What is a political party? A political party is a grouping or a legitimate gathering of patriotic citizens with entrenched conviction to do good for all citizens, and having common cause, and purpose. Such gathering usually involves citizens with conscience and shared vision necessary to move the nation forward. Politics should be a time-honored participatory service, dedication to duty, protection of cultural, intelligently interactive, and with collective belief structure that enhances the common stake of black people all over the world. It is noteworthy that the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides for multi-party a system, so then, what is the brouhaha about registration of new political parties?

Since the emergence of the current political dispensation, many of the current political parties have been perfecting strategies for none registration of new political parties. If the current political parties satisfy the yearning of citizens there should be no call for new political parties. If new political parties were registered, there wouldn’t be any need for the existing political parties to panic if they responded to the call of the nation and the needs of citizens. All the brilliant political strategies we have been privy to, are political stratagem and malfeasance exhibited by self-centered, egotistical, evil minded, arrogant, no good, and sorry state human beings. These adjectives effectively describe the prosaically quintessential Nigerian politicians.

So far, the powers that be in Nigeria are concentrating governance in the hands of some coup perfecting, lily-belly generals while foreign powers are making sure that they stay in power to protect their interest at all cost. Granted, there are many active and retired intelligent military officers in Nigeria who never went or will ever pass the rank of Brigadiers because of the internal military politics or because they do not come from the right tribe. These officers are, otherwise, equally capable of moving the country forward just as other civilians are, but will never be given opportunity to because they may not play by the crooked rules. Why do Nigerians become shortsighted and think that the saving grace in Nigeria’s politics resides in the weeping and cowardly acting Generals? Being a true war and administrative tested General in the Nigeria military, is equivalent to being a brilliant Professor in the university, a good Permanent Secretary in the ministry, a God endowed Pastor of a church, a capable engineer in an industry, an Allah driven Imam in a mosque, or a good surgeon in a hospital. The only difference amongst these professionals is that the Generals are the ones that got into office by force, manipulated Nigeria with unitary governance, called themselves heads of State, were worshiped by sycophants, looted the treasury dry, bastardized the economy, destroyed the educational system, borrowed money from IMF and World Bank to line their pockets, and indirectly sucked African people dry of their hopes, dreams, and aspirations. In a sane society, these power-usurping generals would have been tied to the stake and burned alive, but this is Nigeria, the giant that makes its race an abomination to the world. Make no mistakes, these generals still use our money to destroy our nation and buy the yes-yes men/women, and political prostitutes of our society. These political prostitutes are the ones that always call for a single political candidate for presidency. They did so with Abacha, they are doing the same with Olusegun Obasanjo and they will do so when the political goal post shifts again.

Our political leaders failed to subscribe to the African traditional political ideals of governing through wisdom, and creating wealth through hard work and improving the status of the governed through benevolent welfare to the weakest in society. Professor Jide Osuntokun presented these ideals unequivocally in his write up titled "Traditional Africa idea of Management." For most of us, the traditional African Management was exhibited and practiced when we were growing up in Nigeria and in our beloved Africa. Nigerians have always pride themselves in enjoying the sweat of their brow or in investing their efforts to partake in the unaided bounty of nature. Our politicians want to give nothing back to the nation but think they’ll be respected outside the confines of Africa with looted money they cart away to improve the economies of successful nations. So far, 5% of citizens are leading 95% of the fellow citizens to the slaughterhouse while propagating the grand delusions of the times. These old politicians who cannot be trusted to guide the chicken house because of their normal intellectual capacity, inferior and servitude mentalities, and self-aggrandizement are now asked to lead 95% of citizens who have been forced to acquiesce to the new order in global politics.

