NDC, ADC: Delta’s Political Pit Latrines, Refuse Dumps By Festus Okubor ~ Truth Reporters

By Dr. Festus Goziem Okubor

Writing from Ute-Erumu

There is an old African proverb that says, "When a goat begins to eat from the refuse dump, it soon forgets the difference between vegetables and nylon." That proverb perfectly captures the political comedy currently playing out in Delta State.

The NDC and ADC have gradually transformed themselves into political pit latrines and refuse dumps — open spaces where every rejected, expired, politically damaged and decomposing ambition believes there is still room to land. In those parties, nobody asks questions. Nobody checks ideological compatibility. Nobody cares where you are coming from or what political disaster you left behind.

Once you can crawl, limp, stagger, or be wheelbarrowed into their fold, you are welcomed with drums, handshakes and stale rice.

Indeed, these parties now resemble public refuse bins beside a crowded market during the rainy season. Everything finds its way there: rotten tomatoes, dead rats, leaking pampers, broken buckets, expired ambitions and failed politicians. The only thing missing is a signboard boldly announcing: "Bring Your Political Waste Here."

In the APC, there is structure, competition, discipline and political relevance. You must prove capacity. You must demonstrate strength. You must convince the people. But in the NDC and ADC, the story appears different.

The moment the APC shuts its doors against political indiscipline and unseriousness, these parties quickly fling open their back doors, shouting, "Come inside! Even if the people rejected you, we can still manage you."

They are fast becoming rehabilitation centres for political casualties. One begins to wonder whether these parties are political organisations or emergency shelters for rejected ambitions.

An elder once said, "The vulture does not reject rotten meat." That appears to be the situation today. APC leads and sets the pace, while the others wait eagerly like roadside scavengers hoping to inherit whatever APC throws away.

If APC sneezes, they catch a cold. If APC disciplines a member, they rush with buckets to collect the tears.

What kind of politics is this?

A politician abuses a party in the morning, condemns its leadership in the afternoon, and by evening is negotiating for automatic tickets elsewhere. The next day, he begins speaking about "rescue missions" and "moving Delta forward."

Forward to where? To the refuse dump?

This is no longer politics. It is rascality wrapped in agbada.

Politics ought to be built on principles, ideology, conviction and loyalty. What we are witnessing today resembles a village masquerade running mad through the marketplace. Politicians move from one party to another like hungry goats jumping fences in search of cassava peels.

The tragedy is that the NDC and ADC seem genuinely excited about it. Every defector is celebrated as though a political lion has been captured, whereas many are merely political mechanics whose vehicles have refused to start. Some could not win their polling units. Some cannot gather ten youths under a mango tree without providing transport fare.

Yet, the moment they threaten to leave APC, desperate parties begin offering tickets as if electoral messiahs have arrived.

Another proverb says, "When a drowning man sees a floating coffin, he mistakes it for a rescue boat." That perfectly describes the current romance between failed politicians and these parties.

Imagine a student repeatedly failing examinations but still demanding to be made class captain. That is exactly what is happening. Political failure is now seeking promotion through defection.

Perhaps the funniest part is the sudden grammar that follows every movement. A politician who could not maintain relevance within APC suddenly begins speaking about "democracy," "justice," "consultation," and "inclusive participation."

Ironically, these are often the same people who disappear immediately after elections, only to resurface when ticket season arrives.

If political inconsistency were an Olympic sport, some of these defectors would win gold medals for Delta State.

The truth remains obvious: APC remains the dominant political force. Others survive largely by feeding on bitterness, recycled grievances and rejected ambitions. APC is the big river; the others are seasonal gutters waiting for rainwater.

And there is yet another proverb for them: "A refuse dump may grow taller, but it never becomes a mountain."

No serious political party builds its future by assembling every disgruntled politician with a fractured ambition. When every rejected item suddenly becomes valuable simply because it was rejected elsewhere, standards have collapsed completely.

One must ask: if these politicians were truly transformational leaders, why were they unable to survive where genuine political competition exists? Why do they suddenly become attractive only after rejection?

The answer is simple: a drowning political structure will celebrate even a leaking canoe.

The NDC and ADC increasingly resemble political orphanages where failed ambitions go for emotional support. There, everyone is promised "automatic ticket," "stakeholder recognition," and "strategic relevance."

It is much like roadside herbalists who claim one bottle of concoction can cure headache, infertility, broken legs and spiritual attacks all at once.

Fortunately, the electorate is wiser today. Delta people understand the difference between genuine leadership and political tourism. You cannot continue jumping from one party to another like a cricket escaping broom strokes and expect applause from the people.

As our elders wisely say, "The fly that has no adviser follows the corpse into the grave."

Political prostitution disguised as strategy will never replace integrity, loyalty and genuine service. Parties that specialise in collecting APC rejects may generate temporary excitement, but noise alone does not create political credibility.

In the end, a pit latrine may receive every kind of waste, but nobody mistakes it for a dining table.

And that, perhaps, is the political tragedy of the NDC and ADC in Delta State.

This version is tighter, more polished, and reads like a newspaper opinion article while preserving the author's satirical style.