Politics

As Nigeria’s main opposition parties explore merger, a look at similar efforts in Nigeria and the rest of Africa

Published

6 months ago

November 16, 2023

Opposition parties in Nigeria may have begun plans for the next general election in 2027, as the Labour Party has applauded the call for a united opposition force by a former Vice President of Nigeria and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 general elections, Atiku Abubakar.

The Labour Party described Abubakar’s merger proposal as a good one that should be considered, while the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) which had former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso as its 2023 presidential candidate, gave its conditions for possible merger.

The reactions of the LP and NNPP followed a call by Abubakar on Tuesday, while hosting the National Executive Committee of the Inter-Party Advisory Council of Nigeria, that opposition parties should enter a merger to dislodge the APC from power.

The former vice president warned against the likelihood of Nigeria slipping into a one-party state. “We have all seen how the APC is increasingly turning Nigeria into a dictatorship of one party. If we don’t come together to challenge what the ruling party is trying to create, our democracy will suffer for it, and the consequences of it will affect the generations yet unborn,” Abubakar warned.

LP’s acting National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, in an interview on Wednesday, described Atiku’s call as a good proposition that should be considered by every Nigerian.

Ifoh said, “Atiku’s call is a proposition, and every Nigerian will consider a good proposition that is meant to remove the Octopus in power because they are not democrats.

“Every Nigerian is interested in having a true democracy. What we have now is far away from democracy. So, if there is a preposition by opposition elements to ensure that democracy is installed, why not? That proposition must be given some thought. Anything that will make Nigerians witness democracy is accepted.”

On its part, the NNPP’s National Publicity Secretary, Yakubu Shendam, said any merger being considered must be to support Kwankwaso towards becoming president; otherwise, the NNPP was not interested.

Shendam said, “This is like medicine after death. If there is any future collaboration, it should not be as a result of emotions. We are going all along because we have a gladiator who can take over Nigeria.

“We believe that there is a need to canvass for support from people to win the election, from all sides. However, we believe that Kwankwaso can deliver Nigeria in 2027”.

Atiku’s call for opposition parties to unite against the ruling party, however, did not move or threaten the ruling APC, according to the party. “How and why should we be threatened?” asked Bala Ibrahim, the party’s director of publicity. “Both the public and the legal system have denigrated Atiku. What kind of resources do Atiku and his party possess to make the ruling party feel threatened?”Ibrahim queried.

“The PDP, as far as Nigeria is concerned, is inconsequential. Atiku and the PDP do not have the power to instill fear in the ruling party, especially a party that is progressive”, he added.

Historically, ruling parties have hardly been dislodged in elections at all levels of government because of
what is loosely called “the power of incumbency”. Abubakar’s call may be deemed apt by watchers as the current ruling party emerged only after being able to dislodge the then-ruling PDP through the 2013 merger of four political parties: the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

Outside Nigeria, the merger of opposition political parties seems like a favoured strategy. Only on Wednesday, major opposition parties in the Democratic Republic of the Congo announced that consideration was on for the best approach to displace President Felix Tshisekedi in the forthcoming elections and have begun talks in Pretoria with a potential joint candidate to challenge Tshisekedi in the works.

While political mergers have yielded desired results like in the case of Nigeria in 2015, victory is not guaranteed. An instance was the last Gabonese presidential election earlier this year in which major opposition parties adopted a single candidate and consented to support a former minister and university professor, Albert Ondo Ossa but failed to end the 56-year grip of the Bongos in power; although incumbent Ali Bongo was later removed in a military coup as part of the fallout of the election.

Related Topics:APC Featured LP Nigeria NNPP pdp Political Party

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Politics

African leaders want record World Bank financing to address climate change

Published

24 hours ago

April 29, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Ahead of a World Bank conference scheduled for later this year, African leaders on Monday called for rich countries to commit to record contributions to a low-interest World Bank facility for developing nations.

The leaders stressed that most African countries depend on the fund to sponsor development and combat climate change.

At a meeting in Japan in December, donors will promise to give money to the International Development Association (IDA), a World Bank organization that gives loans with low-interest rates and long terms.

“We call on our partners to meet us at this historic moment of solidarity and respond effectively by increasing their IDA contributions… to at least $120 billion,” Kenya’s President William Ruto told a meeting of African leaders and the World Bank to discuss IDA funding.

African economies were facing a “deepening development and debt crisis that threatens our economic stability, and urgent climate emergencies that demand immediate and collective action for our planet’s survival,” Ruto said.

He talked about the terrible floods in Kenya and the serious drought in Southern African countries like Malawi. If donors promise the least amount that African leaders have asked for, it will be a new high.

The previous high was $93 billion, which was raised in 2021. IDA loans are given out every three years, and donors usually give their money at a world meeting before the loan is given out.

The World Bank said that IDA lends money to 75 poor countries around the world at low interest rates. More than half of these countries are in Africa. Governments use the money to improve access to healthcare and energy, put money into farms, and build important things like roads.

The president of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, promised to cut down on the “burdensome” rules that guide lending to countries under the IDA. This would make the process more efficient and get money to countries that need it more quickly.

“We believe a simpler and reimagined IDA can be deployed with more focus to make a meaningful impact,” he said.

Politics

Burkina Faso investigating reports of northern killings

Published

2 days ago

April 28, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A government spokesman has revealed that Burkina Faso is looking into reports that 223 people were killed by the Burkinabe army in two villages in the north in February.

The killing was first reported by the Human Rights Watch (HRW), causing a rift between the junta-led West African state and some foreign media that published the report. The HRW report released on Thursday said that the military had executed residents of Nodin and Soro, including at least 56 children, as part of a campaign against civilians suspected of working with jihadist terrorists. The report was based on interviews with witnesses, members of civil society, and other groups.

Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo, a spokesman for the government, said that HRW’s claims were “peremptory” and that the junta was not unwilling to look into the claimed crimes.

“An investigation has been launched into the killings in Nodin and Soro,” Ouedraogo said in a late-evening statement, quoting a statement from a regional prosecutor on March 1.

Since Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger’s militaries took over in a series of coups from 2020 to 2023, violence in the area has gotten worse. This is because of the ten-year fight with Islamist groups related to Al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Attacks on Burkina Faso got much worse in 2023, with more than 8,000 people killed, according to the U.S.-based crisis-monitoring group ACLED.