The existing political parties believe in allowing global financial bodies to imprison citizens through their antithesis of social justice and equality. Nigeria is constantly been enslaved and the current politicians subscribe to such enslavement through the acceptance of SAP, devaluation of currency and deregulation with little or no regard for local exigencies. The existing political parties simply keep citizens at bay and convince them that all that is done on their behalf, is done in their own interest. The insistence of the current political leaders on deregulation of the oil industry may just amount to political death wish when it is all said and done. These same politicians promised the citizens that the new government would bring heaven on earth to Nigeria, that the epileptic NEPA would be a thing of the past, that fuel shortage would be unthinkable, that citizens quality of life would be improved drastically, that jobs would be created, that security of lives and properties would be guaranteed, and that the best was yet to come for Nigeria. Now, we are hearing a different song, that is, that the collective will of IMF and World Bank is far superior to the simple aspirations of Nigerians to have decent living, regular power supply, good roads, drinkable water, affordable healthcare, gainful employment, and quality education. How dumb can the politicians be, not to recognize that the best means of maintaining the status quo is to acquiesce to the needs of citizens? The Yoruba saying, "Adie ba lokun, ara o ro okun, ara o ro adie," which means that when a chicken lands on the rope, neither the chicken not the rope will be in equilibrium is applicable here.

Perhaps, it is time for Nigerians to cast aside the cloak of ignorance and self-deception and look within themselves that enough is enough. We all have one life to live and the bible tells us that we must be willing to die in order to live. Nigerians have died many deaths before their time and death must no longer be scary. Those citizens that have died can fight no more but those alive must continue to struggle to make Nigerian a better country to be a part of. It is time to face the music, take the bull by the horn and decide to take a leap of fate on issues that affect their future as far as politics is concerned. Perhaps, part of our answers to the above question lie in the entrance of new ideologically driven, and citizen-focused political parties. It is indeed time to perform the equivalence of political cost benefit analysis and determine if we’ll ever reach the breakeven point in our nation’s political life. The time for this analysis is now because delaying it may spell economic slavery, more insecurity of lives and properties, more devaluation of naira, more deregulation of oil, more IMF loans, deteriorating quality of living, misery and agony. It is time to convert communal angst to political good fortune for us and for future generations of Nigerians. The call is ours.

The reasons why Nigeria should search for new ideologically driven political parties are many, apart from the fact that the constitution gives credence to multi-party existence. First, Nigerians are too smart to continue to allow 5% of Nigerians to cheat 95% of its citizens 100% of the time. Secondly, it is necessary for citizens to redistribute the political apathy and negative energies that now permeate throughout the land. Thirdly, Nigeria is still going through political de-militarization and she needs all hands on deck to overcome this insurmountable obstacle. It is insurmountable because there are enemies of the nation entrenched in foxholes to assure the nation’s failure. Fourth, Nigeria needs to find her new political center of gravity in an otherwise shifting political abracadabra. Fifth, Nigeria has an extremely immature political culture which needs constant integration to arrive at a political equilibrium answerable to the citizens, one that provides undisputable rules of engagement, and one that is ideologically driven and citizen centered. Sixth, Nigeria needs political parties that have means of filtering out political undesirables from governance. Seventh, Nigeria must begin to build a political bridge but draw a bright line as to what it would accept from her politicians. When stakes are low for political mismanagement and betrayal of citizen’s trust, politicians dare citizens. We must, as citizens, make politicians play by our rules, and punish them for betraying us so that we can minimize the usual downside of politics in our nation’s history. Politics, in Nigeria, has been further trivialized by ethnic and religious bigotries, and by looted money syndrome. Almost every Nigerian now thinks that the only way to make money is to get into politics and the time honored tradition of hard work has been thrown to the winds.

