It is democracy that is in disarray, not just the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Announcing the defection of the entire Delta State structure of the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC), last week, a banner headline screamed that PDP was in disarray. Indeed, the PDP is in disarray, however the internecine forces working extra time to pull the party down are unwittingly working to destabilise democracy and the country at large.
In the First Republic, the same thing happened when a coalition government at the centre decided to force itself on the Western Region. Nigeria has continued to live with the consequences of that reckless maneuver. Lest we forget.
Democratic rule is sustained by good governance, rather than by party annexation. The reason the PDP did not live up to the 60 years it allotted to itself as party in government was because it abandoned good governance for ruthless expansionism. At the time the APC intervened, either by hook or crook in 2015, the polity was on a brink of political crisis.
Were Goodluck Jonathan to be power drunk at that time, he no longer had an organic support base, there were those in the opposition who had sworn to make the country ungovernable for him. The country has remained ungovernable despite Jonathan. All because of desperate politics.
Therefore, there are implications for the polity when the party system is cannibalised in the crooked manner the Tinubu government has set out. It poses danger for the Fourth Republic and efforts to consolidate civil rule as the most dependable form of government that allows the people to decide those who govern them.
For those who bother to look back, it took time, sweat and blood to get military rulers to agree that politicians had come of age to govern. In fact, the military were chased out with the assistance of Western democracies. They were not tired of exploring, they are still exploring in neighbouring countries. It’s up to the political class to decide whether they want this fourth attempt to survive.
It is not normal for the entire state machinery of a political party to empty into another without constitutional justification. A political party is a creation of the Constitution and is operated on rules. The Constitution of the Federal Republic (1999) allows citizens to belong to associations of their choice apart from secret societies.
But what took place in Delta State last week is not healthy for democracy, not even for a caricatured version. It is not decent to take the belongings of one party (mandates, personnel, resources and experience acquired over time) and give to another party. It is robbery and an invitation to anarchy.
From feelers, the Delta PDP conquest is programmed to be first among opposition states in the South that must capitulate to a determined arm-twist by the APC-led Federal Government. The plot, they say, is to give President Tinubu sufficient votes in the South in case he’s unable to command enough votes in the North come 2027.
There was no intelligent explanation for the political misfortune that befell Delta. Senator James Manager, who was a PDP Senator for five consecutive terms and pioneer state chairman of the party, simply switched to a woozy, I don’t care mode, to fake some sense.
He said: “You have just been told about some of the things that have been happening in the PDP Delta State. Some consultations have been going on and the climax of these consultations is what you are seeing today.
“We have discussed and have disagreed to agree, and it is a unanimous agreement. I am the pioneer state chairman of the PDP, but you cannot be in a boat that is already capsizing because I am a riverine man. Looking at issues the way they are, we have come to the inevitable conclusion to do something else. It is a collective decision for so many reasons.
“A few days ago, there was a resolution taken by the PDP Governors’ Forum in Ibadan. Almost all the governors were there and they resolved that they are not going into coalition with any other party. But as disadvantaged as the PDP is now with about 11 governors, how do you go into a contest with an incumbent president? You think you can win? That particular resolution killed the spirit of so many PDP members.”
Manager lied. It had been rumoured months ago, long before that Ibadan meeting of PDP governors, that Governor Sheriff Oborevwori planned to defect. Manager also used the judiciary’s weak interventions in the case of national secretary of PDP as reason for the defection.
Manager is experienced enough not to hide behind remote excuses for their elopement. It’s all about individual survival at the detriment of the party on whose platform the political class in Delta State benefitted hugely for 25 years. It’s not the best way to reward the PDP and they will all account for their acts of perfidy.
The PDP primary election that brought Oborevwori was highly contentious. Former Governor James Ibori’s more urbane and widely accepted candidate, Olorogun David Edevbie, could not make it against then incumbent Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s Oborevwori. Okowa used every instrument available as governor to impose Sheriff on the PDP, the party they now disdain without remorse. Even the governorship election was a narrow victory for Oborevwori, because the party was divided. James Manager did not complain at that time that PDP was disadvantaged.
