The APC is belly aching. It’s not a strange phenomena in party politics. But if you step back with a deep breath, you come to a troubling realization that party democracy in Nigeria have been in permanent turbulent waters since 1999. Most often the euphoria for Presidential victory has generally always been short lived for the victorious party whether it is the PDP or APC that clinched the prize. Since 1999 power has oscillated between the two parties. No sooner than they settle to the brass tacks of governance that intense shuffling and wrangling commence. It begins with muffled struggles and whispers and initially manages to escape the attention and consciousness of close watchers of the seat of power. Thus, in the last two decades of the fifth republic, we are appalled to note that no single National Chairman of any of the two parties have completed the constitutional prescription of a maximum of eight years in office. And none have been celebrated or idolized out of office for outstanding accomplishments! That is not a salutary commentary on us as a people.
The fault therefore may not be directly located in the individuals that occupied the office as some analysts are quick to conclude. Nigerians pay lip service to democracy in the same way as they obfuscate federalism. Nigerians are lured by the elegance and the dignity that democratic system confers but they are not swayed by its principles, norms, ethics and values. They are averse to the basic rules, regulations and temperament which form the bedrock of the system. Once the mechanics are corrupted and hypocritical, the outcomes will be disastrous! Make no mistake about it, some former National Party Chairmen represent the best of us and indeed, some of them have had accolades generously showered on them at the altar of honor where attributions of the best of human character, strength and dignity were attached to their names before veering into the murky waters of politics.
A candid deconstruction of the Nigerian party system reveals that the crave for a cohesive, harmonious and ideologically driven national political formation by whatever name called will remain an illusion for a long while to come. The Nigerian political environment is still beleaguered and tangled, and certainly not primed to produce stability. As a result, it will be foolhardy and illusionary to expect economic development to frog lift while the wheels of progress remain shackled and lockdown by internal political and economic contradictions namely cultural diversity and heterogeneity, political merchandise, democratic impunity, regional power blocs and the behemoth attitude of the club of Governors. These are humongous obstacles that has continued to undermine genuine efforts towards growth and development of the democratic process. If these hydra headed negatives are ruthlessly tackled with patriotism thereby projecting the collectively of the Nigerian project, they could be converted to positive strengths, resulting to a free and unfettered political system.
It is incomprehensible that decades into the new republic, political leaders and office holders cannot speak authoritatively about common national goals and aspirations that permeates government activities at all levels. The result of the absence of such centripetal elements manifest in the predilection of the structures to pull apart in different directions even as members of the same party.Thus, political leaders who ought to be conveyors of national values and aspirations have failed to rise above the narrow confines of individual, ethnic and sectional concerns. And as soon as a visionary party leader emerges to introduce new ideas and seek to transform the mechanics and operations of the party, the conservatives within the system, afraid that transparency would upset power relations in their constituencies would take up arms. They even stiffly resist mere insistence on strict compliance with constitutional provisions and find it good enough reason to fight the leadership. And they seems to have a horde of benighted zombies on standby to mobilize support for them in the garb of ethnic and sectional defenders. They are always nervous about losing their predatory hold on their people and careless about development and the integrity of the democratic process.
Apart from the obstacles created by political demagogues operating in different borrowed garbs and labels, the most invidious and debilitating clog to the wheels of democracy is the club of arrivistes and tin-gods known as the Governors forum. The Governors forum which was originally ideal for peer group review and for collaboration and cooperation among states has been corrupted into a political bugaboo! The Forum has long abandoned its raison d’etre, preferring to engage in political brinkmanship within their parties. They deploy public money meant for projects entrusted in their hands to intimidate and impose their will on the political parties. The continued existence of the Governors Forum in the way and manner it operates today is a real threat to democracy. Their rude interference and activities are contradictory and antithetical to democratic principles and values. The Governors forum must reinvent itself and retrace its step to the path of honor. If APC will survive beyond 2023, party supremacy must be treated as sacred. The party structures, principles, processes, procedures must be operationalized. Democratic values, ethos and traditions must be internalized!
