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PREAMBLE
My esteemed leaders and elders, the ramification of the sundry illegalities and impunity in our dear party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), evoke memories of a conundrum during the reign of King Solomon that almost led to the mutilation of an innocent child. In that legendry tale of two women who shared a common space with their children, one of them had crushed her own child while they slept and the other was dragged into a dispute that put her own child’s life at the mercy of the king’s sword. The mother of the dead child was eager to see the disputed child mutilated because she had nothing to lose while the actual mother would rather go without the child than allow it to be divided by the sword.
The moral here is that it is only those who truly have nothing to lose that are selfishly subversive and destructive; the people undermining the sanctity of the political fraternity in the PDP are those at the twilight of their political journey. They know that they have deficits with posterity, so, they are unscrupulously trying to re-write their destinies at the expense of the collective good of all those who do have viable stakes in our political journey. They are using acts of felony to attain what they cannot win through legitimate political processes. The days of voodoo politics are over; the people know and are willing to stand with only those who by their antecedents have proven that they are indeed in politics to serve their people. Thus, because the electorate has demonstrated its resolve to punish self-serving leaders who fail to deliver the dividends of democracy, these political hyenas whose political fortunes have now been relegated to the bottom of the food chain are threatening to ravage the party to extinction. In the bid to foist their selfish agenda on the whole, illegality and impunity have become the order of day and these acts have been embedded in the fabric of our co-existence like landmines waiting to be exploded.
THE ISSUES
It is on record that I did warn against these landmines in the pathways of the botched May 21st and August 17th National Conventions but little or no attention was given to the fact that a reconciliation process was and still is a pre-requisite for peace and progress in the party.Some of our leaders thought that they could muscle their way past the May 12th and 20th, 2016 court orders forbidding the party from removing the National Chairman, National Secretary and National Auditor on the one hand and from “foisting a fait accompli on the court” on the other hand, carrying on as if their lives depended on the power struggle. The manner in which they chorused “the supremacy of the party” makesone wonder if the clichégives the party superiorityover its own constitution and the Constitution of the land. In flagrant disregard for the rule of law as well as the sanctity of the lives of our party men and women, they orchestrated National Conventions that left our fellow party men and women vulnerable and exposed to dangers. To start with, there was no reason to take the convention to Port Harcourt again when there was no promise of free food, transportation and accommodation; indeed, it seemed as if delegates had been assured of some monetary reward or incentives.
A leader is supposed to be worthy of that highly coveted mount on the pedestal and deserving of the confidence of the people who have entrusted their mandate and lives into his hands. Millions of party members agreed to follow someone whom they see as a leader to Port Harcourt. It was incumbent on such a leader to rise above the fray and not betray the trust reposed in him. Moreover, it was improper for such a leader who could now be said to have betrayed the trust reposed in him to cast aspersions and malign other leaders in the media. How can anyone say that a that Senator Sheriff, a three term senator and a two term governor, who has been in public life for over 20 years, is a nobody in the scheme of things? How can anyone rubbish the experience and reach of Senator Makarfi, who is also a two-term governor and senator? When you have two strong leaders with intimidating credentials such as these disagreeing over an issue, the role of a true leader should be mediatory, conciliatory and consistently in quest of conflict resolution. Thus, I have taken a neutral stand in the middle where I will continue to impress on the leaders, elders and members of our great party on the need for a just and peaceful resolution of the on-going crisis. I have deep regards and love for both leaders who are caught up in the eye of this man-made storm and urge all stakeholders to seek a point of convergence for the political resolution of this conflict.
With his recent activities, Rivers State Governor NyesomWikehas positioned himself as the number one leader and the Commander-in-Chief of the PDP and I personally do not see anything wrong with his desire to serve as the rallying point for the party. But, anyone taking on such an onerous task must be above board and live up to expectations of all; he must be ready to be a consensus builder, law-abiding, consultative and respectfulto other leaders and elders, and also possess himself in patience.Now that things have gone awry, he should allow other leaders and elders to cure the accumulated illegalities towards the eventual reconciliation of all the aggrieved people or parties instead of chasing shadows.
This party is not anybody’s heirloom that must be inherited or possessed by one person or a few. Everybody is legitimately entitled to protect his or her own interest and that of his followers within the overall interest. Our leaders must be altruistic in their passion for the party and not be lawless, constituting an affront to the law. And when those who are covered by immunity encourage people to break the law, they are only preparing the ground for innocent people to commit more illegalities until they find themselves in jail for contempt of court. If they truly love the party and believe in it, I see no reason why they will push the party to the precipice. From my experience and information available to me, I can authoritativelysay that one or two of our governors are the ones tearing the party into pieces.
