Fellow Nigerians, what I am about to say may not sit well with many people, but that is usually how truth makes a lot of us feel; very uncomfortable. I have thought about this deeply before arriving at this almost incontrovertible but painful conclusion.
The next President of this country will come from either the APC or PDP or whatever arrangement these 2 parties come up with. There won’t be a 3rd force as far as the 2023 election is concern. I will lay out my points and be open to a meaningful conversation in that regard.
It is barely 19 months to the next election and only these 2 parties have what it takes in terms of spread, structure, and finance to win a national election. Some parties may have local strengths here and there but I am talking about the national spread.
For those who are thinking that APC as a new party did it in 2015, they are just being politically naive. APC in reality wasn’t a new party. APC was formed by the following existing parties with several governors; ACN, ANPP, CPC, New PDP and a faction of APGA. They had states which they controlled. It was just a case of changing the name and transferring structure.
Take Kwara for example, Bukola Saraki who was then the leader of the PDP in that state moved the entire structure to APC. Same individuals under a different name. I hope this example addresses that point.
Secondly, all young people who believe that they have something meaningful to offer and want to participate in active politics should consider joining any of these two parties. While I want to state emphatically that these two parties as presently constituted may not represent what we need to change things drastically, I have come to the painful conclusion that only an internal disruption by a new class of members can change the general philosophy and outlook of these two parties. The criticisms from outside does not seem to be making any impact on these tired old guard who are not willing to let go.
By the time you have many intelligent and forwarding thinking people joining these parties, they will be forced to change, and change for the better. While it is still possible for young people to form a 3rd force sometime in the future, this post speaks specifically to the 2023 election and what we currently have on ground.
For those who have seen the movie Troy, you will recall that not untill the Trojan horse got into the city, the walls remained impregnable. We must find a way of getting young people who will be the political Trojan horses in these two parties to effect an internal change.
Even as I write this, I am still struggling to find a political party amongst the existing ones that has what it takes to emerge as a strong and viable 3rd force in 2023. You can assist me in that direction please…
