18th April, 2015
Dr Carol Nwosu, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has attributed the wave of defections by some politicians from one party to the other to the lack of sound party ideology in Nigeria.
Nwosu stated this in an interview with NAN on Friday in Abuja. She said that the defections were driven by personal interests rather than ideological convictions.
She said this was not the situation in advanced democracies where party politics revolved around issues and the views of members, shaped by their parties’ ideologies.
“If you go to United States and meet a Republican, you will know; if you meet a Democrat you will know by the way they talk and the way they see issues.
“We don’t have it here, and that is why you see these massive going up and down, because they don’t feel they are losing anything and they don’t see the difference between one party and the other.
“I want my party to continue to work on that ideology, so that if you are in on this thing, you are thinking Nigeria first, no matter what level.
“And if someone meets you on the road they will know that you are a PDP member because of the way you talk.
“I can tell you that an average Republican does not want foreigners in the country, but a Democratic does.
“The Democrats are known for their belief in the provision of a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, especially those taken here as children. You know they are democrats even if they don’t mention it.
“On the other, if you meet a politician on the street and he is saying, `Okay, these foreigners should leave”, you know he is a Republican. They don’t have to say they are Republicans.
“That is the way it is supposed to be. But here in Nigeria, one party copies the other’s manifesto or constitution.
“Believe me, if you want you can investigate it, bring APC, bring PDP there is no difference. So, they don’t think they have to work hard to make their political party be better than the other ones.”
She stated that she was one of the founding mothers of the PDP, adding that leaving the party was the last thing on her mind because she believed in its ideology and manifesto.
“I am one of the founding mothers of the party. In 1998, I was a member of the G34, which tells you how deep I am and the passion I have for the party.
“I was a onetime PDP presidential aspirant in 2007, and may I also add that I am the first woman that ever attempted to be the National Chairman of the party in 2008.
“So, I do believe in the party; I believe that the PDP is people oriented judging by its projects and programmes, and I strongly believe that if the party had stayed long, we could have taken Nigeria to the Promised Land.
“When mothers are true mothers, even if the house is burning, she will be looking for water to put it out. That is how I am, particularly with my political party.
“We are continuously working to make PDP the party to beat in terms of providing services to Nigerians, in terms of moving this country forward, in terms of bringing foreign investments to the country, in terms of creating a sound ideology.
“Some people must build the house, and nobody can do that better than mothers. I am a mother in that party so we have to continue our house better so that it can serve our children better and that is why defection is the last thing on my mind.”