Beyond the funds to spend and the noise, the March 26 APC national convention does not give hopes on repositioning the party.
By Emeka Alex Duru
(08054103327, nwaukpala@yahoo.com)
The declaration by Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nassarawa State that the All Progressives Congress (APC) governors have resolved their differences ahead of the March 26 National Convention of the party, is paradoxical.
Sule had claimed that the leadership of the party under Gov. Mai Mala Buni was making every effort to take every member along. For emphasis, he said, “I believe it is the only path for a successful convention and victory at elections. We believe in unity in diversity, and this is the mantra of our convention”.
That, ordinarily should be assuring. The convention of a ruling party is usually a celebration of successes and reflection on the challenges ahead. It is usually a forum to elect candidates for the leadership of the party. In substance, the national convention is the supreme organ of the party. It is indeed, a big deal.
Growing up, it was fun watching the national conventions of the leading political parties of the second republic. For whatever anyone might say on the arrogance of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), its national convention was usually an excitement to behold. The colourful outings by the chieftains of the party, gave their convention a touch of a carnival. It was on such occasions that the likes of Dr. Kingsley Ozumba (KO) Mbadiwe, Umaru Dikko, Ibrahim Tahir and the youthful Chuba Okadigbo, radiated in glamour and grandiloquence.
The more soberly Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), and Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP), also had much to showcase in their conventions. Aside the festive sides of the gatherings, there were moments of stock taking in which the political parties gave serious thoughts to the future of their organisations. It was at such occasions that the manifestoes of the parties were reviewed and fresh targets set.
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But that of the APC or indeed, any of the rallies (as Okadigbo would say) that currently pass for political parties in the country, is literally a farce, a mere assembly of buccaneers for incubation and hatchery of intrigues. For sure, political parties even in advanced democracies, are avenues for intrigues and power contestations. The difference however, is that while elsewhere, the maneuvers are done with considerations on national interest, here, it is merely for crude acquisition of power not for service but for feathering personal and group agenda – a zero sum game!
That is why it is not often difficult to predict in advance who is selected for whatever slots weeks or months before the national convention of contemporary Nigeria’s political parties.
For instance, less than three weeks to the June 23, 2018 National Convention of the APC, the outcome was already known. But the question the handlers of the party did not bother to ask was the fate of the party after the skewed exercise. It was a matter of grabbing power, first.
In that outing that was characterised by undisguised coercion, the National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, was forced to withdraw from going for a re-election, to clear the coast for Adams Oshiomhole, who just exited as Edo State governor. Oshiomhole was flaunted as President Muhammadu Buhari’s favourite for the position.
Oyegun, who pulled out of the race obviously against his intention, said he was doing so in the interest of the party. He stressed that though he would have loved taking another shot at the office, he was opting out so as not to be part of the problems confronting the party.
´´I do not intend to be part of the problem for APC to solve. It is for this reason that I hereby declare that I will not be seeking re-election as the national chairman”, Oyegun remarked. Oshiomhole and his backers had their way. Four years later, APC is yet to get over the trouble that Oyegun had envisaged. If anything rather, the party has sunk deeper in leadership crisis, giving it the image of an organization at war with self.
As in 2018, Buhari, has also been severally mentioned in the present confusion in the party. At some point, he was mentioned by the Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, as the brain behind the insurrection by Governor Bello against Governor Buni over the national chairmanship of the party. In another breathe, the president, had made up with Buni, sealing the rapport with a picture pose in faraway London.
To stretch his trademark headmaster-pupil relationship with other members of the party, he insisted on consensus as selection process at the convention, settling for ageing Senator Abdullahi Adamu, former Nasarawa State governor and ex-Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) henchman as the national chairman. Same imperial fiat is to be applied in throwing up other officers of the party.
The entire thing looks cosmetic. But one thing is certain; despite the efforts and propaganda to cover the cracks in the APC, the party is in huge stress. We should not ordinarily be bothered by the shenanigans in the party. Not all of us are politicians; not all of us belong to the party, after all. But no matter how we may try to remain unconcerned with the developments in the APC, we are all victims of its lack of vision and focus, given that it is the ruling party.
There is no doubt that being the party in power and control of the resources of the state, it has the number and noise. But that is where it all ends. Any other thing about the party, is basically an accident-in-waiting.
Helen Adams Keller, the American author, disability rights advocate, political activist and lecturer, captured the APC brilliantly in her analysis that “the only thing worse than being blind is having sight without vision”. This was a political party that gave Nigerians hope at its formation but has dashed same when it was expected to deliver.
For seven years that the APC has been in power at the national level, there has not been much to cheer on advancing the frontiers of democracy. The basic principles of rule of law and sanctity of elections, are not being observed. There is no guarantee of life and property, given the rising tide of insecurity in all parts of the country. The crisis in the energy sector is taking frightening dimensions every day. The economy is in shambles with production literally hitting ground zero. If you take a look at the neighbourhood on a normal day, what you encounter are frustrated and famished faces with no particular hope on where the next meal would come from. The country is really in bad shape.
For a ruling party, these are issues that should prick the conscience of its leaders, at its convention. By now, Nigerians should know what those aspiring to take leadership positions in the party can offer. The encounter should have been a mini national election of sort.
In a democratic setting that is worth its name, the APC national convention has a lot in defining the tempo and character of the affairs of the party in the years ahead and by extension, what the country stands to gain. Those elected at the forum should be the real leaders of the party, not the President, as it is wrongly taken, now.
In the NPN days, Adisa Akinloye, the national chairman was the unmistakable leader of the party, not President Shehu Shagari. Obafemi Awolowo, was the spiritual and political leader of the UPN. Adeniran Ogunsanya was clearly, in charge in NPP, not Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, the Presidential candidate. These were men who knew the weight of their offices, apparently because of how they emerged. Unfortunately, this is not what to expect from the APC.