Like the biblical Na’aman, the commander of the Syrian Army, a mighty man of valour through whom the good Lord gave Syria great and monumental victories over their enemies, but yet leprous, so is the story of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the captain of the country’s political boat, voyaging down the deep, dark and troubled rivers.
Acclaimed to be the largest party in Africa and in firm control of the nation’s political power and economic resources at all levels, the PDP is by all standards successful. However, the success story is not without a crippling ailment eroding the very foundation and cohesion of the all powerful party.
PDP captured the presidency in 1999 elections with twenty-one state governors and by the 2003 elections, it repeated the feat in a grand style, dealing a devastating blow on the Alliance for Democracy, AD, in the South-West, pocketing five of the six AD controlled states and held the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, hostage in the North by capturing Kogi, Kwara and Gombe states previously ANPP strongholds.
The ever rising profile of the PDP brought into its fold the mighty and the powerful, the good and the bad and the ugly with an attendant power play and corresponding intrigues, scheming, indiscipline and flagrant disregard for leadership and ideals. The elected members have hijacked the party machinery, and worse, the party leadership particularly at the state levels get clearance from the governor before making any party matter public.
In most cases, the party secretariat has become an annex of the government house, taking directives from the governors who have the economic might and nothing works without his consent. No wonder then, one can hardly know from the performance of some governors whether the PDP has programmes.
For instance, in less than two years into a four-year mandate, the preoccupation of the elected officers is now 2007. The burden, as most of them are serving their second tenure now is, who will succeed them and not how best to deliver the so-called democracy dividend. In fact, the scheming and intrigues are more than the ordinary, even for electoral periods in the states.
For whoever is interested in power, PDP provides, for now, a dependable platform to win election, in fact it is a carry go thus, justifying the multitude in the fold, breeding and sowing the seed likely to rock the PDP’s boat in or shortly before 2007.
The party on the other hand has succeeded so much that it is finding it absolutely difficult to manage the success. Pride has also taken a vintage position in the party so much so that the leadership is already working towards having a one party state by 2015 even when it has 2007 and 2011 to cross.
Well, ‘with PDP all things are possible’ if not, with the presidential ambition of the former military President, Ibrahim Babangida looming larger than life, and that of the Turakin Adamawa, Vice President Atiku Abubakar, hitting the koma hilltop, the question on the lips of many people now is how can the PDP handle these two people.
For now, the PDP leadership seems to be favourably disposed to the Turakin Adamawa, but the way to 2007 is still very far for the self confessed evil genius and a master dribbler to upturn everything. Certainly, all these are not the PDP’s burden.
The PDP’s burden at the moment is how to address the acute indiscipline of members and leaders. This singular case of indiscipline gave birth to other problems that are forcing the largest party in Africa on its knees today.
The party seems to have no power to check the problem, which usually takes center stage at any of PDP’s gatherings, be it formal or informal.
Next to the cases of party discipline is the issue of non-performance by some PDP governors and other elected officers, a situation that is literally alien to the PDP programmes and electioneering campaign promises made to the electorate. This non-performance, more than anything else is giving the PDP a bad name that could come between it and its 2007 ambition and beyond.
To address some of these burning issues, the PDP Board of Trustees and its National Central Working Committee, NCWC, began a tour of the six geopolitical zones, holding stakeholders’ meetings to talk frank talk. The PDP train landed in Bauchi, venue of the North-East stakeholders’ meeting last week Saturday, fifth in the series. It was the same old song of gross party indiscipline among members and choruses of how to justify people’s vote, preparatory to the approaching day of reckoning in 2007 when they will go begging for votes again.
Led by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih, the gathering of the tribes, clans and kingdom in PDP, started with an elaborate state dinner at the instance of the Bauchi State Governor, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, in honour of the visiting party bigwigs. Let me quickly say that there was enough to eat and enough to drink to the glory of PDP.
The picture painted at the Banquet hall, Government House Bauchi, the venue of the dinner, was that all was well with the party. The usual song of praise and intermittent outburst of thunderous Shout of ‘PDP …Power’ gave the required flavour to the dinner.
