By Reuben Onyishi
(Ugoachataberu)
Defection is associated with politics all over the world. Politicians have always switched parties when the party under which they were elected no longer serves their belief and interest. And it is not a sin. In some parliamentary system like Canada and the UK, politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change political affiliation to a political party different from the one under which they were initially elected. It is a kind of carpet-crossing from one party to the other.
Some have attributed party switch to a lack of ideological commitment. I make bold to say that people switch ideology when such ideology no longer preserves the ideals in which they believe. Ideology is not cast in stone. No political party has defective ideology. All ideologies are so glamorous that you would think the parties are perfect, only that no one is mindful of it. That is why ideology is hardly taken seriously. Here in Nigeria, politicians can easily switch from one party to the other when they think doing so will help them realign with a better channel to serve their purpose and interest. As a matter of fact, politics is a function of interest, and interests align and realign. Persons who were political foes suddenly find a common ground to unite and advance their common cause.
In America, for instance, there is no ideological commitment.The current president of the United States, Donald Trump, had switched from one party to the other.Trump's political party affiliation has changed numerous times. He registered as a Republican in Manhattan, New York, in 1987, switched to the Reform Party in 1999, the Democratic Party in 2001, and back to the Republican Party in 2009. American political history is replete with political figures who, at one time or the other, switched parties. Hilary Roadham Clinton was one of the young Goldwater Girls who campaigned for Arizona Republican in 1964. In the late 1960s, she officially became a Democrat. Ronald Reagan, former US president, was originally a Democrat. In 1962, he switched to the Republican party and gave a famous quote, "I did not leave the Democratic Party. The party left me." These are just a few examples. Many yet abound who switched parties, ranging from Wendell Willkie, Strom Thurmond, Elizabeth Dole, Leon Panetta, Elizabeth Warren, all prominent American Politicians, to mention no more.
In the same US, from the account of Ballotpedia, between 1994 and October 2025, a total of 193 state legislators and 139 state representatives had switched parties. The number of state lawmakers who switched from Democrat to Republican were 92: state senators 27 and state representatives 65. On the other hand, a total of 26 state lawmakers had switched from Republican to Democrats: 8 state senators and 18 state representatives.
Switching parties obtain all over the world, be it in Malaysia, Pakistan, India, UK, Canada, Sweden, Bangladesh, just name it. So, it is established that there is no sin nor shame in party switch. It could even be that the party to which one was originally elected has issues that may blur one's chances of fulfilling target purpose, in which case defection to a platform that offers such prospect becomes inevitable. It could even be that the party in question is cowering at the brinks, especially when it is mired in controversy and inextricable crises. Under such circumstances, even the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria sanctions defection.
Peter Mbah's movement to the APC is strategic, imperative, compelling and important, given the circumstances on one hand and the benefits accruing from it on the other hand. It is a landmark decision taken by almost all the stakeholders in the state, seeing that the Peoples Democratic Party under which Mbah was elected the governor of Enugu State no longer offers the prospect of visionary leadership to which Mbah has aligned his administration. Prior to the advent of President Tinubu, the APC had somewhat taken a polarised structure, as many saw it as a regional party. However, Tinubu, at present, has broken the barriers of ethnic cleavages and has repositioned the party for its present national outlook.
The president had taken daring postures with his equitable distribution of the resources accrued to the federation. The removal of fuel subsidy meant more money for the federation. Nonetheless, how that is shared is quite another. What obtains now is the fact that the subnationals have more money in their kitties as the resources are evenly shared. Any other president could have given it any name and restricted the distribution. But President Tinubu would see to it that it is shared in such a manner that states and local governments earn their due portions. It remains for the governors and the local government chairmen to embark on projects and programmes that would cascade the resources down to the grassroots and the ordinary man in the street.
For the South East that had felt marginalised prior to now, what President Tinubu has done in setting up the Souch East Development Commission has left no one in doubt that it is business usual, as Mbah would say. South East no longer feels marginalised, giving the spread of appointments and deliverables in such a way that the region is a due beneficiary. What the president has done with appointments within the region is encouraging, and that is why the South East is melting into the APC. This seismic realignment has a lot of benefits in terms of easing the bottom heaviness of Enugu State and easing it off to Abuja as more people will be called up for appointments. The support in terms of infrastructure, human development, and empowerment coming to the state as a result of this realignment is humongous. So, why should Mbah continue to hawk the carcass of a dying party when the APC presents the future Enugu desires on a platter of gold?
Apart from the fact that the PDP is gripped by the infernal hands of betrayal and internal crises which resist resolution, the party did not requite the goodwill it had held amog the people of the South East, who had, over the years, remained loyal to the PDP, giving it up to 75% of its votes from 1999 to date. The party neglected the South East and disregarded and insulted the feelings and sensibilities of the people. A case in point is the Anyanwu-Udeh-Okoye imbroglio, which saw the party disregard the position of the South East caucus on the matter. The party carried on as though the goat had bleated and could do nothing else, even when the South East caucus threatened to redetermine its relationship with the party should it continue to flagrantly disregard and insult its sensibilities.
To all intent and purpose, the atmosphere was charged for the move, which had become inevitable on all fours. Mbah widely consulted the political stakeholders in the state, and they all agreed it was time for all in the state to move to the party, which held for it the huge prospects and benefits for the people of the state. What happened in Enugu State was a clean sweep. Not just the stakeholders but also the people of the state moved en masse. Okpara Square was filled to the brim that if you threw up a grain of sand, it would not find a space to drop on. The people made a bold statement that for a thing which time has come, nothing can stop it. All is happy for the movement as the pulse and feelings of the people yearned and craved for it; the spirit was high and up until now, people in the state feel elated at the defection to the APC.
For Mbah, like Ronald Reagan, he did not leave the PDP. The PDP left him, and there was no option left. If all avenues for peace were explored, and the other side would not bulge but mischievously continued to trample on you, what would you do? You would move on, not in spite nor hatred, but to reject that which has rejected you. Indeed, tomorrow is here, as Mbah continues with his developmental strides and transcendental transformation of Enugu State, even at the higher pedestals to which he has sidled the state.
