The Opposition from 2007

Eight years has flown by like a jot and a jolt! Goodness me, and the political class is jostling for power again!! The thing is so sweet those who have exhausted their tenure want more (as in the immoral Third Term misadventure) or are aspiring higher, while those who have been in the proverbial political wilderness desperately seek rehabilitation. Yet, very little desire for full accountability! Wow.

It is amazing how many so readily pass the buck. They'll blame everything on the executive, especially the presidency. Not for them the principle of collective responsibility. Not for them the question of "herd mentality", when they sold their conscience by neither speaking up nor shipping out. They loved to belong, and had their day in the sun, plus plenty a salad day to boot. It paid while it lasted. Now they mouth alibi and crave exculpation. Haba!

Oh, and those cross-carpeters! How they ogled and lapped up spoils and crumbs! The ruling PDP made a mince of many, made a Man Friday of others, made a monument of a few. We watched in utter dismay and amusement. Comical, theatrical and mysterious indeed. There was an unspoken code of compromise and comeuppance that nothing mattered anymore.

This lack of self-censorship, self-restraint as well as the drift to self-immolation soon engulfed the official opposition, rendering them sufficiently impotent and escapist that they became unofficial! If we admit that the ruling party has a crushing majority at all levels of governance, including most-inappropriately some souls in the supposedly independent judiciary, it is no consolation for political delinquency and self-distruct by the opposition parties. Nor could it excuse or justify the absence of constructive engagement and elevated contestation of public policies, with credible alternatives, both in parliament and in the people's domain.

Without putting a fine point on it, only the principled stance and stout opposition of some PDP members helped Nigeria defeat the Third Term monster. Paradoxically, several members of the opposition parties so betrayed their mandates and their constituencies by playing ball with the subversive elements! As they say, the rest is now history. We hear many of the Third Term and fraudulent-impeachments actors have been dumped in last weekend's PDP primaries. What poetic justice! Alas, the chickens are coming home to roost!! Next, posterity will claim its due.

Our plea this day is that after all permutations, alignments and realignments for election and balloting purposes, let winners be winners and losers transform themselves into credible and responsible opposition-democratic forces at all levels of governance. They should let those in office know that power can shift through by-elections, impeachments, recalls and...at general elections. Yes, no matter how long the incumbency.

The opposition next time must not abandon the struggle for only the press, labour, students and civil rights crusaders. Working with civil society is the greatest assurance we can have of a just and humane nation. ALL aspirants and their parties must imbibe this beauty, this reality.

Hey folks, remember, he who fights and runs away lives to fight another day! But he must return fully equipped, well prepared and highly motivated for the rematch. Yes.