Why can’t Nigerians be courageous enough to call vociferously for new political parties and new Sheriffs in town as old ones are lining their pockets and transferring our money out of Nigeria? Why are we still slaves to the retired Generals and their civilian looters as if they alone have answers to our socio-economic, cultural, and political problems? Why are the generals called to return to the vanguard of governance? Aren’t those calling on the generals for an encore doing so on selfish grounds? Are these citizens not calling on the former ruling military generals because despots made them rich at the expense of the nation before and they want them to do it again? These past rulers gave their best while they were in office and their best was found to be the worse for the nation while they tinted the status of black people all over the world. Why inflict continuous punishment on a suspecting nation? If these former leaders believe that they want to rededicate themselves to rebuilding the nation, they can do so in an advisory capacity not by reentering Aso Rock. There are more than 120 million Nigerians, we need every Nigerian to have equal chance to serve and make a difference in the nation, not just a few. Are these born to rule Nigerians better than you and I? Old guards have proven ineffective, dangerous to themselves and to the nation while the new vanguards are learning the tricks of Nigerian politics. Putting these old guards in office is like tossing a coin for head or tail on the survival of a pilot jumping off the plane at 20,000 feet without a parachute, the result is predictable. The young shall grow we are often told but the young, like the Ayim Ayims, are taking their queues from the grab-I-grap older politicians and are perfecting and rewriting the handbook on how to optimally loot the treasury through new innovative corruption methodologies. If the young are growing to be worse than the old, what hope does Nigeria have as representative of the black race?

The sure thing is that our days are numbered, poor or rich. When the end comes, which side of humanity shall we be? One wishes that the Sese Seko Mobutu could come back to life, just for a second, to remind African leaders that when death calls, they would not have the luxury of time to gather all their loots. The only thing Sese Seko Mobutu was guaranteed of was that his nation’s money was permanently in Swiss Bank or lost in France without a trace. African leaders, take heed because yesterday is past, today is present while tomorrow is not guaranteed and it is called the future. Is there something wrong with Aso Rock because when the best and brightest get in they become deranged, babbling, uncontrollable maniacs that embark on policies that are incoherent and against all the cultural norms, social standards, and erase political African wisdom while talking down on citizens that vote them into office.

Nigerians have a way of talking their way out of doing the right thing sometimes because of the fear of unknown and sometimes because of the crumbs they hope to get from the master’s table. All said and done, they end up the losers. During the take over of Buhari/Idiagbon, Nigerian jubilated because the regime demanded they be disciplined. As soon as Babangida came on board, they rejoiced because they were given temporary reprieve from a forthcoming heavier punishment. Yet with the SAP virus inflicted on them by Babangida’s regime, one would have thought that Nigerians have learnt a good lesson. Little wonder, they were still hoodwinked by Abacha who gagged and ran off the best conscience Nigeria had with his draconian rules and a lot of the Nigerians in government now were singing Abacha’s name in praises.

Why the need to register new political parties? One of the reasons is that the existing parties do not show that they care and they do not listen to the genuine cry of citizens, rather, they are busy sharing the loots and daring citizens to complain. The current democratic dispensation is creating wealth for a privileged few that will again go into politics to oppress the other 95% of remaining Nigerians and the cycle continues in perpetuity. The cycle of despair must be broken today not tomorrow. As much as people believed in Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s capability to solve the nation’s problem and even going by his promises at the inauguration, one is disappointed that his tenure is mar in escalated corruption even at the executive level. It does not matter whether he partakes in corrupt enrichment or not, the corruption is happening on his watch just like it happened under the praying president, Shagari’s watch.

We must take a queue from the American system. Many said that George W. Bush was inexperience for the coveted position of US presidency but today, he is still proving that when one listens to the citizens by polls or mere cry of the disenfranchised and putting qualified citizens that can serve the nation selflessly, one becomes leader. African leaders still measure their successes by how many foreign leaders behind they kiss with pro-foreign policies which are always at the expense of citizens.

Nigeria is not home free cannot be home free even with creation of new political parties. Each of the new and old political parties must pass batteries of tests in order for citizens to subscribe to their political manifestos. Politicians are often characterized by the number of promises they make and never keep. Come 2003, citizens and any political party must be able to answer to the following questions:

1) Who does INEC represent, is it Nigerians or money grabbing cliques?

