By Tom Odi
The spate of defections in the country from one political party to another by political gladiators is
alarming. There’s morality issue that inheres such practice such that it provokes reflections by political
Observers and the ordinary citizens. It makes concerned citizens to query the service intentions,
particularly, of political actors seeking elective positions. Some political actors, who often speak from
both sides of the mouth, are quick to say that there’s no morality in politics or that politics is not
religion. When have we become so godless and conscienceless that we permit recklessness and
Apparent iniquities in our own democracy and politicking?
Let’s paint a little picture about harlotry, in its plain practice by marital or, generally, relationship
In fidels. When a person has no moral frame around their sexual indulgences, they can be dubbed a
harlot. Harlotry is spousal betrayal. Or it is infidelity in relationships. It involves hopping from one
partner to another in the most flippant dramatization of lechery.
A harlot may pledge committal to a relationship. But, in the long run, They will still have a slew of
other bedfellows or paramours at the same time. Or they simply cannot stay long in a relationship as
they will often have reason or reasons to ditch a partner so that they can explore newfound social
liaisons.
Floozies and satyrs come under severe censure by sententious moralists who call the immoral "public
dogs". That is to underscore the height of repugnance in such "sexcapades".
The scenario painted, heretofore, has near parallel or facsimile in politics, especially in our nation’s
politics. Many of our political actors, who are oft times euphemistically limned as politically exposed
persons, seem to don the toga of political prostitution. And this is because our politicians are not self-
respecting and self-restraining ideologues. They play the harlotry with the zest typical of a drunk who
riotously swills copious drafts of assorted liquors. Some of them can be in a political party but will
openly or secretly hobnob and cavort with other political parties. Political referees within the party are
quick to show the yellow-card or even the red-card to the erring political practitioners. Such umpires do
this by whistleblowing the offence of anti-party activity. But, are our politicians bothered about censures
and sanctions?
A few examples of anti-party activities, here, will add credibility to the kernel of this write-up.
Nyesom Wike, the minister of the Federal Capital Territory is a card-carrying member of the PDP. But, he
openly canvassed for APC’s Tinubu in 2023. Wike has never recanted his usually lavish political
magnificats for the president. He uses virtually every occasion to praise the president who is in another
party. He has been doing this even ere the bugle blasts for the 2027 electioneering.
Former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, is a sworn coadjutor with Nyesom Wike in the
liberty of choice. Fayose is PDP but openly sloganeers for President Tinubu and Governor Biodun
Abayomi Oyebanji (BAO) of Ekiti State. Ekiti is an APC-governed state.
Twinning with anti-party activity that betokens political harlotry is defection. This is the outright jilting
of a party for another. Milder synonyms find expression in the words like party-switching, party-
hopping , floor-crossing , carpet-crossing and turn-coating. Defectors de-robe themselves of their one-
time political party’s cloak. While they leave for another political party, they would begin to throw mud
on their former parties. The political lechers remove their party toga and sees it as a cast-off to be
trodden under the feet.
Former vice-president Atiku Abubakar left PDP for APC in the heat of his tempestuous spar with
Olusegun Obasanjo. Later, he returned to PDP like a dog that went back to its vomit. Now, he has re-
vomited the PDP and went for the pudding of the African Democratic Congress (ADC). And the usual
alibi for dumping a previous political party is loss of faith in the one-time beautiful bride nomenclature
as a party. Hear Atiku while dumping the PDP for the ADC: ´I find it necessary to part ways due to
Current trajectory the party has taken which I believe diverges from the foundational principle we stood
For “While the former Number Two man furnishes us with the reason he considered germane to his
Defection for which the PDP came under his unstinting obloquy, he failed to allude, even if obliquely, to
his desperation to be president of Africa’s most populous country and, so, is looking for a fertile political
turf to grow and nurse his ambition.
