Why Defections Can’t be Avoided in Nigerian Politics – APC Chieftain
An All-Progressive Congress (APC) chieftain, Malam Abubakar Abdullahi, has said that there is no way defections can be avoided in Nigerian politics. Abdullahi, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday, attributed cross carpeting by some politicians to the desire for political protection.
“You see in Nigerian politics; defections cannot be avoided. There are certain issues that force people to defect.
“Majority of the present crop of the elected officials and political appointees are not well-bred politicians. They are just opportunists.
“Once they get elected or appointed, they indulge in all sorts of unruly behavior which led them to commit a lot of atrocities,” he said.
Abdullahi, who is the Secretary of former ANPP members in APC, said that most defectors were doing so as a way of escaping from being penalised for corrupt practices and other offences.
“Most of them will be running helter-skelter, looking for where to hide,” he said.
According to him, the majority of the defections are caused by selfishness and personal security rather than principle. The APC chieftain, however, assured that defections would not lead Nigeria to one-party state ‘because at the end of the day, the defectors will definitely betray those who believe in them’.
Abdullahi expressed dissatisfaction with the attitude of the Nigerian political elite, saying that they had polluted the system through manipulation of the process, to the detriment of the larger populace. He, therefore, called for a change in attitude and value system as a way out of the situation.