By Sani Danaudi Mohammed
According to political analysts, flagrant impunity and reckless imposition of candidates against the will and wishes of its teeming members across the length and breadth of Nigeria were the major factors that contributed to the defeat of the opposition People Democratic Party (PDP) the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015. Formed with the major objective of building Nigeria’s democratic institutions that will make it compete very favourably with its contemporaries across the globe, the PDP had held sway over the nation for sixteen consecutive years. Faithful to its political ideology, the PDP demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the growth of the nation’s economy, improvement of the citizens’ welfare and development of infrastructure.
However, in spite of its aggressive drive for the political and economic development of the nation, the PDP was roundly criticized for its unbridled corrupt tendencies. This sparked off a public outcry in different quarters. Most Nigerians, at home and abroad, believed very strongly that it was time to bring in the APC which seemed to be more ideologically poised to stamp out corruption from the nation’s landscape. So, in 2015, the party wrested the political control of the nation from the PDP. The general assumption was that the APC would outperform the opposition PDP and, thereby, take Nigeria to its Eldorado.
Since 2015, the APC has tirelessly campaigned for the sustainability of its socio-economic policies. In its quarters, notwithstanding, the opposition PDP has consistently called out the ruling party for driving socio-economic policies which are considered insensitive to the welfare of all Nigerian citizens. The very recent decision of the APC-led government to completely remove subsidies on the nation’s black gold confirmed their sentiments. According to some perspicacious Nigerian political watchers, this decision speaks volumes of the government’s height of insensitivity to the deplorable plight of the average Nigerian citizen. And, should the APC-led government finally end the subsidy regime by 2022, it would certainly take only a national chairman who is endowed with surpassing wisdom to prevent the already disenchanted Nigerians from thinking otherwise come 2023.
As if the economic hardship to which Nigerians have been exposed (allegedly by the ruling APC) is not enough, the wave of insecurity all over the nation has made the people become grossly disaffected with the party. But quite worrisome is the development that the party, assailed left, right and centre with criticisms, has refused to accept responsibility for the ongoing kidnapping and banditry in the most part of the Northern States, particularly in the North-west axis. The PDP, while it held reins of power, equally refused to accept responsibility for the Boko Haram insurgency, just as it claimed credit for improving the living standards of the Nigerian citizens while its leadership lasted. Economically, all is obviously not well in the nation. The ruling party has yet to explain to the people why the prices of essential commodities keep snowballing in the market. After all, to these people, this was not the case when the opposition PDP was in power.
The truth of the matter is that the APC is currently battling some seemingly intractable internal crises which, if not quickly quelled, may stand as odds against the party’s chances of retaining power beyond 2023. Most aggrieved members of the party have alleged that it is now being rocked by crises that appear worse than the PDP’s. These aggrieved members claim that wanton abuse of due process, impunity and imposition of members against the wishes of its party members, among many others, are the inadequacies currently identified with the party. One finds it very curious to suppose that the APC, given its status as a product of three political parties which decided to merge in February 2013 under the auspices of changing the usual narratives in our democracy, ought to have, by now, overcome the crises by which it is currently rocked.
As President Muhammadu Buhari’s second term in office is tapering to a close, the party’s stakeholders are now fighting hard to take control of the party ahead of the 2023 general elections. It is instructive to note that these stakeholders are drawn from the three different camps – Buhari’s Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) which originated from The Buhari Organization (TBO) and was formed in 2006 by the incumbent Nigerian leader and his political allies; the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and Ogbonnaya Onu’s All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) – which produced the party.
It is now crystal clear that such defects (as imposition and impunity) which made the opposition PDP lose woefully in the 2015 general elections are now noticeable in the ruling APC. Hence, the latter, within six years of its ruling, has lost most of its political strongholds like Bauchi, Edo, Zamfara and Adamawa States to the opposition PDP. Most Nigerians, who had earnestly expected that the emergence of the ruling party in 2015 would translate to an improved democracy and remodelled economy, are now disillusioned by the seemingly lacklustre leadership style of the party.
Now, the opposition PDP has started putting its house in order, like it, during its national convention which was recently held, pledged its renewed commitment and bold resolve to confront the 2023 general elections to boot the ruling APC out of power across the three tiers of government come 2023. It is funny to note that, while the PDP is making spirited efforts towards achieving the leadership mandate in the forthcoming dispensation, the ruling APC has yet to have its National Working Committee (NWC) strategically put in place. The snapshots of the ruling party’s congresses from the various wards, local governments and states reveal a number of unresolved crises which may make it practically impossible for the party’s national convention, scheduled for February 2022, to see the light of the day.
Meanwhile, ahead of the proposed February 2022 APC National Convention, many political bigwigs have so far indicated an interest in occupying the position of the party’s national chairman. It is also believed that the party is now bent on making a decision that will either terminate or sustain its rule after the 2023 general elections. The battle for Aso Rock is indeed an open fight and the winner is hardly predictable at the moment, especially now that President Muhammadu Buhari, given his integrity, popularity and acceptability in Northern Nigeria, is not going to appear on the ballot paper.
The list of all contenders for the highly competitive position of the ruling party’s national chairman is worth scrutinizing for us to know the calibre of people aspiring to this position, and how keenly contested the position will definitely be. On the list are such strong contenders as Umaru Tanko Almakura, a former two-term governor of Nasarawa, who is currently a Member of the 9th Senate; George Akume, former two-term Benue State governor, former Member of Nigerian Senate and currently the Minister of Special Duties; Abdulaziz Yari from Zanfara State, former Member House of Representatives and former two-term Zamfara State governor and Ali Modu Sherrif, also a former two-term governor and senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Apart from these aspirants, there are many others who also covet the exalted position.
As a matter of fact, the would-be national chairman for such a heterogeneous party like the APC must be made of the right stuff that can make him well poised to quell the crises rocking the party. The national chairman, apart from being a man of renown, must wield the magic wand which must prove very effective in reconciling the visibly opposing forces like Shekarau and Ganduje in Kano, Goje and Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya in Gombe, Adamu Adamu and others in Bauchi, Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola and Adegboyega Oyetola in Osun and many others across Nigeria. It means that, by the year 2022, the ruling APC, as a political party, will have got, as its national chairman, someone who has the resilience, political sagacity, proven experience, good sense of human relationship and capacity to salvage the party from the internal crises which currently threaten its survival.
The intervention of the APC group, under the aegis of the Progressives Youth Movement (PYM) led by Prince Mustapha Mona Audu, governorship aspirant on the platform of the party in 2019 governorship elections in Kogi State, should not be taken for granted. The Movement has passed a vote of no confidence in the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of the party. The incoming national chairman of the ruling APC must be a certified conflict manager who can bring all the aggrieved warriors to a round-table discussion that would facilitate enduring peace and harmony. He must also be a thoroughbred politician who is endowed with the amazing shrewdness which enables the party to win the forthcoming general elections and, thereby, retain its hold on power beyond 2023.
Danaudi, National President of Arewa Youths Advocate for Peace and Unity Initiative, writes from Bauchi, via [email protected]