At the meeting the next day, Chief Anenih, the captain of the ship, started by describing the North-East zone as historic and politically strategic because of the long and ancient antecedents and accomplishments of the forbearers of the zone in nation-building. Anenih said, “In recent times too, a son of the zone has ably worked with Mr. President to ensure national stability, unity and progress after a very prolonged period of military rule. Vice President Atiku Abubakar has shown himself to be an accomplished political motivator, organiser and team player since he was elected with our indefatigable, tireless and dedicated Patriot, President Olusegun Obasanjo, to lead this country since 1999”.
The Uromi born politician stated further that “indeed, the stabilising roles he (Atiku) played on occasions in some contentious national political moments have shown him and the zone which produced him to be lovers and promoters of democracy and National unity”.
With the audience response, one needs no prophet to know where the pendulum was swinging to in 2007. But he capped the praise singing session with a glowing tribute to the late Prime Minister, Alhaji, Sir, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa whom he described as a national founding father and Martyr who paid supreme price for democracy. On the tribute roll were the two Adamawa sons currently in the Senate, Prof. Jubril Aminu and Dr. Jonathan Zwingina.
Chief Anenih was however quick to change gear to tackle the business of the day. He said the mandate given to PDP by the people was an affirmation of the fact that the people want to work together with their leader to address the problems, which beset the nation suffering from diseases and deprivations arising from total neglect and abject poverty.
“We are the most popular party because our people trust us and expect us to offer solutions that could most resolutely address their problems. We have the burden to provide leadership that makes government tangible, meaningful and capable of inspiring the loyalty, commitment and preparedness of the followership to make the supreme sacrifice in defence of our mandate. To provide this kind of leadership, our party must remain focused, disciplined and cohesive”.
But Chief Anenih expressed regrets that what is obtainable in the party left much to be desired. He said some members have shown a very disturbing lack of awareness of the contending forces and sinister moves to bring down the party and the entire nation.
He said there were dangerous maneuvers and intrigues among party members and non PDP members to stir up public disaffection and to ridicule the honest efforts of the PDP government to fulfill its electoral promises. “What is worrisome on this subject is the emerging desperation and combativeness of PDP office holders who are aspiring to higher offices, or who are concerned about those who would succeed them. They take up imaginary obstacles by way of other party colleagues and assail them as obstacles to be demolished, even when they have not completely discharged their current mandates”.
He also lamented that right, in PDP some have taken presidency bashing as stock in trade to gain popularity, imagining that the presidency or the federal government existed in isolation of their states, or that the executive arm of government led by the president can be severed from other arms of government without consequences on the whole system.
To Chief Anenih, such practice was a great disservice to the party, nation, and engaging in such game, he said was indiscipline, exuberance and immaturity which was self destructive and irresponsible.
The National Chairman of the Party, Chief Audu Ogbeh, spoke with emotions on the future of the great party in which they were all blessed. Ogbeh, who has been so burdened about the power play in PDP and party discipline asked the members to be on the lookout to ensure that the party survived the expected storm of 2007.
Ogbeh’s fears would be is appreciated when one knows the intrigues and high class scheming going on in the party and with the angry ANPP watching to take advantage of whatever mistake or misfortune that befalls their major competitor. Regrouping and re-alignment brought about by the IBB and Atiku loyalists could be part of Ogbeh’s cry for his beloved PDP which is fast losing grip of the ambitious members.
A cross section of the PDP chieftains, who spoke at the opening session of the meeting, harped on party discipline and respect for constituted authority as well as the performance of the elected leaders.
The North-East Party leaders were however, given an assignment to work towards capturing the remaining two states in the zone, which are Yobe and Borno State, currently controlled by the ANPP.
The host governor, Adamu Mu’azu, tasked the national leadership of the PDP to evolve a mechanism that could stamp out corruption from the party leadership and the entire body polity, assuring that if elected leaders could make performance their watchword, the country would become a one party in 2015 by conviction and not by force.
Now that the wounded ANPP is waiting to take its pound of flesh from the perceived enemy (PDP) in 2007, in a country where there is general apathy for the style of leadership, abject poverty and mass frustration as peoples companion, intra-party wrangling and inter-party rancour, acute indiscipline, suspicion, ambition, intrigues and scheming, how far can the PDP go?
