A former presidential candidate, Shitu Kabir, has blamed Nigeria’s deepening political crisis on the absence of ideological political parties.
Kabir, a former leader of the Advanced People’s Democratic Alliance and ex-chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, argues that the failure to build parties around clear beliefs has entrenched desperation, opportunism and a winner-takes-all culture.
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.
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.
Kabir rejected claims that his move reflected opportunistic defections ahead of the 2027 elections, maintaining that it was “not yet late” to build ideological political parties in Nigeria.
He also linked weak ideology to Nigeria’s over-centralised federal structure, arguing that devolution of power would strengthen grassroots politics and reduce cross-party migration.
“When you devolve power, it gives financial and political power to the federated units,” he said, noting that stronger local control would force national parties to negotiate based on ideas and interests rather than patronage.
Looking ahead to the 2027 elections, Kabir said the polls would still be competitive but conceded that Nigerian politics had yet to become idea-driven.
“We have not built that ideological bridge,” he said, adding that voter inducement and weak democratic culture remained major challenges.
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