Lukman says Leadership Disagreements vital for Political Party Growth.
The Progressives Governors Forum Director-General Salihu Lukman has said democracy will misplace its attraction if internal disagreements among political parties’ leaders stop.
The Director-General stated this in Abuja in a statement entitled, “Significance of Leadership Disagreements to Political Contests.”
He clarified that the diverse views being conveyed by leaders of the All Progressives Congress over the ongoing membership registration/ revalidation exercise were not in itself a bad thing for the party’s growth and stability.
According to him, in Inspite the misgivings expressed by the pioneer Interim National Chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi Akande, and the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, over the conduct of the exercise, both party leaders demonstrated to all who care to notice, that, despite their personal misgivings, they respect the party’s decision.
The statement read, “Once you eliminate internal disagreements among leaders of political parties, democracy will lose its appeal. Rather than a contest, what we will end up having in politics is some notional faith in the party’s sanctity and its leadership.
“Like all our religious shrines, all that we will be talking of as members of our respective parties are some claims about the purity of our leaders and our party even as we know that our only justification in joining the party is far from any imagined purity.
“Integral to our decisions to join the party is the expectations we all seem to have in terms of what being members should translate to.
“This is where most times, leaders often distinguish themselves. While to ordinary members, the issue is about political permutations of who is going to emerge as a candidate for election, for leaders, it is more about ensuring that the party is able to retain its electoral viability. Call it enlightened self-interest; every leader will be much more concerned about the capacity to win elections as the propelling factor for personal ambitions.”