Former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el Rufai, ditched the APC for the Social Democratic Party
(SDP). He whined and bellyached about the alleged deviation from the APC charter by his fellow party
Henchmen. He further amplified the reason for dumping the APC. He alluded to the growing
Misalignment between his personal values and the current direction of the party. While this was the
basis for exiting the party, he ran afoul of simple etiquette. He now decided to throw out the baby with
the bathwater, the baby being the party he helped to birth. But, even a political ignoramus or a political
rookie knows that El-Rufai had a close shave with tears because he was denied the opportunity of
becoming a federal minister. And the reason for losing out followed negative security reports from the
nation’s State Security Service.
Also, His Excellency, Rochas Okorocha left All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) for the APC as well as Godswill
Akpabio decamped to APC from the PDP. Attahiru Bafarawa dumped the All Nigerian People’s Party
(ANPP) for the PDP. Peter Obi left APGA for Labour Party, then to African Democratic Congress (ADC)
and now to the Nigerian Democratic party. And the list of defectors is long, right from the First Republic.
All of these defections are propelled by sheer personal interest. Most often, defections in our country
do not centre on the pursuit of national interest or the people’s interest.
Politicians, it seems, are all tarred with the same brush everywhere. Defections in countries like
Australia, India, Italy, Malaysia, Nicaragua, New Zealand, Indonesia, Brazil, Romania and so on give
credence to interest-induced alignments and realignments of politicians. Perhaps, America and Britain
stand out in terms of party fidelity as, it appears that party-switching is hardly heard of in those
countries.
So, if we derogate defection and its kindred tendencies, it is because of their frivolous rampancy and
the pettiness of reasons sometimes adduced by defectors.
Herein is the issue. Political harlotry, expressed in party switching or anti-party activities, is fuelled by
insular interests that relegate public interest. This is the same scenario that provoked the sulfurous
criticism by Barack Obama in his book, The Audacity of Hope. He said: “You dont need a poll to know
that the vast majority of Americans… Republican, Democrat, and Independent are wary of the dead
zone that politics has become, in which narrow interests vie for advantage and ideological minorities
seek to impose their own versions of absolute truth”.
But, here again, we are confronted with constitutional duplicity. On the one hand among the
Fundamental human rights in the 1999 Nigerian constitution (as amended) is the freedom of association
provision. Section 40 states: “Every person shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other
persons and in particular, he may form or belong to any political party, trade union or any other
association for the prot
Assembly who defected to APC from PDP following the raucous spat between Nyesom Wike and
Governor Siminalayi Fubara, must vacate their seats. But, like defectors before them, they all stayed
glued to their positions as if daring anyone to come forth to heave them from their legislative seats. It
has been so in the history of defections in Nigeria. Previous defectors in any part of the country
retained their seats until their terms sunsetted and new election seasons dawned in spite of the law.
And the heavens didn’t fall. That’s because political harlots know that they are immune to sanctions
and that even expulsions for anti-party activities are mere hot air and sheer swashbuckling threats. And
such uncodified immunity gives rise to impunity…”do as you please because nothing will happen.”
So, then, a legal document, like our constitution that seems to approbate and reprobate at the same
time, for instance on the issue of defection, must come under meticulous review mechanism.
Defections and sanctions or otherwise must be spelt out in clear, unambiguous terms. Let defections be
justiceable and sanctionable, without prejudice to Human Rights provisions in our constitution. Any step
that can sanitize the political process is welcome.
Our politicians are quick to reference other successful and robust democracies in the world. But,
Unfortunately, they cannot seem to copy best political practices from those reputable democracies. All
That our politicians know are theories of democracy, which they mouth with enthusiastic gusto.
Politicians must elevate public interest and relegate personal interest. They should not seek to be
Leveraged by power grabbing at the expense of the interest and welfare of the general public.
“Government is a response to political predicament,” said Dokun Bojuwade, a one-time director of the
Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos. Politicians who prostitute politically, most often frivolously, do
not have the interest of the people at heart.
Mr. Tom Odi is a Journalist and Public affairs analyst and writes from Kogi state.