By Bello Shehu Shuni, Sokoto.
Politics, as defined,is a game of interest, ideology and number. But in Nigeria, most politicians lack ideology in politics.
Lack of ideology is a retrogressive culture in the Nigerian body politics from all the tiers of government in the contemporary present day politics.
The political parties are not built on real people oriented Ideology and principle, while few are built on multi – dimensional, multi -faceted and multi -partied – platform glued together with the sole purpose to capture and recapture power. Most of the political parties exist in names but not in the art of building and sustaining a virile society.
The parties are registered as a briefcase entity,purposely for political asylum for those who cannot afford ticket of the two leading parties, the All Peoples Congress, APC, and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Most Nigerian politicians share similarities like butterfly, they want to taste all the flowers available on the political ground, because they have no political Ideology in their minds. They move like winds and run to wherever the wind blows. When you talk of integrity, there is no politics of integrity in this era of Nigeria’s political dispensation.
Majority of the politicians go to the direction where the wind blows, to see what they can get for themselves and families, which is very unfortunate.
Experience show that some Nigerian politicians are gifted in the art of jumping from one political party to another for their selfish interest and what will favour them. What more,even the supporters are easily swayed without questioning their leaders because in Nigerian context, a society where the voting majority live with slavery mentality of godfatherism will always thrive.
This culture, no doubt, is annoyingly funny with its master-slave mentality.
My candid advice to the supporters of political parties is to put in their minds that, most politicians migrate from one party to another purposely for their selfish interest in search of electoral fortunes
Many of them accomplish their electoral desire or for physical developments such as provision of water, health care, education and other infrastructure that would be of benefit to the people.
As the 2023 general elections fast approach, there is need for mass awareness programmes, by relevant authorities such as the National Orientation Agency and the likes,to educate the citizens on performing their civic responsibility with clear conscience and patriotism.
Above all,the electorate need to elect leaders they can vouch for and with good track records of service, no more and no less.