The central reason the PDP has not recovered from the events leading to the presidential election of 2023 was Okowa, and the decision by the flagbearer, Atiku Abubakar, to nominate him as his candidate, against the bullish and unforgiving Nyesome Wike, who lobbied to be picked. Atiku paid glowing tribute to what he perceived to be Okowa’s urbaneness and cool-headedness, which made him a presidential material, against Wike’s brash and intemperate demeanour.
All the time Atiku was at the Election Petition Tribunal (EPT), to convince the justices on their mandate, Okowa disappeared from the political radar, while Wike remained unconsolable. What could be Okowa’s reasons to turn his back on the party that made him governor twice; would he have defected if their party were to win the 2023 presidential election? Did he join the APC so that his sins against Delta people would be forgiven? The N1.3 trillion the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), alleges Okowa misused belongs Delta people.
The other time Prophet David Umahi arm-twisted Ebonyi PDP to defect, it was thought to be uncivilised and conspiratorial to illegally transfer the mandates earned by the PDP to APC. The judiciary that was expected to call to order that undemocratic infraction looked helpless. Ben Ayade of Cross River took inspiration from Umahi and also left. No consequences.
Delta State is a very significant partner in the federation. It contributes immensely to Nigeria’s economy, being a major oil and gas producer and the fourth-largest economy. Delta is home to some of Nigeria’s finest and most vibrant players in the professions and business. It is not correct to substitute the vibrancy of Delta State with politician’s shambolic acts. If there were to be a townhall to decide where Delta goes in the unfolding political realignments, there are people of honour to do unbiased assessment for Deltans.
Despite its misfortunes, the PDP was designed to chart the course for national unity and geo-political balancing. The PDP made deliberate effort to implant itself on the Nigerian superstructure, to assuage cries of marginalisation and give a sense of equity.
It was the PDP that gave the first opportunity for the South-south to produce a president. Until Jonathan was poorly guarded to run for election in 2015, PDP was on course to deliver equity for all. The South-south has benefitted extremely from PDP and there must be a compelling explanation why the party deserves to be betrayed at its most trying period.
Indeed, it was the PDP Governors’ meeting at Ibadan that gave Delta the alibi to do what Judas Iscariot did to Jesus. The governors are themselves unsure of their political future because they do not win elections based on their individual integrity and capacity.
In the countdown to the 2023 governorship primary in Akwa Ibom State, Umo Eno was not among the visible contenders. He was picked out of the benevolence of former Governor Udom Emmanuel. He seems to have forgotten how one man turned around his fortunes and now he thinks President Tinubu is the best thing to happen to Akwa Ibom.
He has forgotten that until Victor Attah became governor, Akwa Ibom was lurked in the shadows of Cross River State. But under the PDP, Akwa Ibom has emerged as the most planned and well-governed state among its peers.
Eno now thinks he must be a sycophant to attract development to the state. Let him not constitute hindrance to the chances of PDP by sitting on the fence. Go, if you want to go, so says former Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki.
The Governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah, got away from the 2023 election tribunal in Enugu, by the whiskers. Apart from not doing very well at the poll, his NYSC certificate was a snag. Since that escape, he has not stopped acting like an APC governor. He is tipped to also dump PDP for APC. That may not bolster his case come 2027.
As for Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, he has fought a good fight. It is hoped that courage does not fail him as he battles APC sharks. If he capitulates to the federal forces, it would be a pyrrhic victory for his tormentors. But Rivers voters must not fall.
As for the Tinubu strategy, let him work hard to be president of all Nigerians, rather than this cowardly and selfish plot to coerce southern votes. Let sycophants and bootlickers remember that after Tinubu’s eight years, if that happens, power will still return to the North.
Credit:The Guardian