SOUTH WEST PDP
It isdisgusting to see someone like Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose say one thing but does the exact opposite. He has shown time and again that he is a pathological liar, a traitor, a deceiver and a leopard that cannot change its spots. His frame and sensory organs are an embodiment of dishonesty and reverberate with lies when he talks. Fayose does not have the interest of the people of the South West at heart. He is only after his own selfish interest.He lacks the capacity to manage relationships with people,let alone controlling the party structure in the whole of the South West. At the botched August 17th Convention, Fayose denied delegates of four out of the six states in the South West their tags and would have prevented them from taking part in the convention had it held as planned. In manipulating the whole process to achieve his self-conceited agenda, he wittingly tried to undermine all other leaders of the party in the South West and render them useless. He kept on deceiving people that because he had got his fingers burnt the first time, he did not have any preferred candidate.Such infamy might just be the reason why the Almighty Allah who is the most powerful made everything to collapse on their head. Nobody in the party can believe Fayose and his co-travellers anymore.
It is now clear that anyone who follows Fayose in the South West wants to sink his political career. He equates the whole of the South West to Ekiti State.Indeed what his manipulation of the delegates list has shown is that he has neither clout nor followers outside his state.Worst still, he has been unable to manage his own state.I dare say that at the rate he is going, if elections are held in that state today, he will losebecause of the way he has betrayed and maltreated all those who assisted him during his election.
Fayose went to the South West PDP leaders meeting held on the 8th of August, 2016and purported to be part of the endorsement of Chief Bode George whereas he has another agenda. He wanted to rubbish all the leaders and elders of the party in the zone, but God rubbished him.Fayose and his ilk want to be Alpha and Omega of the party without deference forother well-meaning leaders and elders.
It is a pity that in spiteof his intimidating record of public service, exposure and education, Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo Statewould allow Fayose to be manipulating and misleading him;even asthe Chairman of PDP’s Governor’s Forum!It is most unfortunate. Since the two governors of the PDP in the South West have failed us, I wish to implore all our party leaders in the South West to come together and let us speak with one voice.Let us, once and for all, put a stop to their divide and rule tactics.
The respective zonal leadership of the party should be allowed to work with all the respectable leaders in their various zones to work out the modalities for the zoning and nomination of candidates for the positions allotted to thevarious regions without any undue external influence.
The truth be told; as long as those who carry themselves as the Alpha and Omega of the South WestPDP continue to hijack the party structure to perpetuate their illegalities, without respect for the opinion of the leaders of the party in the zone, there will not be peace at the national level.
Everybody politician of note in the South wants to be the Vice-Presidential candidate and because of that they think it is imperative to have full control of the party, sharing positions and commanding the structure of the party. But when it comes to responsibilities towards the party, they dodge. The other time, the National Caretaker Committee needed N120million to do certain things; it was difficult to raise N65million out of the required amount. It was Senator Ahmed Makarfi that raised N50million by himself.
Yet some people have descended to the nonsensical and opportunistic habit of seeing themselves as belonging to Senator Ahmed Makarfi or Senator Ali ModuSheriff. The PDP is one and it has many leaders. Senators Makarfi and Sheriff are two of the many leaders in the party. Let all those who are truly passionate about the party at this trying time stayunbiased in the middle and play mediatory roles, instead of pursuing their selfish interests and power struggles. Obviously, it is those who are power drunk that are dragging the party back by deepening the current crisis. Power taken by force is usually unmanageable.
As long as they continue their illegalities and impunity, some of us will continue to use the law and legality to whip them into lineuntil theyrealize their misdeeds, stop the illegalities and do the right thing.Anyone who blames the APC or the Federal Government for the crisis in the PDP is a liar; such a person is not sincere because the crisis was self-inflicted. The tell-tale signs had always been there. It started from the South West, withsomeone like Governor Fayosewho will say one thing today and do the exact opposite the next day. He and his ilk see themselves as professional politicians whereas they are professional liars and deceivers.
Let us look at the issues dispassionately. This is not about Sheriff or Makarfi per se. It is about having a good sense of judgment and trust. The very people who went to beg Sheriff to become the National Chairman because of his rich credentials and experience are the ones now calling him names, all because they could not use him to serve their selfish interests.Fayose wantsto produce the zonal executive as well as all the national officers from the South Westat all costs even when the term of officeof the current officershas not ended. Governor Wike,on the other hand, wants to produce the first Deputy National Chairman. To be sure, I do not have anything against theirinterests or candidates.
Of course, there is nothing wrong in endorsing pursuing your interestandcandidates, especially when they arealtruistic, noble, experienced and endowed with brand equity that could be leveraged upon for the party. But everything is wrong with the way some leaders went about deceiving people and skewing the process leading to the August 17th botched convention. What they should have done was to engage the leaders and stakeholders, and not to resort to the kind of subterfuge and debauchery that we have seen in Port Harcourt on two occasions. When you add their individual interest with the fact that both Governors Wike and Fayose joined forces to push a particular candidate for the position of the National Chairman, then you would get the whole picture.
