By Jonathan Ugbal
A legal practitioner and notary public, Mr. Leonard Anyogo has said that Nigeria is moving to an era where the individual and not the political party win election.
The Yache in Yala born native stated this recently in an interview with Channels Television where he said the emergence of Senator Adeleke in Osun state is a pointer to that and called for independent candidacy in a bid to ensure Nigerians enjoy democratic dividends.
“We are entering a phase where it is no longer going to a party thing, it is going to be individuals (winning elections). We have seen that play out in Osun state with Senator Adeleke and in doing so, we have to advocate for independent candidacy which is one of the recommendations o the last confab that has not seen the light (of day),” Anyogo said and lamented the lack of political ideology in the country.
He posited that the current economic situation of the masses is caused by the lack of ideology as well as what he said looked like a two party system currently in existence.
“We don’t have any political ideology and any government in power; you see people just jump in and out,” he said, adding that: “We want to see a paradigm shift. We want to see a situation where it must not always be either PDP or APC.”
Anyogo challenged the other political parties to be more adventurous and not wait for defectors even though he blamed the people’s perception and the expensive electoral system for their poor performance at the polls.
“In some states, once you emerge candidate of a particular political party, it is a done deal.
“I tell you that in my ward, you see only PDP and APC. If you interview any person and call any other party, they will ask you ‘which one is that one?’ they are not on ground and politics is localized; how do you win elections?” he queried.
Also, he sued for regional and localized parties to ensure Nigerians enjoy democratic dividends.
However, he lamented that: “We have this bandwagon effect that we want to be connected to the government at the state level or the government in Abuja. That is the kind of mindset we have. That is why I say it has to do with our orientation and of course I want to say that when you are getting forms at INEC, it should be free because finance is part of the problem.”