From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
Former National Vice Chairman (North-West) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Moh Lukman, has bluntly admitted that his ruling party has dashed the expectations of many Nigerians in handling the affairs of the country in the past nine years.
He equally passed a dawning verdict on Nigeria’s 25 years fourth republic, lamemting that the welfare condition of Nigerians has unarguably become worse, unemployment and poverty incidences have increased whilen poor management of national resources has continued so much so that crisis of insecurity and threat to human lives is the new normal.
The former Director General of APC Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) emphasised that the heartbreaking reality is that anytime some glimmer of political hope presents itself, it turns out to be sticking with illusive politics.
Lukman, in a statement he issued in Abuja on Tuesday, wrote: “First, while interrogating this issue, I want to affirm my membership of the APC and recognise that the last nine years disappointingly dashed the expectations of Nigerians. I make this admission as someone who is committed to progressive politics based on the conviction that the first thing that qualifies anyone to be a progressive is the capacity to recognise challenges based on correct assessment of realities.
“Correct assessment of reality is about honest criticism and taking responsibility. It is not about rationalising choices or denial of challenges and realities. When leaders of opposition parties in the country successfully merged in July 2013, the expectations of Nigerians were that APC will produce more responsive leaders both in terms of ability to undertake honest criticisms as well as take responsibility in a direction that pulls the nation out of its development challenges.
“Without going into details, these are unanswerable expectations, which are today sources of frustrations for Nigerians with both the APC, as a party, the leaders it has produced, and democracy as a political system,” he noted.
Accessing further, Lukman claimed that; “The heartbreaking reality is that anytime some glimmer of political hope presents itself, even when supported by popular votes, it turns out to be moonlighting, basically a case of being stuck with illusive politics. APC is one glimmer of political hope, which emerged in 2013, elected as the ruling party since 2015, but emerging, so far, as another moonlighting phenomenon.”
“Being a party founded with the vision of becoming a progressive party, it has crashed below whatever a political party represents, let alone being progressive. As it is today, its leadership doesn’t obey its own constitution, it doesn’t hold meetings and it is accountable to no one.
“Since 2015, when the party was elected as a ruling party, with former president Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated, the manifesto of the party has been virtually abandon and leaders of the party have little or no say in the management of governments it produced at all levels.
“Processes of appointments into government and policy decisions have been made prerogative of the President at national level and Governors at state levels. Like under military rule when citizens were reduced to distant observers, under the APC, party leaders and members have also become distant observers,” he insisted.
On his accessment of Nigerian democracy, he noted: “Unfortunately, here we are, 25 years after, welfare condition of Nigerians is unarguably worse. Unemployment and poverty incidences have increased. Poor management of national resources has continued so much so that crisis of insecurity and threat to human lives is the new normal. Worse part of it is that we have elected governments, virtually at all levels performing worse than military rulers.”
