By Sunny Ikhioya

OUR leaders have failed us. It is clear that our politics is that of bread and butter politics, that is politics of the stomach. No one is left out; the one that is good is tainted by very bad ones. When you have one good apple mixed with nine bad apples, the result is ten rotten apples. The revelations from the Dasuki investigations are galling and nauseating. It is a surprise that the country is still standing despite the activities of carpetbaggers we have as leaders and politicians.

And, to think that the revelations so far concerns only a small part of the whole. By the time this investigation is extended to the different state governors and political parties, there will be an implosion in the land. Has anyone wondered how the different state governors spend their security votes despite their inability to pay workers’ salaries? Has any wondered the cost of keeping our various Houses of Assembly quiet, while the governors have a field day with the till? The Dasukigate revelations are really mind boggling,one only hopes that President Muhammadu Buhari will stick tenaciously to his decision to bring culprits to book, but, it must be done within the the confines of the rule of law and justice.

File: Former national security adviser of ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, Sambo Dasuki (R), speaks with his lawyer Ahmed Raji, during his trial at the federal high court in Abuja, on September 1, 2015. 

When there is proof of evidence, there is no need for any hubris display; justice will naturally follow its course. It does not matter the contributions anyone has made towards bringing Buhari to power, the most important thing here is the survival of the nation. That is why the news of the arrest of an APC big wig is good news. President Barak Obama of the US ran his campaign with contributions from people that cut across diverse classes; the poor, rich and the not so rich, and no one is blackmailing him for their contributions to his victory.

Buhari by his action has demonstrated his will to see the corruption fight to fruition but we all know that it is not an easy task in a country like Nigeria. That is why Professor Wole Soyinka has warned that corruption will fight back, that is why the President should begin weeding out the bad eggs from inside his party, the APC and the remnants in government. You can never convince the people that you are sincere in your corruption fight when those around you are also tainted. It is the attempt to evade justice therefore that is causing the massive rush to join the APC party. Mrs Ekwunife who was PDP senator last month has just declared for the APC, same with Jim Nwobodo and many others. Why can’t people remain in their party and build from scratch? And, why must the APC accept all comers if they want to exist as a clean party? We should all be wary at this attempt to turn our politics into a one party state, the more reason we are shouting from the roof top that, the corruption fight must not be limited to the opposition, in fact, it must begin from within, for as we speak corruption still strives in various sectors of government. Has the exact value of crude oil produced daily in this country been determined?

Since the APC and PDP are the same obverse side of a coin, time is now ripe for the people to take their common destiny in their own hands in the form of an alternative party, free from expired and corrupt politicians. A party that will be ready to ride the change with modern technology and social media in place, of selfless and committed individuals, ready to stake their time and resources to revamp this nation. An alternative that will raise a platform, that will not entertain sentiments of ethnicity and religion, that will be able to bring the problems of our teeming youths to the forefront, that will work at eliminating all forms of insurgency and restiveness. It will be a party that has not been tainted by the rot of the older generation that will actively involve our youths; such is the party I am referring to here.

It is already happening in America, where all known and conventional norms are being broken. It is done through what Time magazine, issue of January, 2016 refers to as “Disintermediation”. With disintermediation, influences of religion and ethnicity will be driven to the background, while people of like minds and ideology forge common links to tackle the problems of the country. According to the magazine, disintermediation means ‘dumping the middleman’. When “properly tended , the social network of skilled ‘disintermediators’ can grow to encompass tens of millions of people, all sharing a common joke or commiserating over a disappointment or comparing breakfast with a friend”.

Still quoting Time , “Technology now give the power of direct relationships to everyone”. Donald Trump has used it so successfully in the present Republican Party presidential campaign race that he is far ahead his nearest rival by over a hundred percent.

That is the alternative party that I propose, so that the likes of Nuhu Ribadu – good man – need not go cross carpeting to another party. With it, the needless carpet crossing of hungry and fugitive politicians will be brought under control. The things that have worked in the past aren’t working anymore, we must continue to strive at getting new alternatives to our stagnant politics, and we must find new ways to drive our campaigns. None of our politicians can use their own money to campaigns, no matter how they pretend to the contrary, all funds are stolen from government coffers. Can our politicians operate independently without dipping their hands into government coffers? That is the poser for us as a nation. We are witnessing a replay of what happened in the past in the present dispensation.

In Nigerian politics, it is very difficult to separate the good from the bad guys that is why the need for an alternative is very crucial at this period of our history.