Ibraheem Musa
15 November 2008
From a band of 34 odd politicians, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) emerged as a broad based party that will foster democracy but a meddling president, aided by a pliant and colluding national party executive, imposed lack of internal democracy on the party whose building blocks was the opposition of military dictatorship.
Abacha, at that time, was dreaded at home and abroad as he had squelched the opposition, caged the political class and defied the international community. However, 18 brave men, in spite of his awesome powers, stood up to him and that singular act, coupled with divine intervention, changed the nation's political direction. The men, all of them northerners, met at Abubakar Rimi's Kaduna residence, a brown bungalow located at Abakpa GRA. The meeting, according to insiders, deliberated on how to rescue the nation, especially from plunging into the abyss. Afterwards, in lieu of a communiqué, the Group of 18 wrote Abacha, advising him not to run for the presidency. The letter was hand delivered to Aso Rock and Chief Solomon Lar, the godfather of middle belt politics, belled the cat. Significantly, Dr Farouk Abdulazeez developed cold feet and chickened out but the heroic act unleashed a chain reaction.
Criticisms, from all directions, assailed the action of the political parties and in this regard, the old breed politicians were in the fore front. Significantly, the groundswell of opposition gathered momentum and 16 elder statesmen, led by Dr Alex Ekwueme, coalesced with Lar's group to form G34. Focused, distinguished and pan Nigerian, the group boasted of men of timber and calibre, as Chief K.O Mbadiwe will label them, and like its fore-runner, G34 kicked against Abacha's transmutation plans. This act, like a lightening rod, electrified the political scene as the political class once again found its voice. Abacha, according to reports, was in a quandary and before he could either reply G34 or pick the parties' gauntlet, the man died on June 8. Thereafter, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, the Chief of Defence Staff, succeeded him and unfolded a short transition programme. From 18 members, the group enlarged to 34 and afterwards, it linked up with other like minds to become the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The party, like the two others, the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and All Peoples Party (APP), was registered by the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), after scaling the commission's hurdles. Significantly, conservatives and progressives as well as liberals found accommodation in PDP and this underscored the party's philosophy. Internal feud and inter party bickering helped to wreck the first and second republics and to forestall these, political parties ought to be broad based, according to some pundits. Largely, PDP was a product of this idea as all shades of the ideological spectrum converged under one umbrella, the party's symbol.
The party, at the outset, lived up to the dream of its founders as it organised a free and fair convention, picked its flag bearer without rancour. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, a retired general and former Head of State, who was sprang from prison, picked the party's ticket, beating Ekwueme to the coveted prize. However, after the convention, the party united again and lined up behind its candidates at all levels.
The AD and APP, on the other hand, were driven by internal feuds and factions and in the end, they sealed a controversial alliance. Chief Olu Falae, AD's presidential candidate, flew the joint flag on election day. Divided, disorganised and fractious, the alliance was no match to PDP as the latter won several councils, states of the federation and the presidency on the first ballot. From 18 to 34 members, the pressure group which was PDP's nucleus, had transformed into a political party within one year and it bestrode the nation's political landscape like a colossus. With time, the party became arrogant and heady with success and PDP's fortunes began to decline. Ironically, President Obasanjo and his cronies, worked against the party out of vendetta, selfish interest and a holier-than-thou-attitude.
Slowly, after becoming president, Obasanjo began to create his own power base, dismantling the platform that brought him to power. Specifically, he wanted a firm grip on the party and the president, by so doing, dabbled into every tier and arm of government. He interfered with who became what in the National Assembly, had running battle with legislators, hounded state governors and disregarded court orders. With time, Obasanjo's true colours started manifesting, especially in the run up to PDP'S second national convention.
Capable, incorruptible and seasoned, Chief Sunday Awoniyi wanted to become the national chairman and Obasanjo, his friend of 39 years, encouraged the Aro of Mopa to run. However, behind the scenes, the president and his men were promoting Barnabas Gemade, the burly Tiv high Chief while Malam Adamu Ciroma, and the conservatives backed Awoniyi. The PDP, for this reason, was split down the middle and on election day, the process was so badly rigged that Ciroma, an orderly systems man, openly castigated it. Gemade, as a result, succeeded Lar and effectively, the party became under Obasanjo's thumb.
