A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Adebisi Akande has said that the APC, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other political parties are still being controlled with military orientation, impunity which is at variance with democratic norms.
Akande, who advocated for full independence of registered political parties devoid of government regulations, said this while addressing members of Pan Yoruba Group, Yoruba Patriotic Movement in his country home, Ila-Orangun.
He expressed worries that the Nigerian political parties are still operating with military mentality in governance with impunity adding that the military mentality has completely changed the status of parties from what they are supposed to be.
He said that those who knew what the military did to our political system have left the shore of political leadership lamenting that majority of the current political party leaders grew or learnt politics under the military arrangements.
According to him, “the military’s orientation of controlling the political parties after leaving power is still being practiced by the democratic government in the country, whereas it is the people of like minds who ought to get together, form their party and run it the way they deem fit.
He noted that when the military left government, its agenda of controlling the political parties was achieved through various electoral regulations since most political operators learnt under the military.
Akande maintained that political parties should be independent of government legislation, arguing that it is political and not government structure.
The military, according to Akande, introduced governance with impunity into the government and the political parties.
He lamented that majority of the current political party leaders grew or learnt politics under the military arrangement, saying that those who knew what the military did have left the shore of political leadership.
“Political party grew in hierarchy system in those days; whether you are tailor, bricklayer, carpenter or whoever, you must learn politics through your political party.
You cannot just rise up and say you want to become this, you want to become that in the party. You must learn first. Political party was a leadership training ground.
“But the military deliberately killed that system. The military wanted to be controlling the political party after they left power. The military created political party like NRC, SDP during Babangida’s time; we would remember the five leprosy fingers of General Sani Abacha. After they left government, they made regulations for the political parties through the civilian government.
“Up till date, military mentality still pervades our political system.
Unfortunately, those who knew the military plan have left the political party leadership. Majority of the people at the leaderships of the political party are those who grew or learnt politics in the military arrangement”, he said.
Speaking on the degeneration of ‘core value’ in Nigeria, particularly in Yorubaland, Akande said it was difficult to get a sincere and good future leader among the youths, since the recruitment of such leaders is from a debased background.
He said: “The core value system is no more in place. We have a mixture of the negative and positive tendencies among the youths.
The negative tendencies are more than the positive ones. How do we get sincere and good future leaders in the present society?
On the South-West agenda, Akande stated that the core value system must be reintroduced and there was a need to have a programme to integrate the youths into the system, adding that there was need for education advancement in the region.