Comrade Adams Oshiomhole is not a stranger to Nigerians. In his heydays as President of NLC, he fearlessly engaged and harangued military dictators into policy retreats like no one had dared before him. As Governor of Edo State, he fought political godfathers and wrested power from them to the bewilderment of Edo people. Comrade exited the governance of Edo State riding high on a legacy of superlative accomplishments. He is easily one of shining stars of Nigerian democracy! Comrade Oshomhole is passionate about his convictions thus on assumption of office as National Chairman of APC, he resolved to give practical expression to the shared vision of the party as encapsulated in her ‘Change Agenda’. He is too athletically and energetically motivated by a sense of purpose to be a ‘do nothing’ Chairman. As a leader, he has inspired the majority of the National Working Committee (NWC) members to be dedicated to the promise of change. And together, they have made great progress in putting in place a transparent system that commands faith, trust and confidence of party members and not the whimsical dictates of party patrons. It is within this context the opposition to Comrade Oshomhole’s leadership, the illegal gatherings, the numerous Court cases can be understood. Let no one be deceived by vague allegations of dictatorship leveled against the Comrade or whatever else! All those pitching themselves against the National Chairman are driven by either Governorship or Presidential ambition. And they want to force themselves and their agents into positions of advantage ahead of 2023!
The anti-Oshiomhole sentiments result from miscalculations and premature permutations with regard to the swings of the power pendulum by second term seeking governors and to a larger extent, by 2023 power mongers. The balance of probabilities and presumptions are poorly premised hence the unpopularity and massive condemnation of one of the most puerile but audacious dissensions in national politics. Wisdom is gained from good memory. But most of Comrade Oshiomhole’s critics act completely blank of yesterday. Let them take a short trip to where the past lives and they will find in Oshiomhole, a small framed man with a giant heart and uncommon perspicacity. Only recently, members of the conspiratorial nPDP and their leaders who blustered to high heavens were vanquished in the last election season by a pitiless political machine marshaled by the Comrade. He is on a mission to fix the APC and he is not done yet!
The anti-Oshiomhole group may not openly recognize his heroic accomplishments when it mattered most but they are able to hype his presumed weak points. They are blinded and goaded by their ambitions and have continued to live in denial of facts that rudely stare them in the face!. The conspiracy may seem thick and impregnable but it is built on quicksands and has the lifespan of a shooting star! These rebels are strictly speaking seeking to destroy the tripod upon which Buhari’s government is rested. Therefore, strict compliance with the constitution of the party and the retaining of existing broad based coalition of the party is imperative for the stability of Buhari’s government. This cannot be sacrificed on the altar of hollow dreams and fantasies! The anti Oshiomhole group are by the principle of common interest also anti President Buhari as political instability could have dire consequences on government beyond mere distraction.
It amazing how unrestrained ambition and self interest could rob people of wisdom. Ambition holds its victims captive! Since 1999, political parties in Nigeria, the large and the not so large, have had to contend with all manner of silly intra party battles. And in the recent past, the main opposition party, the PDP, traveled on these ravine paths and only the Supreme Court put paid to an otherwise commonsensical matter with irreparable damages done. Today, the Courts have been inundated by a plethora of cases ignited by anti- Oshiomhole elements and judgements are being delivered. They have certainly met their superiors! The anti – Oshiomhole group are apparently playing dumb and bullishly rejecting the lessons of history that the Courts cannot resolve political issues. It is either the anti-Oshiomhole group respect the spirit and letters of party’s constitution or they embrace the more respectable option of pursuing their governorship and Presidential ambitions elsewhere. Their neurotic quest to seize power forcefully assault the sensibilities of enlightened Nigerians. And it will never see the light of day! These outdated tactics of creating myths of rivalry, animosity and hostility, of reconstructing events with imputations of fathom crisis and bedlam, of creating a canopy of smoke and hoping to bellow through the confusion to safety is psychopathic. The bottom line is that the APC will shed the weight of the implacable demagogues, of cold blooded betrayers and the neurotically ambitious and thereafter, reinvent and re-engineer its operations ahead of 2023! The anti- Oshiomhole group gravely misfired!
•Aiyevbekpen Osakue
Political Communication Strategist, former State Campaign Director, Team Godwin Obaseki 2016
