By Bello Shehu Shuni, Sokoto.
The political parties in Nigeria are gearing up for their primaries to select candidates for the 2023 general election.
Public commentators in local and International media as well as political analysts and scholars have been having a field day in worship places, discussion arena, beer parlors, market squares, offices and other public places with conversations on who pick the various parties ticket and the issue is raging like wild fire.
A word has been entered into the lexicon of Nigeria’s contemporary political dictionary: The word is called “Coronation Rather Than People’s Choice”. This means adopting a candidate without undergoing the real primary selection process within parties by the so-called god fathers, holders of executive power, party leaders and Influential stalwarts.
Coronation rather than people choice will be very dangerous to our body politics, which can also lead to a retrogressive culture.
It will destroy the whole political system in Nigeria, if care is not taken, if you put a candidate of your choice through illegal means against the wishes of members of the party, you are digging a grave for the party but if you allow the party members to vote their candidates, you are putting the party to the winning path.
The electoral system of democracy into which Nigeria has been practising is often characterized by thuggery, gun touting, gun shooting, rigging, ballot box snatching, Intimidation, vote – buying and now coronation rather than people choice, another culture.
Now, the new order in our democracy emerged through the current political actors of the 21st century and coronation rather than people choice is like a cancer that has grown to an advanced stage that defies every medicine till date and will destroy the entire democratic process if care is not taken as much as possible.
It is deeply saddening and disappointing that Nigeria is not a small country, the largest and most prestigious country in Africa, which parades itself as destination for African political pilgrimage.
The ugly monster reared its head in Zamfara State where All Progressive Congress (A P C) primaries were characterised by greed and power mongers, this should not be extended to other parts of the country. Extra care must be taken by all political parties this time around. The then primaries of A P C in the last 2019 general election are also an indication that coronation rather than people choice is the main political electoral disease in Nigeria.
The Nigerian political parties must ensure that internal democracy within their parties is followed by allowing each member to exercise their franchise to aspire in any position they want to contest in order to avoid legal entanglement, which is one of the ugly monster that has plagued the country’s electoral fortunes. The problem led to 639 post_primaries court cases in the 2019 general election.
The supremacy of the political parties must be uphold because some political godfathers see it as their estate properties. There is need for stronger parties than its component members, regardless of status. If the parties have supremacy, we will never witness cases of coronation in our primaries. If parties are respectable institutions, people will love to belong and contest positions in any of them.
Discipline is another way forward towards tackling coronation in Political parties, when there is discipline all members of the parties will obey the rules and regulations irrespective of status, wealth and background.
Another solution against coronation is to allow a provision for Independent candidate in the electoral amendment bill.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (I N E C) should effectively supervise the conduct of party primaries and any party that flouted this system should be blacklisted.
My advice to all political parties in Nigeria and politicians is that they should thread with caution to nurture Nigeria’s democratic journey into paradise. For now, we are still many miles away from attaining the height envisaged by the country’s foremost nationalists. Nigerians must now act wisely and be courageous to correct this political deadly disease.
