If the present actors in Nigeria’s political system were operating the same time the late Afro beat music maestro, Fela Amkulapo Kuti was active, they would have made the radical singer a proud man.
The reason is that the actions of the politicians are in response to one famous song Fela sang several years ago.
Irrespective of the popular definition of Democracy according to a US politician, Abraham Lincoln. Democracy is “government of the people, by the people, and for the people, Fela thought otherwise in 1986 when he described democracy as “Demonstration of craze” That school of thought about Democracy is encapsulated in the song titled “Demonstration of craze” and it goes this way “…… demo-crazy, crazy demo, Demonstration of craze, crazy, demonstration, why for Afrika? As time dey go, thinks just dey bad. Dey bad more and more, poor man dey cry, Rich man dey Mess. Demo crazy, crazy demo, demonstration of craze…”
Prevalent political exercises in Nigeria at Africa within the period Fela sang this music may have influenced him to brand Democracy as “demonstration of craze”. But Fela’s unassuming posture may have manifested again if current trend in the political hemisphere of the state is anything to go by.
Political development at the local scene indicate that there is no disparity between the model of democracy we claim to be practicing and the outstanding lyrics the legendary Fela captured in one of his songs that they are nothing but birds of the same feather as it would difficult spotting a thin line demarcating the actors.
Regrettably, the tenets of democracy being upheld in other climes where democracy are practiced are alien to us. To Nigerians, that brand of democracy for the people is an anathema, because they are callously and deliberately suppressed by the forces of darkness by our politicians.
A cursory look at what is happening in major parties in Imo at the moment tells the story of the practice of Fela’s “Demonstration of craze” instead of democracy.
As activities for 2015 election gathers momentum, Imo state is not left out. The stakeholders are also involved in the grudgy war of attrition to gain political power.
All the major political parties existing in the state are enmeshed in one form of controversy or the other. While that of APC can be said to be limited, APGA and PDP in Imo are in turmoil waiting for the timed explosion.
After the fun-fare and razzmatazz that greeted the collection of forms and expression of interest by aspirants to contest for various elective positions another stage in the struggle has brought the “Animal in human skin “aspect in some politicians.
In one of his songs “Beast of no nation, Fela made references to animals in human skin. Talking about human beings in suit and agbada but animals in action.
Fela’s Yabis as his songs are referred to are not for fun if ongoing subtle political machinations of some stakeholders in APGA, APC, and PDP are seriously viewed.
At the moment, there is crisis of confidence in the state arm of APGA. The frosty relationship among members began when a group within the party’s fold signed a controversial resolution to purportedly adopt a particular candidate, Capt Emma Ihenacho. Peeved by the action, a rival group suspected to be those of Okey Eze opened fierce tackle against the action and the centre cannot hold again. The aggrieved Okey Eze faction has been accusing the Ihenacho group of employing undemocratic means to achieve victory for the party’s only governorship ticket.
The grouse of the Okey Ezeh group is that since there are no directives to any state chapter, especially Imo state, to apply consensus method in choosing governorship candidate, the purported action was an ambush to thwart laid down procedures in democratic setting. To the Okey group, it was an aberration and another shining example of the infamous “demonstration of craze”.
The fierce battle in APGA can be said to be a minor show piece compared to the skirmishes in Imo PDP. At present, party members especially the aspirants are at logger heads over the outcome of the Nov 1, 2014 ward congresses to elect the three-man ad-hoc delegates in each of 305 wards in the various centres beginning from the state party secretariat on Okigwe Road, Owerri was a mini warfront with stalwarts employing several tactics to outwit their rivals. In an apparent bid to evade a free and fair contest that would have ensured a rancor free exercise, the political playmakers indulged in unorthodox practices that ridiculed the exercise.
I was part of the system and could not help but appreciate the “demonstration of craze”. I will use the ward I took part in as a clinical example of exhibitions of these “animals in human skin. This particular ward in Ohaji/Egbema LGA called Umuagwo had a peculiar arrangement to observe a stress free ward congress.
I was reliably informed that the ward chairman and members of the party in the ward had mapped out strategies for the exercise by way of harmonization which is allowed in the party’s constitution. To this end, it was unanimously agreed that the three delegates forms for the ward will be procured and distributed by the ward chairman in agreement with the executive members at the ward level. The three forms will now be made available to the three persons found worthy under the harmonization agenda.
Meetings for the procedure were organized and modalities agreed that a particular area should produce two men while another gets a female.
Incidentally, some persons in the ward with another plot different from the party arrangement connived with some aspirants from different areas to obtain and fill the delegates forms without the knowledge of party leadership at the ward level.
Some of them, who it is not necessary to mention their names not only collected and filled three forms for different aspirants but also included the names of their mistresses.
Instead of three, the ward had 11 forms submitted at the party secretariat as eligible contestants for the three-man ward delegate election.
However, on the eve of the election, another crucial meeting was held to ratify the position of the ward before the congress expected to be a mere formality.
To the chagrin of ward members, it was discovered that some members discarded the earlier mutual agreement for harmonization, to pick form outside the knowledge of the party members. Though, some of the culprits had no tangible reason to offer than greed and avarice, the party agreed to adopt only those who conformed to the mutual agreement but gave a proviso that allows for contest for anybody unwilling to be part of the consensus arrangement.
At the venue of the congress, only the three adopted delegates appeared for election while the remaining failed to show up. The INEC officials and two officials of the party from the state headquarters conducted the exercise promptly covered with motion pictures. The option A4 process was adopted and party members queued behind their favourite choices.
On the day of election, a tinge of drama ensued when one of the estranged aspirants for the delegates’ position (names withheld) attempted to scuttle the arrangements put in place for a smooth exercise. The fellow, a former House of Assembly member during the NRC and SDP day renegades attempted to hijack the process by asking the party chairman to race to his private home for purposes of adopting him and his cronies who never cared to respect the wish of the party and never attempted to present themselves at the congress venue.
The concern of the bugaboo who just rejoined the party form defunct ACN was to execute his selfish agenda.
After the ratification of the exercise and all materials including the video coverage submitted to state party secretariat, the said person who alongside some suspects authored an offensive publication and went further to mastermind another ill conceived protest at the party office.
What the protesting group failed to fell the public is that their evil machinations and persistent insalubrious actions outlined for the congress was unsuccessful. These anti party masqueraders also forgot to inform their sympathizers that they had an agenda borne of out of mischief having prepared fake delegate lists for purposes of submitting it to the Delegates Congress Committee for recognition. The failure of this plot gave rise to their incessant irascible disposition.
