LABOUR PARTY CRISIS: HEAL THE HARMS- DEBO AKINBAM

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This time,  in Nigeria, seems designed for troubles. It seems especially so for the political parties who are persistently engaging themselves in party internal crisis and causing the political concerned platforms to bleed. The All Progressive Congress (APC),  the People’s Democratic Party and other political parties all have the various levels of worries to handle. This time,  it is for the Labour Party.

The Labour Party was formed in 2002 as the Party for Social Democracy by the Nigerian Labour Congress. As formative it has notable members, among whom were Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, former Governor of Ondo State and the only Labour Party Governor in Nigeria; former Governor of Oyo State Chief Alao Akala, Adams Oshiomole, the ex-APC Governor of Edo State who deflected to ACN, The LP Candidate for Delta State, Ogboru among others. It is a social democratic political party in Nigeria who sits in good stead as a viable alternative.

The party,  in a number of instances has been riding well until it got itself enmeshed in worries within. Recent in the news is the story of the suspension of the National Chairman of the Labour Party. The National Executive Council of the party had suspended the party’s National Chairman, Alhaji Abdulsalam Abdulkadir, and the Deputy National Chairman, South, Calistus Okafor. It’s gathered on good authority that the suspension was one of the decisions taken at an emergency NEC meeting held at the AED Apartments, Airport Road, Abuja, on Monday.

Even though Abdulkadir has described his removal as an exercise in futility, while alleging that the persons behind the action were sponsored by the party’s former governorship candidate in Delta State, it still does not portray the party in good light. As for Addulkadir, “those who addressed that press conference are not our members. They are individuals sponsored by one of our former standard bearers who has joined the APC.”, it worries the mind why internal stress so be allowed to swell to this level.

 Observers say the party’s affairs had been mismanaged over time. Some say members got disappointed that despite attempts to make Abdulkadir change his leadership style, he continued to rule the party with “persistent impunity, high-handedness, dictatorship, and crudeness.” This, he said, “lead to the unjust, unconstitutional and unilateral dissolution of the state executive committees of the party and the suspension and/or expulsion of prominent members and leaders of the party by Alhaji Abubakar Abulkadir Salam, supported by his willing lackeys.” He was also accused of refusal to communicate amendments made to the LP’s constitution at the party’s last convention to INEC.

Labour Party should be a model party, gauging its antecedents in history. As a party whose ideological type rests on Social democracy or Democratic socialism, whose political position is Centre-left,  the history of the Labour Party celebrates great ideas and lofty achievements since its emergence in 1900 as a parliamentary pressure group. It’s therefore apt to regard as historic the establishment of the National Health Service, the enshrining in law of equality of opportunity for all and the creation and maintenance of an empowering welfare state  as some of the stellar achievements of Labour Party. Also of consequence is the development of Labour as a mass membership party in the 1920s and 1930s, the modernisation of our campaigning techniques in the 1980s and the election of 101 Labour women MPs in 1997. All of these show to the world that Labour Party is a  party whose history is rich and sturdy.

It’s therefore a worrisome experience to have the party that should stand sturdily in the gap engulfed in needless internal wranglings. Though from an observer’s point of view, yet I have had causes to relate closely with the gladiators of the party. I recall having repeated arguments with the party’s firebrand scribe, Kayode Ajulo, on issues bordering on the party and its preparations and even qualifications to present itself as a credible alternative of political platform for patriotic Nigerians. Ajulo would pour hearty convictions while explaining that democratic tenets are not to be compromised under any climate or circumstance if a party must do itself a gift of heath. As I would later learn, the brilliant lawyer vacated his office as the National Secretary of the party by choice.

Although, world history shows that Labour (in Britain ) Party has superlative records of performance dotting its history,  it has also on occasions been the victim of division and disunity has cost it dearly in electoral terms. It’s on record that its internal troubles led it to loosing to Tories and have its achievements undermined. Yes,  the party bears a history that should make its subscribers proud because since formation, Labour has grown from nothing into a formidable political organisation and one which has achieved major social and political reforms during the 20th century and the afters. It should, by now be both a political party of exception and example. The party’s agenda for the future should be to ensure that its golden values become rooted so that it can achieve lasting social, economic and political change in the global political transactions.

With a reputation for being one of the oldest Political parties in the world, created in 1900, it goes to show that it came as a party for a new century. Its formation was the result of many years of hard effort by working people, trade unionists and socialists, united by the goal of changing the British Parliament to represent the interests of everybody. I expect that the party puts his house in order.

The crisis rocking the labour party should be stopped without farther ifs and buts. Even know that preparations within political parties are on with regard to 2019 general elections, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) should step in and regain possession of documents and certificate of registration of the troubled Labour Party (LP) that has been engulfed in leadership tussle over the control of the soul of the party. The NLC President Ayuda Wabba , former national chairman, Dan Nwanyawu who held sway national chairman since it was registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the year 2002, should lend its length of influence. Other men that matter to it should do the needful.

A peace committee  with a charge to resolve and recover its broken parts should be raised. This is a wrong time to loose good gaze.  It’s a wrong time for the party to loose focus. It’s high time the party returns itself to the key principles and practices on which the party was formed. That way,  the party will regain its weight and worth, and remain a plus that it is for Nigeria’s fledging democracy.

Akinbami sends this from deboiakinbami@gmail.com