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By Seyi Babalola
Shitu Kabir, a former presidential candidate, blamed Nigeria’s increasing political problem on the lack of ideological political parties.
Kabir, a former leader of the Advanced People’s Democratic Alliance and former chair of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, contends that the failure to develop parties on defined beliefs has fostered desperation, opportunism, and a winner-takes-all mentality.
He spoke during an interview on ARISE Television on Wednesday, where he defended his decision to join the ruling All Progressives Congress despite his long-standing criticism of Nigeria’s dominant parties.
According to him, Nigeria’s refusal to embrace ideological party politics and proportional representation has left the country “in a mess,” where politicians are driven largely by personal gain rather than ideas.
“We wouldn’t have found ourselves in this mess that we found ourselves, because it’s a mess where everybody just knows ideology is absent.
“We have no ideological political parties now. All we want is to find a way to just get what I want to get,” Kabir said.
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He recalled that during his tenure as IPAC chairman, proposals were submitted to the National Assembly to introduce proportional representation and reform local government electoral processes, arguing that such measures would have strengthened Nigeria’s democracy.
Kabir said proportional representation would have reduced political desperation by ensuring that parties securing significant vote shares still gained legislative representation.
“If we had done proportional representation, when a political party wins 20 to 30 per cent of votes, they would have certain percentages of legislators awarded to them.
“That promotes ideology,” he said, adding that lawmakers would then be free to consistently project conservative or progressive ideas without fear of total political exclusion.
He argued that the current system fuels defections because electoral winners take everything, leaving others to wait another four years with no stake in governance.
Responding to questions about why he joined the APC despite warning against parties without ideology, Kabir insisted his principles remained intact, saying ideology could not be built “in isolation.”
“You cannot build or propagate an ideology and stand alone. Under the Nigerian constitution, you must be in a political party in order to compete,” he said, adding that reforming the system from within remained possible.