I do not think it is safe for us to trust the judgment of those who brought Sheriff, told us he was the best man for the job and then turn around to vilify him when they found he could not be used to achieve their game-plan. They have been the same people opposed to all the agreements reached by well-meaning leaders with Sheriff and Makarfi. Now that we have seen where their intemperance has led us, I think it is high time we charted a new course. This blame game of Sheriff being a tool in the hands of the ruling party and government is ill-conceived and uncalled for, more so when he has offered to quit once an all-embracing National Convention is held.
I do not know why some public office holders think that their positions make them some demi-gods who must be worshipped and grovelled.It is indecent to look down on others because you are in a position of authority; such privileges are transient;no condition is permanent.But they are sadly unmindful of this reality. Otherwise, how could someone just wake up and decide to truncate people’s tenure or term of office? How could a court give an order or judgment and they will boldly come out not only to say that they will disobey it, but to also cast aspersion on the judiciary.
But when it favours them, they will applaud the judiciary. What double-speak! At times, I shudder to think how some of them who are lawyers and have been beneficiary of the judiciary and the rule of law would come out to cast aspersion on the judiciary?Governors, Ministers and politicians who have attained leadership derive legitimacy from the law when they get into office. They use the laws to govern the people and compel them to obey the laws.So, if they trample on the laws or encourage people to do so, how do they want Nigerians to see them and the PDP? Is it as a lawless organization full of lawless people or a law-abiding organization full of law-abiding people? How can some people think that their money can cover illegalities?They should not use their cowardly cowboy character to destroy the party that they do not know how and when it was founded.
CONCLUSION
It is my humble submission that rather than allow some powerful few to hijack the structure of the party, it is better to return it to the people at the grassroots who are the true owners of the party. It is high time the leaders and elders of the party nationwide are allowed to drive and lead the party.I must also reiterate that our leaders and elders should be careful not to allow the few that are power drunk to be dragging them into their lawlessness as they are the only ones we can run to whenever there is any problem. They should position themselves as peacemakers that the party can rely on when conflict sets in.
The two leaders – Sheriff and Makarfi – are brothers. It might be apposite at this time not to allow anyone come in-between them again. They should engage each other and settle the issues amicably in the overall interest of the party. There is no reason why they cannot come together as brothers to resolvethe issues.
It is crucial for both Senator Sheriff and Senator Makarfi to bury the hatchet and coalesce to form an interim National Working Committee that will form the National Convention Planning Committee. The Convention Committee could be headed by a member of the Board of trustees in order to allay the mutual mistrust between the Governors’ Forum and other stakeholders. A Governor or Senator could also be picked as the Deputy Chairman or Secretary of the Committee. It is also my view that in order to ensure a level-playing field the convention should take place in Abuja, as earlier recommended by the Prof. Jerry Gana-led Reconciliation Committee. The financial implications of this process should be made public so that leaders and elders of the party can promptly make their contributions towards a successful hosting of an all-embracing national convention. As someone who believes that nothing happens to men without the Almighty Allah’s approvalandsince we have tried and failed twice to hold the National Convention in Port Harcourt, it is my humble view that a successful convention was not destined to be held in the Garden City, at least for now. So, it is better we look elsewhere, preferably a common ground.
Let it be clearly stated that those who believe that current crisis should be resolved by the Appeal Courts or Supreme Court do not love the party; they want to see it completely destroyed. Generations of Nigerians to come will judge leaders and elders who fail to resolve the conflict in the interest of the survival of the party.It is for this reason that anyone who wants to champion the conflict resolution process must be a mediator and not a dictator to a party that is followed by millions of Nigerians.It should be noted that there are several eminentNigerians who have sympathy for the PDP; some of them are more financially buoyant than some of those strutting our political space with arrogance and impunity.I also know some of our governorsthat are God fearing, humane and courteous. They have not allowed the influence and the paraphernalia of office to get into their heads. They have lived above the fray and conducted themselves with candour, honour and dignity.It is for this reason that I wish to implore our leaders and governors, such as Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State, Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State, Governor (Prof.) Ben Ayade of Cross River State, Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State and others,to get more involved in the fresh peace process. They cannot afford to give up or stand aloof. Posterity and history beckon on them.
I wish to also encourage our leaders and elders, such as former Governor Sule Lamido, Professor Jerry Gana, Senator Ibrahim Mantu, Senator Jubrin Walid, BoT members and other party stalwartswho have suffered for the party with little or nothing to show for it, torise up to the challenge ofrescuing the party from the precipice and redeem it.They should rise up as the custodians of the party and be solution providers to the leadership crisis rocking the party.
Just as the mother who was willing to let go of her child to save it from being mutilated got justice at the end of the day, all those toiling night and day to preserve the soul of the PDP will be ultimately rewarded with a vibrant, progressive and cohesive party that will become the pride of all.The seemingly intractable crisis rocking our party demands selfless leadership and I am confident that the ranks of this great party are filled with great visionary leaders who are willing and able to do all it takes to save the party from the “sword of the king” and let it flourish once again.
