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Features Updated: February 06, 2023

ANALYSIS: Political Prostitution In Nigeria, The Virus That Stings

By Yusuf Adua
February 06, 2023
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Indeed there are no permanent friends and enemies in contemporary politics. But political prostitution has become a common practice in Nigeria. 

Scholars say that they didn't mean that a politician should swap party A for B because he lost the ticket or position.

The usual saying was meant for the regulation of bitterness among political actors.

Representative democracy on its part is methodic.

As practised in Nigeria and some other countries of the world, a politician needs to run under a “sellable” political platform before their leadership dreams can come through. 

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The political platforms or parties are not based on ideology or distinctive peculiarities but on ambitions in Nigeria. 

That is why we have political prostitution becoming the most valued practice in Nigeria, particularly since the fourth republic in 1999.

In Nigeria, we like to reference developed countries to tailor our political arguments.

But we hardly copy their brand of power pursuance.

One of the most referenced leaders is Barack Obama, a former US president. 

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Obama versus typical Nigerian politicians 

From Nigeria’s former Senate President Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, former aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Senator Teslim Folarin, Mallam Nasir Elrufai, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, to Godwin Obaseki, they have all swapped political parties to advance their political ambition. 

That is just 10 out of millions of Nigerians who engage in political prostitution.

Since they all joined politics, they have held more than one political party's membership card.

Though some of them tear the old cards to prove the naturalisation into the new party, everyone knows that it would be a matter of time before they change goalposts again.

Senator Ibikunle Amosun expressed interest in becoming president under the ruling APC but in the last two election seasons (2019 and 2923), he had worked against his party n his state, Ogun State.

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None of the under-listed names has remained resolute like Obama they always reference.

Obama joined the Democrats and represented the 13th district in the Illinois Senate from 1997 but didn't budge when he lost other elections. 

Even since Obama left office on January 20, 2017, as president, he has remained steadfast and active in Democratic politics, including campaigning for candidates in various American elections.

The last two presidents of Nigeria

Because of uncanny and dangerous political prostitution, the two surviving presidents of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan have been found wanting.

They maintained that they had become "questionable" elder statesmen only to play inter-party politics and smuggle national relevance into their demeaning profiles.

Setting the record straight 

It is not easy for a true democrat to swap political platforms as we have it in Nigeria. 

It should even worry any good citizen of Nigeria that our leaders dump platforms they once donned, a salient feature of chameleons.

They hardly stay true to their beliefs and causes.

They wander across political parties for political significance and draw back the prosperity of our democracy. 

Who destroyed Nigeria, PDP or APC? 

Regarding Nigeria's present predicament and which party aided in throwing the nation into its present state, it is unsafe to pinpoint the political party that has scattered Nigeria's national fortunes.

The Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress which have tasted the most exalted presidency have performed below expectations judging by public opinion.

But how do we differentiate from these parties when our politicians have at one point or the other been members of both parties? 

Until we have political parties built on robust ideologies, political significance and a strong sense of duty, it would be difficult to lay a claim to a sense of accountability to any political party in Nigeria. 

Welcome to 2023

As the 2023 general election draws near, political parties have been seen throwing jabs at one another. 

Maybe the freedom of choice is strengthening our democratic process but is also weakening the sanctity of political parties in Nigeria.

In the APC for instance, there are talks of fifth columnists and Saboteurs determined to truncate the chances of the party's presidential candidate in favour of the opposition. 

The PDP is also sweating on the anger of the G5 governors who maintain that despite being members of the PDP, they wouldn't campaign for its most senior candidate.

Undoubtedly, Nigeria is not only the giant of Africa but the home of political prostitution.

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Yusuf Adua

Yusuf Adua is an investigative journalist passionate about politics, solution-based reporting and f...

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