the electorate. This also allows the party to be able to raise the required funds for the day to day running of the party affairs and for election campaigns. Sadly, Nigerian political parties would not want to recruit members from certain area once the party leadership identify a leading political figure is from that area because they fear he may use members from that area to dominate the party. In order words, where you come from may be a barrier to becoming a party member rather than your values and beliefs.

Fourthly, the political parties identify and select political leaders from their membership who will take responsibilities for the management of the party affairs. The method for electing members is clearly stated in the party constitution. However, some party leaders are known to riddle the election machinery to suit their purpose and thereby undermine the party constitution. Again the problem here is the lack of accountability and respect for due process. They equally exhibit the same conduct once they get into political office. These party members do not hold any regard for the party values or beliefs. They simply are nothing but opportunists.

The fifth function of political parties is to encourage people to vote and to help in the administration of elections. This is one function that political parties in Nigeria play lip-service to. In fact they specialise in undermining the election processes. The only way a party can claim to represent the people it wants to lead is by encouraging them to come out in significant numbers to lawfully cast their votes. The desire to win elections at all cost is tempting for Nigerian political leaders. So whether or not people vote does not matter to Nigeria political parties because they can corrupt the system to get the number of votes they want to declare.

The sixth function, which is often overlooked, is to inform and educate the general public about political issues. The Nigerian political parties appear to believe that the less people know the better. None of the parties seriously campaign to win elections on the basis of political issues. Even on the very few occasions when they do, they make ridiculous promises to the electorates. What is even more worrying is that the electorates and their press representatives hardly ever hold political leaders to account for their stewardship.

Lastly, mainstream political parties should reinforce allegiance to the political system. Recently, the situation in Nigeria has improved significantly from the days when the leading Nigerian political party only acknowledged the military as the opposition party. There is a general acknowledgement of the importance of the party system. But whether this can be taken as meaning allegiance to the party system is entirely another matter. However, there is no better way to reinforce allegiance to the party system than to respect the electoral law and conduct of the party activities with the party constitution.

The major issue facing Nigeria party political system today is the dominance of the parties by few elements in the party for the wrong reasons. The task before Nigerians is to strive towards squeezing out of the parties these bad eggs that are holding the country back.

Nosa@olotu.org

Robot  Villager

# 1 In my previous article, ...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 24.03.2008 11:03

DanielBAfilaka  Villager

# 2 "political patronage is not unique to Nigeria. You will find evidence of it everywhere in the world, from South Africa to USA. While some people may argue that political patronage is not the same as corruption, I believe the boundary is very thin. For example, if someone donated money to a political party and that party wins the next election and the donor was then awarded a lucrative government contract, then it is difficult to argue that is not corruption." I think what you are mistaken for political patronage is what we call lobbying. Patronage is support that doesnt necessarily translate into contracts. Nothing stops the patron from lobbying for certain ideals that he or she holds dear. Thats the essence of teh patronage anyways. Democracy however is measured by legality and ethics and this should be the compass points for navigating to the less turbulent waters of a true and lasting Nigerian Democracy else you'll fall foul of that arm of our democracy called the Judiciary!! Regards DBA- NIGERIAN YOUTH LEAGUE Posted by DanielBAfilaka| 24.03.2008 11:40

Enforcer  Villager

# 3 =DanielBAfilaka;4294998686>"political patronage is not unique to Nigeria. You will find evidence of it everywhere in the world, from South Africa to USA. While some people may argue that political patronage is not the same as corruption, I believe the boundary is very thin. For example, if someone donated money to a political party and that party wins the next election and the donor was then awarded a lucrative government contract, then it is difficult to argue that is not corruption." I think what you are mistaken for political patronage is what we call lobbying. Patronage is support that doesnt necessarily translate into contracts. Nothing stops the patron from lobbying for certain ideals that he or she holds dear. Thats the essence of teh patronage anyways. Democracy however is measured by legality and ethics and this should be the compass points for navigating to the less turbulent waters of a true and lasting Nigerian Democracy else you'll fall foul of that arm of our democracy called the Judiciary!! Regards DBA- NIGERIAN YOUTH LEAGUE DanielBAfilaka Patronage is "is the support, encouragement, privilege and often financial aid given by a person or an organization. ......" Lobbying is "all attempts to influence directly or indirectly any government activity, and includes any attempt to influence legislators, their staff, civil servants, and members of regulatory agencies." I hope that helps. Posted by Enforcer| 24.03.2008 13:31

Sapele Man  Villager

# 4 Generally, an ideology can be defined as a belief or a set of beliefs on which people base their actions. If you look at the political parties in Nigeria, you cannot be too certain what exactly they stand for. In Nigeria, the driving force for people to a party seems to be where they believe they can easily rise to the top and acquire personal power. How is this different from USA politics? I cann't tell the difference between the Democrats and the Republicans. Nor can anyone tell the difference between the Labour Party and the Conservatives in the UK. It appears to me that the nature of politics have changed significantly. Posted by Sapele Man| 25.03.2008 04:32

Sapele Man  Villager

# 5 =DanielBAfilaka;4294998686> I think what you are mistaken for political patronage is what we call lobbying. Patronage is support that doesnt necessarily translate into contracts. Nothing stops the patron from lobbying for certain ideals that he or she holds dear. Thats the essence of teh patronage anyways. Regards DBA- NIGERIAN YOUTH LEAGUE DanielBAfilaka Lobbying in Nigerian by patrons? The last time I read something about politics in Nigeria I head the word "Godfatherism" I beg, make you wake up quick quick. Godfathers not dey lobby, they impose their wishes.. Posted by Sapele Man| 25.03.2008 09:10