While the All Progressives Congress (APC) battles the toga of a party allegedly castrated by the erosion of internal democracy, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has sadly added its own chapter after its primaries, marred by name-calling and recriminations. The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has now reinforced the growing perception that, beneath different banners and lofty rhetoric, many political parties share the same political DNA when it comes to the practice of internal democracy.
Not a few Nigerians thought the NDC would come to equity with clean hands on this matter. But its recently concluded primaries leave many concurring that indeed, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
With a seemingly enviable antecedent on the floor of the Red Chamber and a firm stance on national issues, Seriake Dickson, a chief protagonist and pilot of the NDC, cuts the figure of a believable fellow, reputed to do the right thing even under pressure. Yet, the outcomes of the NDC’s primaries so far point south.
Indeed, the NDC has gone through the baptism of fire as disgruntled aspirants drag the party’s leadership all over the place over allegations of manipulation, high-handedness, unfair dealings, imposition, and the like. A good case in point is the activist-turned-politician, Aisha Yesufu, who saw the inner rot of party politics. The clear lessons from the shenanigans of the NDC’s primaries is that: all political parties in this country share a common ancestry, and that sloganeering does not alter their DNA in any form.
