Do People organize freely in different Political Parties?
In Nigeria, as in most African countries, the answer is not in the affirmative. The recent re-registration exercise of the ruling party in Nigeria, The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is a case in point. Party cards were not made available to party members believed not to be loyal to the President’s third term agenda. Such people were not allowed to partake in the party congresses from the Ward to the Federal level and hence were precluded from the election of party officials. The new party officials elected in such circumstances have brazenly exercised the power to fire party members through the instrument of suspension and expulsion as they deemed fit. In other words, political parties, especially the ruling parties, have been hijacked by a few cabals at the expense of the principle of freedom of participation. This practice is widespread in other African countries. Is Power Decentralized to local governments? The answer here is not in the affirmative either. “Since the return to civi
