The Nigeria political system is plagued by a lot of challenges. Tribalism, corruption and lack of trust have made Nigerian politics a rat race. Globally an ideal political system is defined by a flawless electoral system and that should be the basis for which the performance of any political party should be measured.
The winner takes all mentality has also made politics in Nigeria to become like warfare. Before any election, Nigeria closes all her borders and imposes a curfew. It makes the political system to look immature even after many years of uninterrupted democracy.
Elections are often plagued by violence, rigging, intimidation of voters and electoral officials. After the election body, INEC declares winners
Nigeria’s foremost political party the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was in charge of affairs of the Nigeria political system for 16 years. Three democratically elected presidents were produced by the party, namely; Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yaradua and Good luck Jonathan.
Despite leaving the helms of power about 5 years ago the party remains relevant and it is still very popular in all parts of the country. But the ruling party and many critics have accused the former ruling party of destroying the Nigeria political system.
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The candidates end up in court battles until a winner is affirmed by the courts and this shows distrust for the electoral process. However, the claim that the PDP destroyed the Nigerian political system might be untrue because of its achievement in the electoral system.
PDP Electoral Reforms as the Game-changer
It was the administration of the PDP that established the Nigerian electoral body. Successive PDP government successfully built on the progress made to move the electoral body to where it is today. The progress made in electoral reforms led to the emergence of an opposition party as the ruling party in Nigeria.
And that was achieved without any major electoral issue. The PDP-led government under President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 handed over to the opposition All Progressives Congress APC in what many people have described as the most peaceful transfer of power in Nigeria’s recent democratic history.
On this basis, it is not correct to say that the PDP destroyed Nigeria’s political system. The party failed in many areas but getting the national politics right was the turning point and they did not just once but thrice.
