12 November 2009
Lagos — Chuks Okocha reviews the verbal and counter attacks between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the opposition political parties on the calls for violent change of government in the country
The fragile peace between the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the opposition political parties broke down again recently, when Engr. Buba Galadima, a stalwart of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and a close associate of General Muhammadu Buhari, reiterated the need for violent change in the country.
In an interview, Galadima called for revolution, advocating the need for the application of ' Jerry Rawlings' formula' as implemented in Ghana in 1981, when the former Ghanaian president cleared the augean stable by executing all the perceived unprofitable leaders of the country. Galadima was said to have canvassed the"Ghanaian treatment for Nigerian leaders,"a statement viewed by the ruling party as a direct call for the overthrow of the current democratic dispensation through violent means.
In the first reaction of the PDP through its National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Ahmed Alkali, the party took on Galadima, saying the call for Rawlings' action, was a euphemism for military coup in Nigeria. He argued that Galadima should have better come up with suggestions on how to move the country forward.
"If Alhaji Galadima has an alternative programme on how to move Nigeria forward, it would have been better off canvassing it through the ballot box rather than seeking an ignoble short cut to power through bloody or treasonable means," he said.
Remarking that such a call was unwarranted, he said the worst democracy was better than the best military government."In any case, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has extended his hands of goodwill to all those who are ready and willing to work in concert with the Federal Government to move Nigeria forward. We cannot therefore see how Buba Galadima's prediction of anarchy will serve any purpose of moving Nigeria forward as an emerging democracy." PDP said in a statement.
The party alleged that Galadima was not only calling for the overthrow of Yar'Adua's government, but also calling for the elimination of all former Nigerian leaders to pave way for "his weird political agenda."
Alkali said the party had had the "cause in the recent past, to alert Nigerians of the destructive antics of the opposition, including their intemperate use of language while venting their frustration," recalling that Galadima had earlier in the year canvassed "bloody option" as the means of change and regretted that the politician had continued to "tread this dangerous path."
According to Alkali, the PDP condemned the call in its totality because "it is at variance with the aspirations of Nigerians who have consistently expressed their preference for an orderly and civilized democratic process. It is unfortunate that we still have the likes of Buba Galadima who will wish for a collapse of the system once they are unable to have their way."
He reminded the ANPP chief that Nigeria had advanced beyond being an experiment ground for adventurers who would only drag the country "back to the dark ages where human rights are blatantly violated and the liberty of citizens curtailed."
Insisting that the call was misplaced, the PDP image maker said Nigeria under the leadership of Yar' Adua "is now a stable, democratic and peaceful nation that is globally appreciated and celebrated as evidenced by her unanimous election into the Security Council of the United Nations."
He said the government would not be distracted by what he called revisionist ranting from alleged anti-democratic elements whom he said saw nothing good in others except in themselves.
However, the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has thrown its weight behind Galadima, citing the words of Edmond Burke that "those who made peaceful change impossible, make violent change inevitable," as the justification for the position.
CNPP's spokesman, Osita Okechukwu, said in the event of violent change, the PDP should be held responsible, saying for the avoidance of doubt, CNPP has carefully reviewed Galadima's statement and agreed with him that PDP should acknowledge the great saying of Burke as absolutely relevant to Nigeria's situation.
"This is what we understand from his statement; a reflection of the thought of the voiceless Nigerians. PDP's electoral phobia is the greatest threat to peaceful change in Nigeria.It is our considered view that PDP has in the past ten years, been subverting our nascent democracy; to the extent that both local and international observers have ruled out the possibility of free, fair and transparent elections in Nigeria," the party said.
CNPP further said the alleged loss of confidence in Nigeria's democratic process started when the PDP introduced a do-or-die political culture and dreamt of ruling Nigeria for 60 years "and by extension forever and went ahead to implement this ideology in the 2003 sham elections."
It added that former President Olusegun Obasanjo, now Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, pleaded with the opposition parties to head for court to express their grievances, a plea he said they obeyed, hoping that the 2007 election would be better than the previous ones."Then came the 2007 election and like the subsequent bye-elections became dirtier.
"PDP in an effort to actualise their ideology to rule for 60 years, demolished democratic institutions, corrupted the judiciary, to the extent that Justices Opene, Adeniyi, Egbo-Egbo of the Appeal Court and federal high courts and other justices were dismissed. The electoral commission was made a department of the PDP and lost itsindependence," it noted.
To compound the matter, the opposition parties recalled that Yar'Adua said during his inauguration that he would reform the electoral process to meet up with international best practices, regretting that the president has failed to live up to his promise, despite his decision to set up a non-partisan 22-man Electoral Reform Committee {ERC}, chaired by former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Muhammadu Uwais. He also lamented that though the ERC religiously followed the terms of reference given to it, the PDP government rejected its vital recommendations.
He named recommendations rejected by the Federal Government to include the insulation of the president from single handedly appointing the chairman and key officials of the electoral commission, the shifting of the burden of proof to the electoral commission instead of the petitioner; reduction of time for the handling of post electoral disputes to six months before the swearing in of the winner, instead of the absurd situation where post electoral disputes subsist for three years.
It remarked that the only recommendation reflected "in the seven tepid and self-serving executive bills President Yar'Adua presented to the National Assembly is the first-line-charge of funding of the electoral commission. Of what use is first line charge of funding to a biased referee? the group queried.
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