Every politician must understand one fundamental political reality: the very day you resume office is also the beginning of your journey toward leaving that office. No political position is permanent. Power is transient, mandates are temporary, and political relevance is sustained by performance, loyalty, accountability and the confidence of the people.
Those occupying political offices today should therefore govern with humility and remember that the people will ultimately judge every mandate at the ballot box and in the court of public opinion. Political power should not become a personal possession, nor should public office be treated as an instrument for private accumulation, political vendetta or the advancement of narrow interests.
We must also be honest about the current political realities within our party structure. Some politicians who left the PDP and joined the APC were not members of the party from its formative stages, yet the party opened its doors to them, accommodated them and, in some instances, entrusted them with valuable political opportunities and electoral tickets.
This is the time for political maturity and reciprocity.
If the APC has provided a platform, political space and opportunity, then those who have benefited from that platform should demonstrate genuine commitment to the party’s structures, programmes, candidates and grassroots organisation. Politics is not merely about securing a ticket; it is about building a political institution, strengthening party structures and respecting the collective mandate.
At this critical moment, abandoning the party because of personal disagreements, political calculations or individual ambition is not necessarily the solution. Defection should not become a permanent political strategy for negotiating personal interests. Politicians must learn to negotiate, reconcile, build consensus and resolve internal contradictions through legitimate party mechanisms.
We cannot continue to sacrifice the collective political interest of Igala land on the altar of personal ambition.
Our people need unity, strategic political organisation, credible representation and purposeful leadership. We cannot afford political fragmentation, needless factionalism, destructive propaganda or the politics of divide-and-rule. No politician is bigger than the people, and no political ambition is more important than the peace, unity and development of our communities.
And to those who command large political followership: let us be realistic. Many of the supporters who defend politicians passionately on social media and during election campaigns have received little or no tangible benefit from those relationships. Political supporters are often mobilised during elections and forgotten immediately after victory. That cycle must end.
Leadership must translate into grassroots empowerment, community development, youth inclusion, employment opportunities, accessible representation and measurable dividends of democracy.
The APC and its candidates need committed stakeholders, grassroots mobilisers, ward leaders, youths, women, party faithful and political actors who are prepared to work collectively toward electoral success. This is not the season for political distraction; it is the season for consolidation, mobilisation, reconciliation and strategic engagement.
Let every politician remember: today’s power can become tomorrow’s history. Today’s political opponent can become tomorrow’s ally. Today’s office can become tomorrow’s memory.
Therefore, let us put the collective interest above personal ambition, party stability above factional politics, and the unity of Igala land above individual political calculations.
ENOUGH OF POLITICAL SELFISHNESS.
ENOUGH OF DIVISIVE POLITICS.
ENOUGH OF PERSONAL AMBITION AT THE EXPENSE OF THE PEOPLE.
Let us build a politics of loyalty, accountability, discipline, strategic mobilisation, internal democracy, grassroots participation and collective responsibility.
The mandate belongs to the people.
Power is temporary.
Positions are temporary.
Political tickets are temporary.
But the consequences of our leadership will remain in the history of our people.
Let history judge us by what we built—not by the offices we occupied.
– Edison Atumeyi Edime
The Political Activist And Youths Advocate
07068760054
