Atlantic Post

The concept of Labour Party could be traced to the 19th century during which Europe and America witnessed steady growth in the population of urban proletariats as a direct result of the growth of industrial capitalism in those parts of the world at the time. This of type of political party could be traced particularly to Continental Europe which also like America, saw the extension of the suffrage during the same period. The idea of this type of political party was influenced by the dominance of the cadre political parties of the aristocracy and bourgeoisie social stratifications, which apparently necessitated a party to represent the interest of the masses especially the proletariats. The overarching mission was to educate and organise the ever growing population of labourers and wage earners so as to turn and utilise their mass strength to win state power on their behalf.

The first generation of this type of political party was spearheaded by socialists and social democrats in Continental Europe in the late 19th century. A good example is the German Social Democratic Party which has gone through phases of its existence to become the oldest political party in Germany today. It was formed in 1875 through the merger of the General German Workers’ Union and the Social Democratic Workers Party of Germany. The Party enjoyed mass appeal and by 1913, it had become the largest political party in the country with over one million active members. Right from its inception, it was clear that the Party was construed as a mass-based party in contrast to the cadre party model of group of elite conservatives, status quo maintainers and bourgeoisie political activists. 

Furthermore; association with and affiliation to political groups is often based on ideological leaning. This is understandable because Ideology is the thought patterns in the form of ethical ideals-norms and values that captivate our minds and shape our behaviour. It is our inward views transformed into a belief-(faith) which produces creeds, cults, dogmas and doctrines.  This is why among humans, ideology remains the power of philosophical and belief framework for understanding the world in reality. It is therefore on that background that political parties when they win power will govern the State based on the ideological orientation of their drivers and enablers. 

The aristocracy and the bourgeoisie in their capitalist orientation and tendency, believe that the right of their estate to govern others is divine. On the other hand, those with socialist orientation share the ideology of social justice and equal opportunity as the safeguard of a stable and prosperous society and therefore reason that this is only achievable through a State that prioritises the well-being of the citizenry. This is why they contend that such a State ought to be governed by the true representatives of the people freely chosen by them (the citizenry).

At this point, it is important to emphasise that a political party does not become a Labour (Pro-Workers) Party because it is registered with and known by such name and label. Structurally and operationally, the party must reflect its mass-base, it must have organic mass appeal and be organised on and pursue social democracy principles-to wit, popular ownership, participation and parliamentary democracy, optimal economic mobilisation, regulation and stabilisation as well as social security and social equilibrium etc.

Flowing from the above analysis, it should be evident that though since 2002 there has been a political party in Nigeria registered and known by the name; Labour Party, and though the preamble of the Constitution of the party proclaimed it as a party of social democrats made up of the working class, professionals, intellectuals, students, women, environmentalists, patriotic businessmen and women and all other Nigerians who accept the ideas of social democracy as enumerated in the Constitution of the party, that party has not been a mass-based party. It has at most been so only potentially. Neither has the party ever shown commitment towards mobilisation of the Nigerian masses into its fold nor has it been organised and managed in the manner that will yield it to mass appeal and make it a suitable political alternative for the transformation of Nigeria on the basis of social democracy.   

It is against the above backdrop that everyone who shares the vision of a new Nigeria through the platform of the Labour Party (LP) must understand the task ahead. It is basically the task of reclaiming the party from the stranglehold of those bellicose and intransigent crooks who have so used the party for duplicitous and iniquitous politics that they have become a clog in its wheel of progress. These elements have so flourished in their sudden and unimaginable affluence on account of their perfidious activities in the name of the party that they are currently mentally spider filled and engrossed in befuddling loss aversion over losing their gold mine to forces poised to reclaim the party and restore it to its natural and original mission.

The coming of Mr. Peter Obi and his followers into the LP ahead of the 2023 General Election and the electoral impact they created within a very short space of time in that outing, awoken in many people across Nigeria and the world at large, a sense of re-valorisation in the LP to the extent that the Party is now popularly viewed as the viable vehicle for a possible democratic revolution in Nigeria. It is therefore obviously in the best interest of those elements that are fermenting leadership crisis in the party to retract their steps, show themselves charity and end their suicidal gambit and macabre dance.

Surely; the pseudo-conquistadors may be familiar with the popular quote ‘winners never quit and quitters never win’ but in their present circumstance, they should take counsel from Seth Godin who once said ‘winners quit all the time. They just quit the right stuff at the right time’’. They should acknowledge that their time is up and that the turn of a new era is an opportunity not a threat. It is an act of wisdom to understand when enough should enough and it is why the wisest of all artists is the one who never destroys his work because he knows when he has applied the last brush. 

For those who are disgusted with those who were elected on the platform of the LP in the 2023 General Election but who have either dumped the party or have remained indifferent in the face of the battle for its soul, your expectation is unhealthy politically speaking. Those guys only rented a vehicle from Julius Abure & Co, they have arrived at their destination and have left the vehicle for the renter. And for those who are blaming Mr. President and his ruling party for orchestrating the crisis in the other parties as a strategy towards the destabilisation of their main opposition, there is nothing new about these politicians and their approach to power politics. They are ferocious, know no rule of fair play and will stop at nothing to win and retain political power either by hook or by crook. Those who want to wrestle power from them should double-down on their effort, tact and strategy, be ready to meet them at the barricade and triumph over their forces in the arena. This is the inevitable task and route to the new Nigeria for anyone.