In 1999, it was good radiance, as Nigerians bade the military a farewell – after decades of despoliation of the civil society and its psyche. We were once again ushered into a new democratic dispensation – after such inglorious military dictatorial regimes, that non-military regime apologists now identify as responsible for the prevailing stunted socio-economic growth, and, by extension, absence of an identifiable robust political culture.
Suffice it to say that one would have expected inheritors of our budding democracy to work towards entrenching a viable political culture where discipline, integrity, commitment, respect for rules, gentleman disposition and other such virtues hold sway. It should be of concern – for true lovers of democracy – that for more than a decade of democratic governance, our party system is still characterised by impunity, godfatherism, imposition, internal disputation, turn-coating (now referred to as ‘jumpology politics).
Admittedly, politics is all about conflict, and its resolution. But constant crisis within political parties do not augur well for the entire nation. When such becomes the norm, it could be transferred to the larger polity. It assumes a worrisome dimension if the party in question is saddled with governance. This could thwart national cohesion, understanding and unity.
Every human endeavour has its own peculiar culture, that is, ways and means by which its relationship and interaction with its members, stakeholders and stake-seekers are carried out for the sole purpose of advancing its cause, which, if sustaining enough, could be bequeathed to a successor generation – as a blueprint or guide. Through this, the entity comes to be known and identified.
This sets it apart from a crowd of similar associations, defines its structure, roles, functions, modus vivendi and other veritable essentialities.
A political party, being the coming together of, supposedly, like minded fellows, must of necessity be known for a particular cause – one it won’t trade for anything under the sun, by whatever name called: ideology, belief, principles, doctrine and so on.
The nexus binding a political party, members, electorate and society is so complex and complicated, such that no association worth the name would want to be seen as engaging in lily-livered disposition to such crucial roles as campaign, participation, ideology and policy linkages. Which determines where the association is headed, and distinguishes it from its peers in the political firmament. It is often said that a person who stands for nothing is bound to fall for anything. And, a rolling stone, we all know, gathers no moss.
Politicking, being a serious business, its landscape should not be peopled by fair-weather fellows, as could make or mar the expectation and aspiration of present and future generations.
It is, indeed, not an easy task. It involves the survival of society and its people, and as such should not be treated with kid gloves. Its practitioners must be mentally alert, emotionally and psychologically stable, self-detached and prepared to make needed sacrifice to enable the party remain in contention, by building a forthright party driven by justice, fair play, equity, and most importantly, an abiding and perceptible cause, which members must subscribe to in or out of season.
The culture of civility, discipline, uprightness, obedience to extant rules, spirit of altruistic service to the people, delayed gratification and faith in the electoral process are still far-flung issues. Political parties and politicians see nothing wrong in their inability to sustain a modicum of cohesion in the internal engineering of the latter’s affairs.
They tend to forget that, as agents of interests aggregation and balancing of demands and conflict resolution, they are to bring about a near equilibrium to centrifugal and centripetal forces, which scarce resource allocation would, from time to time, throw up. In other words, this does not call for feeblemindedness, weak character, nepotism and favouritism among political party managers and administrators. As such, wishy washy dispositions are antithetical to verifiable democratic political culture.
The present government, in its bid to bring sanity and a sparkle of civility to our body politic, deemed it expedient to create an ethics and values unit in the Presidency.
The aftermath of the 2011 presidential election cataclysm must have informed the setting up of such unit. Just to drive home the need for every Tom, Dick and Harry to cultivate and appreciate the place of culture, ethics, values, norms and mores in our day-to-day transactions, especially among our thought leaders.
Those subscribing to the nebulous idea, that there is no morality in politics, are inadvertently saying that politicking and any other societal endeavour for that matter should be predicated on fantasy of mighty men/women, are alluding to the credo of a drowning society – an open relapse to the Hobbesian State of Nature.
• Emeka, a public affairs commentator, wrote in from Abuja.