By Theo Adebowale

Developed countries generally are identified, among other things, by their economic models, and the political beliefs they espouse. In the days of the cold war, there was capitalism, there was socialism. Western Europe and Eastern Europe were popularly pigeon holed into the economic models of the left and the right. The United States of America is acknowledged as the headquarters of capitalism. As for political belief, the United States prides itself as champion of democracy and the rule of law. An average American learns from the cradle to oppose and prevent socialism to promote and project free market. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republic was epicenter of Marxist socialism. It was widely criticized for abridging the rights of its citizens.
United Kingdom, France, Italy are part of Western democracies while China, Czechoslovakia, Poland were in the left, socialist. Some African countries like Kenya, Zambia, Ghana, and Guinea tried to toy with the socialist ideology with no success. Idi Amin of Uganda attempted to mouth socialism. In Nigeria the socialist ideology was a toy in the academic community. Bade Onimode, Ola Oni, Lai Olorode, Dara and Akinsola Akiwowo in the South, Bala Usman and others in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Claude Ake in Uniport were in the vanguard of socialists over here. Chief S.L. Akintola in his campaign against the Action Group had warned voters against voting its candidates because they could introduce socialism which would mean a polygamist forfeiting the rest and being allowed only one wife.
According to him in the event of AG adopting socialism, those that had many property items like houses, cars, would be made to forfeit the rest to the state and allowed ownership of just one of each of the items. That was how the ideology was discredited in Yorubaland but the party promoted social democracy in which the state would provide free education, health services, full employment and better pay for workers. For the economy, the state would provide a safe and enabling environment to undertake business. It promised life more abundant. On ideological ground, S L. Akintola disagreed with his former party on the ground that he did not subscribe to socialism.
The Northern People’s Congress, as the name suggested, aimed at promoting Northern interest in the larger Nigerian political system. The other parties including National Council of Nigerian Citizens were influenced by the platform of the Action Group which many Western scholars described as the best organised party in Africa!
Ideology is the framework of action for a political party. Its constitution is the description of relationships and arrangement of offices constituting the hierarchy by which the party operates. In 1979, the Unity Party of Nigeria summarized its platform as the four Cardinal Programmes. It is good to have it in a booklet detailing the proposed actions, but the electorate would be better placed if they can have the summary. Those who constitute the present administration must face the political audit panel and be asked: what did APC set out to do in Ondo State? What roles were you supposed to play in the circumstance? How far did you play your role? The chief executive officer must answer the questions. His lieutenants must be made to answer.
Even those that are jumping ship including the Deputy Governor, Secretary to State Government and those remaining must be called to account. The governor refuted an allegation that his government awarded contracts to his inlaws, even though there is no crime if he did, we want to know contracts that were awarded, who the contractors were, what were the costs, and their performances? Again, those aspiring to office and the incumbent must be interrogated and eventually made to enter into a contract. When an aspirant, and later, a candidate come around we must grill them and ask them for what they have for our communities. The electorate in the Southern Senatorial District must find out from the incumbent what he has delivered, what is in the offing, what challenges he faces, and how he plans to overcome and surmount them that they may be better rewarded for their votes. Those aspiring to replace the incumbent must be interacted with to determine how much they understand the need of the people, how they intend to generate necessary funds to finance the projects. Government officials are expected to instruct their unions including the Nigerian Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, Academic Staff Union of Universities and the like to assess their knowledge of their plights and how they would be addressed. It should also serve as a forum for the different associations and groups to educate candidates for political office so they can prepare with understanding.
In the long term, this approach would make aspirants to political office to be better informed. It also provides for the contestant and the voter a basis for performance assessment. More durably we would be able to treat the party as an institution, not a disposable outfit to use for election and dump after. Political parties can then be made to be up and doing and maintain a bureaucracy with paid officials that can make a career within.
Institutionalizing the political party is a necessary task to curb excesses and indiscipline of politicians. Those that have mastered the art of partisan politics should be entrusted with the tasks of mobilization, recruitment, socialisation and management of the organisation. The organisation of the political party at the moment is so weak and feeble that governors believe that it enhances their supremacy. Unknown to them, the inherent feebleness of the party takes toll on them making them vulnerable.
The loopholes they encourage in matters of parties turn out to be their Waterloo. Edo State Governor, Obaseki migrated to People’s Democratic Party to seek the gubernatorial ticket, while in Ondo Agboola Ajayi has transited to the PDP as well searching for the ticket because the arrangement deliberately provides for a porous passage. When the ideological gate keeping mechanism is put in place, the party would assume administrative responsibility for discipline and candidate sponsorship. Resolution of disputes between members including those holding executive political offices at the local, state and national levels would become the duty of the political party. The governors and parliamentarians would be compelled to defer to party supremacy, and promote internal democracy. Every member would subject him/herself to scrutiny and the probability of sponsoring misfits for public offices would be drastically reduced. Serial defection does incalculable damage to parties and government, and so it must be curbed. It undermines the personality of the Nigerian politician parading him as selfish and self-seeking, greedy and undisciplined.
But the system would remain helpless for as long as it takes to reform the party system. First, the ultimate is to have a two-party system by statute. Secondly there should be a crop of party officials on career employment. To have a functional party system would make democracy less expensive and decongest the logjam often associated with the election period. Thirdly they should produce a system of rules and regulations to guide the conduct of members and officials. Party discipline would do the Nigerian political system a world of good if current beneficiaries of party indiscipline can sacrifice their bloated ego and make the party strong.
Party members should be sensitized for popular participation, they must contribute ideas and resources to run the party. Members should take responsibility and stop being used as pawn in the hands of unscrupulous elements. Those that acquire membership must utilize it to enrich the organisation, to ensure it is a machinery to make society a better place and ensure that representatives have a clear mandate to improve quality of life and ensure prosperity. We cannot afford to have politicians dissipate national resources on personal unprofitable ventures any more. As such, political parties should publicize their political beliefs and express the complimenting economic models as their preferred alternatives and on the basis of which we can assess their performance. They must intelligibly demonstrate the workability of the models, present and justify them as catectism.