Victor Okhai: Nigerian Political Parties Lack Clear Ideological Direction, Function As Power-Grabbing Vehicles

Global affairs analyst, Victor Okhai has said that in Nigeria, political parties often act as Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) for acquiring power without clear ideological direction.

He made this comment during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday while reflecting on the recent presidential election in Ghana. He noted that Ghana’s political parties are built on robust ideological principles.

Okhai said, “In Nigeria, political parties are nothing but SPVs, Special Purpose Vehicles for acquiring power. So the issue of ideology is out the window. It is what it is. We have to face the fact that unfortunately that’s what the situation is in Nigeria here. But the Ghanaians, not just in Ghana but across the globe, parties are ideologically based. People stay in them and grow in them. But the case is different here. Integrity is our biggest problem here.”

Further commenting on Ghana’s presidential election, the global affairs analyst stated, “This is an election for the young people of Ghana. They were the ones that decided this election. Many of them were fed up with the way things were going and they wanted change. It was obvious. It was more like a vote of no confidence on the administration. The Ghanaian people spoke, the electoral body respected it and Democracy has won at the end of the day.”

Speaking during the same interview, the Africa Program Coordinator of Yiaga Africa, Ibrahim Faruk noted that the election, though marred with instances of violence, was a success. He said that the violence did not impact the overall election process.

He stated, “I do not think we can dwell solely on some of these cases. Elections are definitely an emotional event in Ghana, in West Africa, and in many other countries. However, the violence has not impacted the overall election process. While we condemn violence in any elections—and as observers, as media, as stakeholders in the process—it has no place. We believe that the rights of the citizens, the voice of the citizens, should be respected because, ultimately, elections are about the will of the people.”

Faruk also pointed out that the perpetrators of violent acts during the election will be disciplined. He said, “But there are definitely lessons to learn around managing election security and the conduct of security officials and the conduct of citizens on election day. We have not seen widespread instances of violence in this election, but where there are isolated cases like we have seen, it’s very important to condemn it. We’ve read the statement where we’ve seen that everyone that has been involved in some of this violence, they’d be brought to book.”

Melissa Enoch 

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