The
recently resolved protracted leadership crisis that rocked the People’s
Democratic Party, PDP, for more than a year was understandable. Nobody will
throw stones at fruitless trees. Because of the comparative advantages of the
erstwhile ‘biggest party in Africa’ over and above other parties, including the
ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, the PDP has passed through the furnace
and storms. According to its leaders, this baptism of fire has enabled the
party to navigate its path through leadership turbulence to emerge stronger,
better, more focused and deeply united.
More
than any other political party in the history of Nigeria, thePDP enjoyed a wider
spread across the six geo-political zones of the federation. It has solid
structures to command easy win in electoral contests. That was why the conflict
of interests for the soul of the party was fierce.
It is a well-known fact that
the PDP lost the presidency in 2015 largely due to its internal problems. For
instance, without the ‘New PDP’ faction that included five governors and some
influential National Assembly members that defected to the APC, it would have
been impossible to oust the party out of power.
Lack
of good media relations, which the then opposition party appropriated to its
advantage, was another factor that bruised the party beyond immediate recovery.
Who is to blame for this? I will drop this laxity at the door steps of former
President Olusegun Obasanjo. He laid the foundation for impunity by choosing
which court orders to obey. He didn’t care a hoot about building good media relations
for the party simply because he was in power.The ‘I don’t care attitude’ became
entrenched such that when the party really needed media support, there was no
fraternity within the fourth estate of the realm to side with it in moments of
crisis.
In
retrospect, before Obasanjo was thrown to jail under the guise of a phantom
coup by the Gen. Sani Abacha military junta in 1995, he never associated with
the leaders of the National Democratic Coalition, NADECO, peopled by progressive
minds, leaders of thought,and political movements across the country; the
coalition was led by the late Chiefs Michael AdekunleAjasin and Anthony Enahoro.
The coalition’s leading light also included Pa Abraham Adesanya, Bola Ige,
Solomon Lar, Ayo Adebanjo,EbutiUkiwe, Alani Akinrinade, Lulu Briggs,
AbubakarRimi, Bola Tinubu and many other dignitaries too numerous to mention.
Even Prof. Wole Soyinka, GaniFawehinmi, OlisaAgbakoba, Mike Ozekhome and
BekoRansome-Kuti were all allies of NADECO. Obasanjo never associated or tagged
along with them but these same people championed the national and international
clarion call for his release.
At
the dawn of a new political dispensation in 1998 after Abacha and M.K.OAbiola’s
sudden but mysterious death, the coalition transited to a political party,
which is the PDP. However, the Generals
had proposed Obasanjo as the candidate in whom they were well pleased; thus
Obasanjo was offered the presidential ticket on a platter. It is this same PDP
that he almost ran out of town after enjoying presidential power for eight
uninterrupted years. His confidants said he did what he did because the PDP
leadership under Jonathan was planning to expel him; so he pulled a fast one on
them.
Obasanjo/Jonathan’s
face-offwas the kernelof the crisis that almost buried the PDP. This started
with Obasanjo’s 18-page open letter to Jonathan, which contained a litany of
allegations spanning abuse of office, poor handling of issues of governance,
ethnicity, desperation for second term in office, anti-party activities, among
others.
I think underestimating Obasanjo and his caustic tongue was a regrettable
mistake made by Jonathan and his handlers; this eventually led to the loss of
power at the centre by the PDP. Frankly, Obasanjo’s factor resonated in the
defeat of his erstwhile party.
The five governors, National Assembly members
and party chieftains that defected to the APC received Obasanjo’s nod before
they did, as the former president’s Hilltop mansion became a Mecca of sorts, where
homage-paying political pilgrims streamed endlessly for consultation. He openly
identified with the APC and worked assiduously for it to the detriment of the
platform that gave him the presidency for eight years.
The sole reason Obasanjo
went this far was to prove a point to Jonathan; the interests of the nation,
her people, and the party do not matter when Obasanjo is at war.
When
Senators Ali Modu Sheriff and Ahmed Makarfi’s struggle for control of PDP
escalated, Obasanjo’s regular ‘death sentence’ pronounced on the party at every
public appearance further drown the interest of the party in the heart of its
members; and this stimulated the exit of a quantum of its members on a daily
basis.
When Sheriff visited Obasanjo for consultation on the PDP crisis, his
response was that the party was a ‘dying’ baby.In 2015, he had asked his local
party chairman to publicly shred his membership card as a mark of disrespect
for the PDP. All these crystalized into giving the party a bad image. I believe
Obasanjo could still have fought Jonathan, orchestrate his defeat like he did
without destroying the party.
After
Obasanjo had done his worse, the task of rebuilding the ‘dying’ PDP started in
earnest following the loss of the presidential election to the coalition of
opposition parties renamed the APC. The war against corruption targeted at the officials
of the ousted PDP administration further slowed down the rescue mission. In the
process, more members jumped ship into the ruling party ostensibly for ‘safety’
and ‘soft landing’ in case of any probe.
Consequently, the voice of opposition
was silenced! Nobody wanted to be hounded into detention or get media trial or
be haunted by the Directorate of State Security Service, DSS and the almighty
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. For those who chose to remain
in PDP, mum became the word.
However,
Governor Peter AyodeleFayose of Ekiti State took up the gauntlet. He found
allies in Femi Fani-Kayode and Reno Omokiri. The trio, led by Fayose, were
always on hand to respond to allegations and put the government on its toes
over its actions, inactions, and statements. Fayose especially offered more
than the APC had bargained for.
Fani-Kayode won’t let the oligarchy get away with
any sinister motives, moves, and clandestine sectarian agenda. Omokirioften
debunked the APC’s inaccuracies with facts and figures. In recent months, not
much has been heard from Alhaji Lai Mohammed. This implies that Fayose et al have
successfully overwhelmed the propaganda machinery of the APC; no thanks to
Senator Bola Tinubu’s ‘Siddon look’ posture in recent times, an action which has
mellowed the media fireworks of the ruling party.
Perhaps
due to strategic reasons, Fayose andNyesomWike led a few others to lure Sheriff
to assume the vacant position of PDP chairman following the resignation of
AlhajiAdamuMuazu after the electoral defeat of the party.
The immediate outcry
and massive disapproval of the choice, which reminded the party that Sheriff
groomed the Boko Haramists as political foot soldiers before they became a
security issue, necessitated his removal. Apparently feeling used and dumped,
Sheriff then became a thorn in the flesh of the ailing party.
That was how the
issue degenerated to a legal battle from the high courts through to the Apex
court, which eventually returned the party to the real custodians. It is victory
at last for PDP’s combatant soldiers, especially Fayose and Fani-Kayode.
The
Supreme Court judgment was victory for every loyal member of the PDP. Starting
with the governors, federal lawmakers, BOT, NEC, and party members.I think
Fayose andFani-Kayode in particular should be commended for their doggedness
and resolute determination despite intimidation, harassments, and name-calling
by those who see them as irritants.
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