2) What does the constitution say about political gathering, affiliation, and number of political parties?

3) If INEC fails to allow new political parties to be formed what can the citizens do?

4) What political ideologies do the political party believe in?

5) Do the political parties have a blue print for creating jobs?

6) How do the political parties resolve their internal conflicts, is it by consensus or by aligning forces of destabilization in order to divide and conquer?

7) How do the political parties plan to reduce capital flight from Nigeria?

8) How do the political parties plan to create enough goodwill to endear Nigerians to them?

9) Can the political parties assure Nigeria that if Nigerians don’t have steady flow of electricity, Aso Rock too would not have (leading by example)?

10) What is the composition of the parties and what are the past performances of members?

11) Do the parties understand the difference between unitary and federal governing and which of these two do they subscribe to?

12) Does the party believe in the new 1999 constitution wholly or partially?

13) Do the political parties believe in secularity of the Nigerian nation?

14) Are the flag bearers of the parties robots or men that are willing to die for what the electorates voted them to represent and what they believe in, i.e. the Mandela type or one those dodge bullets by moving along the wrong direction?

15) How would external borrowing and project initiation, implementation and completion improve the quality of lives of citizens?

16) Do the political parties subscribe to declaration of assets when going into and getting out of office?

17) Do the political parties cross-reference their actions against the aspirations and wishes of citizens?

18) Do the political parties believe in education as a means of improving the standard of living of citizens?

19) Do the parties believe in homegrown Bill Gates or just exporting Duds all over the world in order to help them transfer money out of the country?

20) Where would the country be heading under the political parties?

21) Is the political party capable of formulating coherent policies that benefit Nigerians first and encourage investors to respect citizens, and begin to believe in productivity and capabilities of Nigerians?

With the foregoing presentation, the question, "SHOULD THERE BE REGISTRATION OF NEW POLITICAL PARTIES?" This question is still relevant now as it was when it was posed at the beginning of this article. Any political party that can answer 85% of the above twenty-one questions in the affirmative should be worth vote of any capable and reasonable Nigeria.

Although the current political dispensation still presents us with a fait accompli, the answer to the question is a resounding, yes! as long as we do not want to leave our fate in the hands of the money-grabbing politicians. If the Gowons, the Muritalas, the Obasanjos, the Buharis, the IBBs, the Abachas, and the Abdulsalem Abubakars came to power inexperienced and politically untutored but still left Nigeria standing, there is still hope for Nigeria. For this reason, we must enjoin more educationally and politically savvy Nigerians to help lift this heavy aircraft called Nigeria up by actively and selflessly engaging in her polity. The current political parties are not serving the needs of Nigerians as their actions for the past two years have clearly shown. Meaning to do well in politics and actually doing well are two different animals. We need performers not rhetorics because if wishes were horses, beggars will ride. One dares to say that none of the present and past politicians are mean-spirited so, why do they get to office to inflict pains on citizens. May be we need to recognize that it is time to purge the system that corrupts leaders as they get into office and the time to do so is now.

With the new political parties, service must overshadow self-interest. Can we trust that new political parties will not follow the path followed by existing ones? There are no guarantees in life but if the new parties are ready to follow the rules, are able to give selflessly and create jobs, then, theirs efforts shall be blessed several folds. To become president and commander in chief of armed forces means to get dirty, get into the trenches and make people’s lives better but it is not amassing wealth through graft in an unleveled playing field. The next political dispensation must be based on true federalism which requires skills, fair play, equity and all the political dexterity that can be brought to the play. To be a head does not give one the right of whine neither does it give one the opportunity to complain and apportion blames. The new Nigerian citizens must make sure that the buck stops on the leader’s desk and if the leader does not accept this, citizens must also have a way to constitutionally rid of such leaders without giving some of the remaining coup plotters reason to practice and perfect their trade. This is what the new Nigeria needs and this is what she must have, NEW POLITICAL PARTIES.