The main function of political
parties is interest aggregation, by which the political demands of individuals
and groups are combined into policy programmes.
In many countries, parties are the primary structures for interest aggregation.
Through the aggregation of interest, political parties in more than one way,
unite, simplify and stabilize the political process of the country.
Political parties are also
supposed to be quasi-public institutions and that is what PDP represents. The
APC on the other hand, is a private organization, as it is subject to the whims
and caprices of individual leaders. This has rendered APC to be
organizationally weak, divided and with limited autonomy, especially with
respect to rules controlling the nomination of candidates. Its policies and
programmers are often undermined by its leaders, creating distrust and
confusion within its ranks.
Citizens can influence interest
aggregation and policymaking through their role in selecting leaders within the
party. Shifts in citizens support can bring to power, new coalitions committed
to new politics. That is exactly what has happened with PDP. It must have
learnt strong lessons from its failure at the last presidential elections. This
is indicated in its democratic approaches since the judgment of the supreme
court and the last Saturday’s, non-elective convention.
Stabilization of the political
and social process is one critical role that PDP played over the sixteen years
it held political power at the national level. The party was in power for 16
years and succeeded in keeping Nigeria united, without hate speeches and call
for dismemberment of the country.
Unfortunately, APC has found it
difficult to stabilize the polity, because its power base is hinged on
individuals. In all sincerity, the level of hatred in the country today along
the lines of tribes and religion, is unimaginable. This is because, the party
in power has failed in playing its aggregative role. In over two years in
power, APC has found it difficult to accommodate the interest of Nigerians
across the various divides.
Nigerians should earnestly begin
to have a serious re-think about the PDP. President Jonathan may have made some
mistakes in governance but the basic strength of the party in aggregating the
various interests across the country and providing political stability should
not be undervalued.
Nigerians as a people cannot
discountenance the cohesion that the PDP brings to the polity. The current
discordant tones along religious and ethnic lines may snowball into a cataclysm
that none of us or our institutions will be able to control. There are too many
cases across the globe, especially within Africa that started along the same
line that Nigeria is now threading. PDP is the party, which can be trusted to
restore sanity, love, understanding and a sense of equity in our country. Let’s
trust the party.
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