However, the romance did not last long as Obasanjo, for inexplicable reasons, dumped Gemade when he sought re-election. Audu Ogbe, the academic-turn-on either itself or the larger polity. politician, had virtually left politics for farming but Obasanjo conscripted him to replace Gemade. Suddenly, the tables turned and Gemade got a dose of Obasanjo's medicine as the Balogun of Owu turned his back on him. Ogbe, like Gemade, fell out with Obasanjo after some time and at gun point, he was forced to resign, paving way for Dr Ahmadu Ali, the retired Colonel and former education minister. Significantly, Ali, Obasanjo and Chief Ojo Madueke, the party's national secretary, were political soul mates and together, they perfected the art of garrison politics.
In PDP, the trio of Ali, Obasanjo and Maduekwe decided who flies the party's ticket and winning the primaries, where it is held at all, did not guarantee one to contest the general election. In addition, "dissident governors" were regularly dealt with as the legislators were herded to Abuja and detained. Afterwards, if they agreed to play ball, they are left off the hook and on false charges, they will return and impeach the governor. Obasanjo, in this regard, transgressed party lines in his effort to rein in the governors, spread fear in the polity and harass the opposition.
Particularly, in his second term, the president was at his vindictive worst as he pulled at all stops to get a third term. In this bid, Obasanjo, Maduekwe and Ahmadu Ali, in collaboration with EFCC and other anti corruption bodies, fished for real and imagined enemies, especially anti third term elements. Third term pitched the president against his deputy, Vice President Atiku Abubakar before long, they locked horns over tenure elongation. However, the National Assembly as well as other patriotic Nigerians, defeated it to the president's chargrin. Obasanjo, thus vanquished, turned against Atiku and his supporters. Specifically, a re-registration exercise was embarked upon and primarily, the aim was to weed out the vice president and his loyalists. However, the criticisms, confusion and bad blood that followed jolted PDP and plot back fired. On his own, Atiku left the party for AC but Obasanjo pursued him there and the president, through EFCC, the electoral commission and security agencies, wanted to bar Atiku from the presidential election. The vice president fought all the way to the Supreme Court and emerged victorious. Specifically, the apex court ruled in his favour, asking INEC to allow Atiku to contest.
The election came and went and Obasanjo's handpicked successor won the controversial poll. However, unlike Obasanjo, President Umaru Yar'adua is not as brazen and assertive in his interference but the president, going by his antecedents, also likes to dominate the political space. Yar'adua, as governor of Katsina State, virtually hand picked the party officials and for eight years while he held sway, there have been no elections. The president, according to reports, facilitated the emergence of Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, the current PDP national chairman and for this reason, according to insiders, the same meddling into party activities will continue. However, to his credit, upon assuming office, he reached out to the founding fathers and other top hats that left PDP. This gesture has already borne fruits as Rimi and Lar as well as ex-speaker Ghali Umar Na'abba, have returned to PDP.
With 27 states and several local governments in its kitty, the party also controls the Federal Government as well as both chambers of the National Assembly. For this reason, PDP is the most dominant party in the country as the rest have virtually fizzled out. In Nigeria, this is a rare feat and for party, this calls for celebrations and that is why its chieftains are clicking glasses and gloating over its success. But whether or not the electoral success was borne out of free and fair elections is debateable. Ironically, PDP came about as a protest against military dictatorship but the party has fostered anything but democracy on either itself or the larger polity.
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Yes, indeed, what is there to celebrate when a party with overwhelming majority in both the NASS and states govts that could not use its dominant numbers to ply thru pro-poor agenda. Even the President's 7-point agenda is totally dead in the water. I blame the President for acquiescing to the opposition that his own election was flawed until tha Supreme Court told him otherwise, thereby allowing the minority to hi-jack his mandate. The other blame is his lack of vision to keep a select group of technocrats to man key ministries necessary for economic growth instead of patronage appointments of corrupt politicians as ministers and wasting 18 months and monies that could have been used for infrastructural development and to build schools and hospitals but wasted on paying salaries of over-bloated bureaucracy. The greatest failure of Nigeria is not approving OBJ's 3rd term. I dont see how Nigeria can ever recover from that error. But good luck, anyway.