By Sunday Ani
Leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo, has said that the party’s ideology is to improve the national security, enhance the welfare of Nigerians and provide social and economic justice for all.
Adebayo, who was the presidential candidate of the party in the 2023 general election said the party had always maintained that it was the business of the government to eradicate poverty in Nigeria because it is not a natural situation but man-made.
He said: “When the party was established in 1989, it had a sister party, the National Republican Convention (NRC), but it was the one that was elitist to the left.
“It is all about the power of government to do well and that we can use the collective power vested in government to improve national security, enhance the welfare of Nigerians, provide social and economic justice for all and ensure that the commanding heights of the economy are not left to a few hands. It is also there to ensure that there is no tension in the land and that there is justice.
“Those are the things that the party was established for. The other party, the NRC, was merely saying, look, leave most things to the free market, the water will find its level.
“It is not the business of government to be in business and solve most of these problems. But the SDP has always maintained that it is the business of the government to eradicate poverty, and that poverty that you have in Nigeria is not a natural situation for the country, because we are not in the wilderness. We are not a landlocked country and we are not in a desert country.
“That poverty in Nigeria is a creation of mis-governance, and that in our natural state, we are not poor. Our land is fertile, our people are creative, and we have a healthy population to take care of our affairs.
“But bad government policies over time have ruined our currency, mismanaged the economy and led to corruption and that is what is bringing about poverty.
“Poverty is the biological mother of insecurity and injustice is the father of all of them and if you have justice in the land, you will enhance the welfare of the people by making sure that public money is spent on public affairs, while the welfare of the people is prioritised.”
Adebayo advised politicians coming into the party to understand its ideology and manifesto and follow them religiously. “We insist that those who are joining the party must be educated in the manifesto of the party.
“We must believe in what the party stands for and that continuous education is ongoing around the country, not just dedicated to those who are joining. Of course, we will have difficulty for those who are experienced in politics, who have been doing politics in a different way over time, and who have acquired some credit in politics.
“But, when we come to the party, we all get tutored by what the party stands for, and we all get challenged from time to time. When you go to the grassroots of the party, you will see, especially when I was campaigning, that people bring out the MKO Abiola farewell to poverty and hope 93. So, the people who need more education than the rest are the political elites, especially the class that came into politics in 1999, because they believe that politics is all about what you can grab, steal and run away with,” he said.