Special Correspondent, BENJAMIN JIBRIN, attempts an analysis of feelings of Nigerians on the performance of PDP, in repositioning the country…
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been in power since 1999 when the military junta left the stage for civilian rule. Interestingly, this is the first time democratic government has lasted this long in the history of Nigeria. Over the years, opposition parties have made strenuous efforts to dislodge the party without success.
Maiyashi
If anything, rather, the ruling party, which prides itself as the largest political party in Africa, is nursing the ambition to remain in power for the next 60 years uninterrupted.
Even with the 2015 general election still some months ahead, political parties, including the PDP, have started to oil their campaign machineries for action.
The question critics have been asking, however, is if PDP would survive the 2015 elections. This is against the backdrop of rising opposition within and outside the party in reaction to what they perceived as “bad governance” by the handlers of the party.
When, in 1999, the military under the leadership of General Abdulsalami Abubakar decided to relinquish power to civilians, the civil populace was in high spirit with the decision. Consequently, in line with the political transition programme, associations that eventually transformed into political parties were registered.
At that initial stage, there were three political parties namely Alliance for Democracy (AD), All Peoples Party (APP) and, of course, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In their struggle for power, PDP fielded General Olusegun Obasonjo, a former Head of State, while AD, which went into alliance with APP, fielded Olu Falae, one-time Finance Minister and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), as their candidates for 1999 presidential election.
Opinions were divided on the choice of the two candidates. The division centred on the need to have a thorough civilian president for a full-blown democracy or to engage the services of a person with military experience with a view to taming his constituency and also checkmating rascals in the civil society until the new order is firmly entrenched.
Based on his antecedents, Obasanjo was overwhelmingly elected president, against Falae. Many factors worked against Falae, including his link with the hated Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), an economic recovery policy that was introduced during the regime of General Ibrahim Babangida (the self-acclaimed military president) that impoverished many Nigerians.
After the elections, a retreat on good governance was organised for the elected members of PDP across the country. The event was designed by the national executive officers of PDP with a view to preparing those who won in the elections for effective service delivery. The event took place in Kaduna, at National Teachers Institute Conference Centre. The then National Chairman of the ruling party, Barnabas Gemade, was at the event among other leaders of the party.
In a session with journalists, Gemade was reminded of his party’s campaign promises. His response: “When you move into a new house, you would not know where the roof is leaking and, of course, the problem you have inherited.” He, however, appealed to Nigerians to give their regime time to study the situations on ground.
But 15 years after, Nigerians are divided on performance rating of the ruling party. While party supporters credit it with phenomenal success, critics insist that PDP is yet to live up to expectation. They particularly cite the nation’s lingering problem in power supply, potable water, job creation, corruption and of course insecurity as justification for the party’s low performance rating.
Tom Maiyashi, Kaduna-based politician and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), argued that from all indications, “we are betrayed by the political elite of this country” who he describes as “liars, fraudsters, exploiters, heartless and people who have no sense of humanity or decency”.
While attributing Nigeria’s predicaments to the nature and practice of politics today, Maiyashi warned those pulling the country down to turn a new leaf or get prepared to “meet their waterloo”.
He described 2015 as a year of reckoning. To this end, he urged Nigerians demanding change, because they have been shortchanged over the years, to be committed in their quest.
“With the general elections coming closer, we have come to the point of decision. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency,” he stressed.
While some angry Nigerians blame PDP for the rot in the land, others are canvassing support for the party ahead of the 2015 general elections. To justify their support for PDP and, of course, President Goodluck Jonathan, they made allusion to the famous saying: better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know.
