To anybody familiar with history of the Medieval Europe, the term 'Spanish Armada' remains a household name. It readily throws the mind into profound contemplation as it recalls the story of that famous military expedition of May 20 to September 13, 1588, in which King Philip II of France sought to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I of England following a protracted rivalry of religious, political and economic nature.

The fame, which that episode has assumed in human history, is attributed mainly to the size of the forces and military hardware marshaled by Spain and the dramatic way in which the battle was eventually decided.

Comprising roughly about 130 ships and 30,493 men, the Armada left Lisbon on that fateful day under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia, with its ultimate destination being the English Channel.

Truly, King Philip had every reason to be so desperate, given Queen Elizabeth's religiously cum politically-inspired support for Dutch revolt against Spain and imprisonment and subsequent execution of the king's sister-in-law, Mary I of Scotland, by the queen.

So, with the blessing of Pope Sixtus V and backing of Catholics throughout Europe, King Philip assembled what was considered, in terms of size, an overwhelmingly formidable force, to end once and for all, the lingering bitter rivalry between him and the English monarch.

While the 'Spanish Armada' may have become history, its semblance in the sense of modern politics of electoral rivalry appears to be on the verge of repetition in Nigeria following the assembling, by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), of what could qualify as its Armada of political fighters ahead of the guber showdown in Anambra State, next February.

Like the Spanish force, the PDP Armada is a large force made up of easily the most formidable political characters the party could muster and led by a political heavyweight of no less clout than the vice-president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.

Other members are Governors Ibrahim Idris, Emmanuel Uduaghan and Adebayo Alao-Akala of Kogi, Delta and Oyo States respectively; deputy Senate president, Ike Ekweremadu; former Senate president, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim; Senators Mike Ajegbo and Jim Nwobodo; Chief Cletus Ibeto; Chief Arthur Eze; former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana; PDP national vice-chairman (South-East), Chief Olisa Metuh; all PDP governors from South-East; all PDP senators and House of Reps members from South-East, among others.

With the inauguration, nay, the commissioning of this campaign force on Tuesday by the PDP national chairman, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, the fleet is set to sail to Anambra, where, like that sent by King Philip, its specific purpose is to settle once and for all, its prolonged bitter rivalry with opposition, particularly the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

Truly, just as experienced by King Philip in the hands of his rival, Elizabeth, PDP has really got a number of hard blows from APGA, starting from 2003 when it stole the show to outdo the party in the fierce battle for popularity.

Already, before then, the PDP had literally stood a disgraced party in the state following protracted squabbles between Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju and his purported godfather, Sir Emeka Offor, which saw the party washing its dirty linen in the public for almost the four years the administration lasted.

But more disgraceful for the party was the totally diminished popularity of its governor, Mbadinuju, which ultimately compelled the party to opt for another candidate in Ngige, for a credible outing in the election of 2003.

However, Ngige was to become another series of nightmare for the party as he literally governed the state from outside the party with whom he had been at loggerheads as soon as he assumed office.

After eventually losing the governorship of Anambra to APGA in 2006 through court judgments, PDP's losses to the opposition were not yet over as it was soon to lose the coveted seat for the second time in 2007, after it had worked hard to install Dr. Andy Uba in the position.

Consequently, the stakes are just too high for the party in the Anambra poll of February 6, next year, and like King Philip, the party appears not to be leaving anything to chance.

It would be recalled that prior to the April guber rerun in Ekiti State, the party had set up similar campaign committee made up of high-ranking party members to ensure its success in the keenly contested poll.

Significantly, this same committee was equally headed by Vice-President Jonathan.

Also, prior to the senatorial rerun that came subsequently in the state, a similar committee was also put in place for PDP, this time chaired by Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Dimeji Bankole.

But as happened with the Ekiti experience, the party's committee for Anambra election is already generating a good deal of public interest. Many appear to be intrigued by the amount of energy and resources the party is putting into its build-up for what is obviously one among the many political offices open for contention in the country.

"The party isn't taking any chances, this I am sure of. The reason is simply because Anambra has proven to be an intriguing terrain for politicking over the past couple of years. It's one state where you never can tell what will happen the very next moment. Political behaviour in it is proving to be unique and only an unserious character will neglect this, and of course, to his own peril.

"The PDP has failed twice there and a third failure would be just disastrous. So, the party's move this time is natural, wise and timely because it should prepare well enough, knowing that the battle it is going to wage is not only fierce but somewhat unpredictable," a Lagos PDP chieftain, who spoke on condition of anonymity told Saturday Champion.

However, to some critics of the party, its attitude towards the oncoming Anambra poll does not speak well of it.

