Jurist, political economist, and policy analyst, Prof. Anthony Kila, Director at the Institute of the Commonwealth, has advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to mandate political parties to employ well-trained psychiatrists as part of electoral reforms.
Speaking on Arise Television, Kila said the chaos that erupted at the National Secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday showed the necessity for parties to involve psychiatrists.
The chaos occurred when a faction led by the recently elected National Chairman, Tanimu Turaki, clashed with the faction loyal to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike while attempting to hold meetings at the same facility. Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed later claimed he and his Oyo State counterpart, Seyi Makinde, were teargassed during the incident. Turaki, accompanied by Governors Mohammed and Makinde, was able to assume office after normalcy was restored.
Kila said, “It might be a good idea that INEC should include a law to say that every party should have an in-house psychiatrist to deal with issues of the party as well.”
He described the clash as a “show of shame in terms of form and process,” arguing that while the content of the dispute might be legitimate, the behavior highlights a flaw in Nigeria’s partisan political elite.
Kila noted that political parties are supposed to be made up of people with shared purpose. The fact that these individuals “can deploy police officers, shout, shove, and resort to expelling and fighting one another shows you they’re not like minds.” He concluded that they are people there to “grab power,” warning that while today the problem is with the PDP, most Nigerian political parties share these “uncivilized, unbecoming, uninspiring traits,” which he views as a system problem, not just a PDP problem.
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