Be that as it may, PDP is too big a party in Nigeria to be allowed to fail, collapse or become extinct. It is the party that midwifed the Fourth Republic, and many Nigerians will tell you that for all the party’s faults, it was during its sixteen-year rule that the country recorded its glorious years and golden age.
These days, events and incidents of national significance are unfolding at a pace that many can barely keep up with. So much so that what would ordinarily be a topical and headline-grabbing occurrence that will dominate conversations among Nigerians has been relegated to the tiny section and obscure inner pages of the nation’s dailies and is now pushed to the fringes of national discourse. One of such happenings that has flown under the radar and has not been getting as much public attention is the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The party has been beset by infighting, leadership tussle, internal wrangling and conspicuous meddling in its affairs by external forces who are hellbent on making sure the party is emasculated by ensuring that the challenges rocking it remains unresolved so that it does not enjoy the stability needed to become a strong, united and formidable party that can mount a serious challenge in next election and wrest power from from the ruling All Progressives Congress. But these long-standing and perennial challenges the party has been grappling with for years now have worsened terribly in the past couple of weeks.
However, this worsening crisis of the party has been overshadowed and drowned out by a more troubling and disconcerting event, which is the purported Christian genocide in Nigeria and the threat of military invasion made by the United States president, Donald Trump, if the alleged persecution and targeted killings of Christians do not stop. The hysteria, the commotion, the frenzy, the persiflage among Nigerians that seeks to turn the serious and grave matter into an instrument of humour, the sudden penchant of government for doing the right thing and the presidency newfound love for the proclamation of Nigeria’s unity and oneness have all combined to rob other issues no matter how important they are to the nation of the attention they deserve. This disturbing turn that the PDP crisis has taken must be one of the casualties of Trump’s narcissism and misguided narrative.
Be that as it may, PDP is too big a party in Nigeria to be allowed to fail, collapse or become extinct. It is the party that midwifed the Fourth Republic, and many Nigerians will tell you that for all the party’s faults, it was during its sixteen-year rule that the country recorded its glorious years and golden age. Last week the squabble and infighting that dog the party took a dangerous dimension after one Abdulrahman Mohammed emerged as the party’s factional Acting National Chairman. His emergence followed the suspension of top officials, including National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu and Legal Adviser Kamaldeen Ajibade, by the faction led by Umar Damagum over alleged anti-party activities.
On Tuesday, the High Court in Oyo State ordered the party and Umar Damagum to go ahead with the national convention scheduled for November 15 in Ibadan. Recall that the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who has been at the centre of the crisis rocking the party, had strongly opposed the holding of the convention in Ibadan. Former Ekiti State governor, who is also an ally of Wike, has since dismissed the high court order, describing it as an ineffective injunction. He also stated that the factional Acting National Chairman of the party, Abdulrahman Mohammed, is a pair of safe hands who has come to rescue and stabilise the party.
On Wednesday, Damagum petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, over the alleged invasion of the party’s national secretariat by the embattled National Secretary of the party, Samuel Anyanwu. Damagum, in the petition dated October 3, alleged that Anyanwu, the suspended National Secretary, led a group of thugs to forcefully take over the secretariat in an attempt to install a factional leadership.
Some influential and respected members of the party have weighed in on the recent escalation of hostilities in the party. The Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, BoT, Adolphus Wabara, on Wednesday, appealed to the warring members of the party to put an end to the infighting, acrimony and friction and prioritise reconciliation for the sake of the party’s unity. Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has also called for calm among members of the party and appealed to members of the party, describing the current crisis rocking the party at the national level as a family affair.
Furthermore, it must be stated that the latest imbroglio and crisis began after the party announced its convention, which was slated for this month. New party officials who will pilot the affairs of the party at the national level are supposed to be elected at the convention. Also, the convention was supposed to be the perfect opportunity to resolve the challenges bedevilling the party and address the grievances of aggrieved party members and unite everyone. The convention would have been the perfect springboard to relaunch the beleaguered party and strengthen it ahead of the 2027 general elections.
However, it appears that certain elements within and outside the party have resolved that the PDP will never be allowed to find its footing again and that it will never be anything more than a weak, damaged, perennially troubled and factionalised organisation that cannot achieve anything politically. Whatever the goal of these people is will not bode well for the nation. Orchestrating crisis and trouble in the opposition parties to destabilise and weaken them to consolidate power not only undermines democracy but also portends serious danger for the stability of the country.
The tragedy here is that the people who are masterminding this crisis do not care about democracy or if the nation goes up in flames. All they care about is power and they are ready to do anything and everything to grab and hold on to it. One thing we must remind them of is the transience and impermanence of power. There are far too many people like them whose place in history is under the dark and ignoble shade of contempt, scorn and disgust.
Discussion about this post