Eze Says Plot To Stealthily Foist One Party System On Nigeria An Invitation To Anarchy, Urges Support For Atiku

Former National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New People’s Democratic Party (nPDP) and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, says it is politically unrighteous that while other climes are making frantic efforts to strengthen democracy and democratic institutions within their bounds, some elements in the seat of power under the APC administration are hatching and stealthily advancing the idea of foisting a one-party system on Nigeria.

Responding to comments attributed to APC National Chair Umar Ganduje, the former Kano Governor was quoted as saying “…We work day and night to visualise Kano as a one-party state.” If Kano becomes a one-party state, we will be able to make decisions for Nigeria and its leaders. This will benefit the state as well as the party. Leave the NNPP and join the APC instead. All other parties should join the APC to make Kano a one-party state. Kano will benefit from the federal government’s plans to build gas pipelines, railways and road networks from Abuja through Kaduna to Kano. The password would be to dump other parties and merge into the APC.” Chief Eze stated that Nigerians must rise, unite, and save the country from collapsing into the abyss, which is where it is currently headed under the current administration.

In a statement released to the media, the APC Chief stated that if the plot to destabilise one political party in Nigeria succeeds, the country may lose all remaining sovereignty because the scheme would mark the formal collapse of democracy.

Eze referred Ganduje and his followers to Sun Yat-sen’s words, which stated, “Remember that a civilised nation cannot simply have one party; if there were only one party, this would be a dictatorship.” Politics could not advance,” and advised them to leave legacies that would instill positive memories of them in men’s hearts after they left public office.

He stated that it is unfortunate that Nigeria has degenerated to the point where those in positions of power want to stay there for as long as possible, regardless of the consequences for the general welfare of those they govern.

Ganduje is not the first person of his calibre to express such imperial sentiments. Sixteen years ago, the late Chief Vincent Ogbulafor, then-National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), boasted that his party would maintain national power for sixty years.

“It was the stand of the likes of Ogbulafor that forced some of us patriotic Nigerians to meet and exile the PDP from governance, and, unfortunately, the party that we worked so hard to install is breeding a similar mentality.”

Such a move, according to Eze, will be unfair to those who risked their lives to install the APC in the hope of providing Nigeria and Nigerians with not only a proper progressive political party but also a party capable of rescuing the country from the challenges of poverty and security.

The fact remains that any sound and patriotic Nigerian can easily agree with Prof Vince Cable, who understood our situation in Nigeria and counselled,
“And humility in politics means accepting that one party does not have all the answers; acknowledging that collaboration is progress, not treachery.”

Eze quoted ThisDay Newspaper which explicitly explained the Nigerian situation, “the designers of the Nigerian constitution considered the nation’s political journey and its complexities before arriving at the multi-party option. Unfortunately, the various parties have failed to fulfill the core of their statutory obligations. However, taking the quickest path to a dictatorship of one or a few lords (s) would be more disastrous.

Nigeria has not come this far in its turbulent political history to experiment with any system that suppresses opposing viewpoints. A culture that involves only one strong or sole party that runs the government can be expected to churn out unilateral decisions that, in many cases, are detrimental to the freedoms and potential progress fought for by our heroes since pre-colonial times.”

As a way out, Atiku Abubakar, the former Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in his usual character as a fighter who stood by us to install APC in Nigeria, is now ready to unite other opposition political parties to checkmate APC for her to offer Nigeria and Nigerians the best dividends of democracy.

Atiku stated, “Nigeria requires a strong opposition to prevent the All Progressives Congress (APC) from “turning” the country into a one-party state.”

Speaking to a delegation from the national executive committee of the Inter-Party Advisory Council Nigeria (IPAC) on Tuesday, Abubakar stated that if there is no viable opposition, the country’s hard-won democracy will suffer.

“You have come here today to say that we should cooperate to promote democracy.”
“But the truth is that our democracy is rapidly becoming a one-party system, and as you know, when we have a one-party system, we should simply abandon democracy.

“We have all witnessed how the APC is gradually transforming Nigeria into a one-party dictatorship.

“If we do not band together to challenge what the ruling party is attempting to create, our democracy will suffer, and the consequences will affect future generations.

“The project of defending democracy in our country is not about a single individual.”

All of these plots to oust political leaders and decimate opposition political parties are not ideal or the best way to sustain our fledgling democracy. Dr. Bill Owens wholeheartedly agreed with this when he stated, “While one party may possess the levers of power, one party does not possess a monopoly on good ideas. After all, good lawmaking is about being able to create effective solutions.

“It is in this regard that I, as a patriotic Nigerian and a nationalist in that matter, hereby urge all Nigerians, regardless of our political differences, to support this idea of proposing alternatives to most of our policies, repositioning opposition political parties, saving our country, and strengthening our democracy.”