Nigeria And The Infection Of Defections -By Kene Obiezu

As the shifty political clouds of 2027 gather, Nigeria’s nomadic politicians are on the move again, herding their unbridled cows through the scorched farmlands of Nigeria’s politics in a nauseating march to nowhere.

Like the proverbial barber’s chair that is all motion but no progress, many Nigerian politicians are seeking greener pastures as the 2027 general elections draw closer. Many of those elected on the platform of one political party or the other have suddenly found such platforms unsuited and unsuitable to their political goals going forward. For those who have been shut out of the corridors of power and are now almost blind from looking in from the outside, identifying the right platform is now a matter of political life and death.

Regarding defections from one political party to another, the law in Nigeria remains surprisingly supine, indirectly, indiscriminately, and indiscreetly enabling the wanderlust of Nigerian politicians who cannot seem to stick to the same spot for long.

When politicians in Nigeria defect, it is usually with an eye on the next political pot of gold. There is often zero regard for the political parties or supporters, and whatever vestige of ideology is left vanishes like vapor before a gale of political idolatry and idiolatry.

It begs the question of what political parties have become in Nigeria, digging deeper into the kind of politics played in Nigeria and the make-up and mindset of the politicians who play it.

Nigerian politicians are quite adept at changing political parties like nappies. Their haste to defect tells a profound tale about their shifty character, moral bankruptcy, greed, incompetence, and nonchalance. Most alarming is what it reveals about their disregard for the rule of law and their distance from and disregard for those who support them.

As the ruling APC has thrown its windows open to all shades of political players, including political miscreants, misfits, ,mercenaries, and merchants, ahead of the 2027 general elections, the stampede at the doorpost of the party by those fleeing or forced out from other political parties betrays the party’s desperation to hold on to the reins of power at all costs. Yet, should not a party that boasts of having such great aspirations to make Nigeria better not be more circumspect about the kind of political prodigal sons it opens its arms to? Shouldn’t Nigeria’s ruling party be bothered by its burgeoning but baleful reputation as a haven for former or serving public office holders worried about corruption probes?

Nigerian politicians have failed to show that the fluidity with which they approach defections can translate into fluid decision-making that improves about Nigerians. What the constant defections have shown is that Nigerian politicians are adept political merchants who put profit before principles and certainly before people.

There is no prize for saying it, but the responsibility to weed Nigeria’s political firmament of such politicians lies with Nigerians and no one else because a people accursed with politicians who put their stomachs before their constituents can hope for nothing but misery and immiseration.

As the 2027 elections approach, this task has become more urgent than ever.

Kene Obiezu,
keneobiezu@gmail.com