Chief Reuben Ubaka, a legal consultant with the Amnesty International (AI) said PDP's move may be suggesting that the party is only desperate at winning the February poll.

"It smacks of desperation on the part of a political party to literally move with all its members into just one state like Anambra in search of electoral victory. Obviously, there is nothing wrong with this, morally speaking, but the fact is that a party like the PDP should always show example to others by striving to play its politics in a way that communicates modesty, while refraining from acts that could be interpreted, rightly or wrongly, as being ill-intentioned," Ubaka said.

He argued that since the PDP prides itself as the largest party in Africa, it should show that it can win elections without having to "deploy all its heavyweights in a way that could intimidate the opposition.

"Yes, the party's approach has the possibility of sending wrong signals to the opposition. Some may even see it as calculated to intimidate them while others may actually get intimidated. For the mere reason that the party calls herself the largest in Africa, it shouldn't have to flex its muscles around to win elections because its size and pedigree should always speak for it," Ubaka added.

Similarly, Lagos lawyer, Kennedy Kolawole, while concurring with this view, said he is more concerned with how PDP's Anambra guber project "will likely distract a lot of public office holders" from their duties when they become fully engaged with the campaign task.

He said, "My own concern is that the party is calling out public servants who should be busy in their respective offices fixing this country, to be part of an election in just one state, a task the party can conveniently handle with its internal machinery in the state.

"Yes, I may admit that the party's machinery in Anambra state is currently not healthy enough, but still, the country and its citizens should not be made to bear the brunt of what is the concern of a political party. For God's sake, PDP is just one political party and we have many in the country. So, its business shouldn't be made to appear as a collective business of all of us.

"While I admit that the party has the right to conduct its campaign however it wants and with whomever it desires, they shouldn't give us the impression that its office holders, beginning from those in the presidency down to the state level, have no work to do apart from Anambra.

"Looking at the calibre of non-office holders in that committee, I am totally convinced that PDP can successfully conduct its campaign with them without having to call out all our serving governors, senators, reps and of course, our vice-president."Kolawole said the dividing line between politics and governance is such that requires public office holders to detach themselves from politics to a certain extent, particularly at certain critical periods.

"A state governor should no longer be seen as exactly the same with a party chairman who holds no public office. While the former is a full politician with little or no hindrance in playing his game, a governor is so much occupied with responsibilities, so much bothered by the common good that at times, he necessarily needs to pull himself away from politics, just for the sake of avoiding distraction. He remains a politician quite all right, but on his shoulders has been laid a burden of greater importance than any group or individual struggle for power.

"This is exactly the rational behind the criticism some of us have made against the PDP's action in Ekiti State and now the Anambra case is following," he said.

But to Chief Tony Ikeakor, PDP chieftain in Anambra and former councilor at Ekwusigo local government area of the state, any criticism against the party for its choice of method in Anambra is grossly unfair and amounts to unnecessary interference with what should be purely an internal affair of the party.

"With all sense of responsibility, I affirm that no one can justly and reasonably say the party has done any wrong by mobilizing its human resources towards a good outing in Anambra State next year. This is politics and it is a competitive game, which only the best wins and so, nobody dares go into it with weak machinery or strategy because everybody strives to be the best. And I think what the party has done is to strive to be the best by deploying its best human resources for Anambra.

"This is what any other political party can do rather than looking into another man's house seeking for what to say and what not to say. We are in a competition and so everybody should utilize what he has to the fullest. The opposition should utilize what they have, that is if they feel they have any, and if they don't want to do this, they should refrain from unjustly castigating another person who has decided to utilize his. It's as simple as that," he said.

Ikeakor added that the fact the party "is seriously preparing for the election" shows that it is determined to win the contest legitimately as against speculations that it is out to rig the election.

"A party that is out to rig an election cannot be so bent on utilizing all its resources as the PDP is currently doing. So, believe it or not, the party has justified whatever good result that may come its way at the end of this poll.

"For my brothers in the opposition parties, I would advise them to go home and start working because it will be most unfortunate for anybody to leave the preparation he should be making against the oncoming election to be prying into the affairs of the PDP and only to come out at the end of the day to complain that he has been rigged out; it will be most unfortunate," he said.

Be that as it may, the PDP is just one out of the several parties gunning for the Anambra job. While the party may have sent in its machinery to deliver the state to its candidate, it would remain to be seen how successful it will be in the face of opposition from other parties in the same race, who definitely are not sleeping.

But if the optimism being expressed by Ikeakor and other notable party chieftains is anything to go by, then surely, the party will, unlike the ill-fated 'Spanish Armada', come, see and conquer in what promises to be a keen contest for the soul of Light of the nation.