Nigeria’s democracy is quite speedily evolving, especially with the relative peaceful and transparent conduct of the 2015 elections which resulted to the humiliation of the arrogant and contemptuous Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The PDP which prided itself as the largest party in Africa had provocatively deluded itself that it shall be in power for 60 years even when it was obvious that it had long lost focus and largely disconnected from the Nigerian people, having been generally perceived as corrupt and inept.

However, the most critical factors that worked against the erstwhile ruling party   outside the armpit of corruption, insecurity and economic mis-direction are   impunity and flamboyant disregard for internal democracy which peaked with President Goodluck Jonathan’s endorsement of the Jonah Jang led-16 member Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF over the 19 members led by Chibuike Amaechi. That was the height of PDP’s impunity. It was this same impunity that led to seven serving governors walking out of the party’s mini-convention in Abuja and the eventual evolution of the New PDP. The rest is history.

While the PDP revelled in   impunity, arrogance, corruption and insecurity, leaders and members of the All Progressive Congress, APC, toiled and laboured for the party to become the choice of Nigerians. And thankfully at the end of the election, that aspiration, which in a way represented the aspiration of Nigerians for a better Nigeria, became fulfilled with the overwhelming success the APC recorded in all the elections between March and April 2015. The outcome of that election remains a watershed in the political history of Nigeria and has become a veritable reference point not only for our compatriots on the African continent, but also our friends and supporters on the global stage.

And that is why as a critical observer, one would not want that epochal victory to be rubbished so soon by the emerging scenario in the politics of determining the next choice of leadership in the National Assembly which the goddess of politics has placed on the laps of the APC. Without mincing words, the emerging scenario is troubling and one sees in it a dimension that threatens to negate the core principles that had so endeared APC to the generality of Nigerians.

No doubt, as an individual, one has   complete confidence in the ability of the party’s leadership to swim through this turbulent tide, just as it swam against the ocean of expectations that it would disintegrate before the presidential primaries or before the general elections. Be   that as it may, it is pertinent to ask APC leaders to look more dispassionately at the ongoing game of intrigues playing out in the leadership tussle for the leadership of the Eight National Assembly.   Here we have candidates forming alliances outside the party and the floor of the assembly; how the APC leadership allows these alliances. How can something not healthy for our democracy determine how the party is prepared for the challenges ahead?   By the best international practice, the party leadership is expected to make suggestions on whom it expects should get the slot. But at the end of the day, the eventual choice should be determined by the lawmakers themselves who have rules and regulations guiding their activities and who, upon entering the hallowed chamber of the assembly, cease to be members of any political party but representatives of the voices and aspirations of the larger Nigerian political landscape.

The future of Nigeria, the future of our democracy and the future of the party Nigerians so much love, I dare say, depends on how much of this independence the party lawmakers are allowed to exercise. The party can no longer hide behind a finger that it is oblivious of desperation by some of its perceived leaders to foist their anointed candidates against the wishes of others. This emerging scenero threatens the very foundation of the APC.

Glad enough, President Muhammadu Buhari, who himself emerged through a transparent process of internal democracy of the party, has unequivocally distanced himself from insinuation of preference for a particular candidate. But more than standing aloof, the President must put down his feet down that the right thing should be done and seen to be done. This is one way to assure Nigerians that it is no longer business as usual so that he would not be guilty of conspiracy of silence.

Therefore, to now suddenly introduce some new criteria, as we are being made to understand, is a great threat to the President’s integrity which was a major factor of success, rather than the party’s. When it was decided that the presidential ticket should go to the North, the leadership of the party, even if they had preference for a particular candidate, did not show it and did not introduce conditions that would have disqualified any of the eligible aspirants then. Thus, they   all filed to the primary election stage where all aspirants from the North, and even from other zones, were allowed to campaign and at the end of the day, the most preferred candidate, now Nigeria’s President, Buhari, emerged to the applause of other contestants and the joy of all Nigerians.

It was the failure to follow this path of honour and transparency that nailed the PDP. The APC campaign was against impunity and imposition, whereas the practice in PDP was to impose and teleguide the members. Nigerians saw the clear difference and stood behind APC in a manner unprecedented in the political history of Nigeria.   The question now is, should a party that has enjoyed such loyalty now do less than this in the current instance of electing the next level of leadership? As I argued earlier, it will be suicidal to now follow the pattern of the PDP which the APC had so much condemned and vilified to the point of routing it out of power.

For instance, Nigerians are already asking how come they want to introduce new rules in the middle of a competition, when they are not PDP.   Are rules not set out before the start of a game? And in this instance, are there no rules within the Assembly norms to determine how this particular game is played out? Must this party allow the desire of some of its   self- acclaimed leaders to soil the image and acceptance of a party they laboured to build in the eyes of the Nigerian public?

These purported conditions would have been more apt if they were applied to those who are already in office; to wit that any of the party’s members who is accused of a crime should first step down from that office and allow for investigation to either clear or convict him before deciding what to do again. That is the international practice.

May we tell the APC that we voted for them to get power and we are watching how they are using that power? APC lawmakers are too important to be toyed with. The process leading to emergence of the leadership of the 8th National Assembly will definately determine how long the APC will remain standing.

If they fail to handle this matter with the impartiality it deserves and which has been their mantra as a party, then it may drown their reputation and cause the party to lose the political capital it has only started to employ for the wellbeing of Nigerians. It will be hard to convince us to forgive such a grave error traceable to the unbridled desires of some people within the party.

But pray it doesn’t come to that point, yet one dare say that the only path to avoid the errors of the PDP and misfortune of the former ruling party is to steer clear of impunity and imposition in whatever guise. APC lawmakers are too important to be toyed with. The process leading to emergence of the leadership of the 8th National Assembly will definately determine the years APC will remain standing.

Mr Idowu Aremu, a political analyst, wrote from Ibadan