There are many reasons why people belong to different political groups, leanings and parties. In the Western world, ideologies, rather than sentiments, direct their path to identifying with or belonging to a particular party. However, it must be said that the sole aim of being a member of a party is to serve the general public with the idea(s) one feels is best to attract developments and build human capacity.

Sadly, in our society today, it appears that that purpose has been defeated. The gloomy reality is that people rally around parties and pay loyalty for gains and to gather the commonwealth of the ordinary people for themselves and their families. Something that was supposed to be used to enhance the general wellbeing of the society, build infrastructure, locate sustainable development in rural areas, create employment for both graduates and the unlearned, and build industries, among other things. It is now being cornered by a handful of individuals to enrich themselves and keep the left overs for their unborn generation.

Surprisingly, they don’t usually end there. They make strident efforts to create enmity amongst their gullible followers who now see themselves as enemies, depending on which politician they are following. They ensure that these individuals are blocked from having any form of cordial relationship with each other as it is supposed to be and ensure that the environment knows no peace while they continue to milk the common man dry.

Unfortunately, this mindset that if he is not a member of your party, then you are enemies, that has been created by these myopic leaders have successfully undermined the ability of their gullible followers to think creatively, strategically and developmentally and that way contemplate and articulate policies and programmes that would positively impact society and advise accordingly. On the flipside, they (leaders) go about lobbying for contracts, attend each other’s programmes and even make pledges, not minding their political affiliation and the jaundiced perceptions they have driven into the heads of their followers.

It is trite to note that being a member of a particular party does not make you an enemy to your neighbour who holds a different view as to how governance should be driven, rather, it should be an inspiration to do better so as to earn the trust of the general public in ensuring that they, in the next phase of recycling the system of leadership, considers your idea having tasted how the other works, especially, when it has not given the desired result.

So far, in the last 20 years of Nigeria’s unbroken democracy, there is hardly any ideology that has been showcased as a way forward to having a working system rather, every man or leader for himself, garnering what is meant to develop the people whom God has blessed and laying up those treasures in their homes. That shouldn’t be.

Leaders must converge on the arena of shared ideas and ideologically driven politics with a view to ensuring that development circles round the environs which they lead. That is the beauty of governance. However, they must also ensure that their followers don’t see or regard members of different political parties as enemies. Drive in sound ideas that will lead us to the Nigeria of our dreams. Ideologies should be the basis of our politics and not selfish sentiments of stealing and defrauding the common man.