Nigeria, to the best of my knowledge is practising multiparty system.  A multiparty system allows for a situation where many political parties are allowed to operate and contest for positions in an election be it at the Local, State or Federal level. 

But with the state of things, it is like politicians cross-carpet and move to the ruling party where they think they can make their presence felt and have a share in the national cake. Politicians are political prostitutes who lack integrity in governance of the people.  I will not believe that these politicians are moving to the ruling party because they want to serve the people.  It is for selfish reasons that they decide to cross-carpet.   There are strong indications of political forces in the country tilting towards joining the ruling political party which is and could engender fears of pushing the country towards a one-party state.  When there is no opposition, it means that only a handful of the existing political parties can muster opposition to the policies of the ruling party. During the period when Tinubu was the governor of Lagos (who is now the president), he warned at that time against allowing the country to drift into a one-party state. Parties serve as the singular most important arena, avenue and medium for political participation everywhere in the world. Thus, political participation must be channelled through the parties to access power and be part of government.

If Nigerian politicians understand the meaning of political party and not blinded by avarice, they would perhaps behave differently. In the light of the foregoing, three major points need to be watched against sliding towards a single party state, namely, the multi-ethnic nature of the Nigerian state, the nature of liberal democracy, and the beauty of opposition in a polity.

The reasons for cross-carpeting by politicians may not be far-fetched.   One may guess that the targeted converts are simply told that they either join the ruling party or be a shareholder in the party that is set to win general elections, no matter the situation, or lose out. And the target may also be reminded that when he or she loses out, his or her ‘sins’ will not be forgiven. And as we all know, many top political office holders are actually ‘sinners’.  Thus, the desire to be part of a clique that will determine the fate of Nigeria whether the votes go their way or not and the need to get forgiveness of their ‘sins’ are the motivating factors for the defection into a non-performing and divided ruling party. These are perhaps the only reasonable deductions one can make from the defections at this time.

However, the defections are also the stuff with which a one-party system is made. Though the one-party system is almost the same thing as a dictatorship or at least, it creates a breeding ground for dictatorship to thrive, there are societies where a one-party system or lack of western democracy has also allowed development to thrive. Today, Rwanda is doing very well. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other oil-rich Arab countries do not have democratic governments. Yet, there is genuine development and real improvement in the standard of living of the people. Even, the socio-economic transformation that has been recorded in South-East Asia took place under undemocratic regimes. However, the experience that Nigerians have had under the all ruling parties shows that things can only get worse under the control of the Party. Whether the ruling party becomes the only registered party in Nigeria or the behemoth with the ability to swallow or overwhelm all the opposition parties or not, there is no indication or assurance that its performance in office will improve or it will be ready to fulfil its promises to the people in the areas of security, economy or fight against corruption.

That is why Nigerians need to be on the watch out. We must not abandon the political space and allow the ruling party to wipe off the other opposition parties. Rather, Nigerians should be ready to empower different opposition platforms and ensure that we create viable alternatives to the ruling party. We should not allow anybody to deny us the right to make choices and punish ruling political parties whose members have demonstrated incompetence and inefficiency while holding the lever of power. Any attempt to impose a one-party system or a replica of it in our polity will exacerbate the crises that daily confront us. Such a move must be resisted.

In general elections, people must be elected into offices in free, fair, and credible polls based on their competence, capacity, experience, and ability to deliver on their promises.

The ethnic and linguistic diversity of Nigeria is legendary. Correspondingly, they exude cultural differences and manifest diverse visions of societal development.  To undermine these diversities through some hegemonic design, whether using a single party system, or dominance of strategic national institutions, is to kill the national spirit and sound the death knell of the Nigerian state because the dynamics of diversity would, for sure, manifest in separatist impulses. 

Apart from that, the country loses the benefit of an alternative vision of societal development. The liberal democracy that the Nigerian elite chose since inception would be completely undermined by a drift into one party state.  Liberal democracy thrives in freedom of association and of free expression, anything less, is a barefaced authoritarian edifice.

Opposition or dissent is important in a democracy.  It has the inherent advantage of thwarting authoritarian temptation and it enriches the national vision by constructive criticism of the power that be. The key trait of liberal democracy is the existence of multi-parties with diverse beliefs and ideologies, and are a healthy phenomenon for the polity. It is in the overall national interest to avoid a single party system in Nigeria.  If the African experience is any lesson for us, it is that such a development is the quickest road to authoritarianism and it must be avoided.

God Bless Nigeria!!!