Head, News Desk, VICTOR EBIMOMI, takes a look at the campaign of calumny going on between PDP and APC chieftains in the run up to the elections.
On Thursday, January 8, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) – the two leading political parties in the country – kicked off their campaign ahead of the February general elections. PDP stormed Lagos State while APC headed for Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The two engagements lived up to the expectations of analysts. The large crowd, the colour and enthusiasm of the followers made the outings especially so.
But that seemed to be the only meeting point or similarity in the campaigns. Every other thing almost turned out to be demonstration of boorishness.
Before now, the two parties had appeared to have dug solid trenches ahead the election, with staccato of verbal missiles being thrown at each other.
But after what seemed like a lull in the battle of wits occasioned by an unwritten agreement to focus on issue-based campaign, rather than attack on personality, there appeared to be sanity of sorts.
The ‘understanding’ seemed to have snapped and, as usual, hell was let loose once again. All sort of invectives are being poured on one another by chieftains of the two parties.
In fact, since the two parties had their national conventions in December, the tempo of mudslinging rose exponentially.
At a point, in fact, governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, an APC chieftain, was alleged to have hit hard at Jonathan, describing him as an ‘incompetent commander-in-chief.’
But in a swift reaction, the PDP National Secretary, Wale Oladipo, retaliated with what could be likened to a bombshell. He described the APC presidential flag-bearer Muhammadu Buhari, as a ‘semi-literate jackboot’.
This statement elicited different reactions from many, who argued that the way the campaigns were being handled was too volatile and could, in the long run, engender ill-feeling among the participants.
Informed observers specifically argued that the regime of toxic campaign has the potential of injecting bad blood in the system as the elections approach.
But a day before the Lagos rally of the PDP on January 8, 2015, the Director of Media and Publicity for Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Femi Fani-Kayode, raised the bar by pronouncing Buhari as representing darkness while Jonathan typifies light.
He said: “It is our full intention to expose General Muhammadu Buhari for what he really is, what he stands for and the great danger that his candidacy portends for the unity of the Nigeria state and the peace and well- being the Nigeria people.”
Many political watchers have expressed concern over the observed toxic words being deployed by the two parties.
However, rather than subside, the trend appears to have now become a serious pastime, with key figures of the two parties merely engaging in blame game. While the APC accused the PDP of breaching a mutual agreement to keep campaigns acceptably decent, the ruling party hit back at the opposition party, accusing it of spear-heading the name-calling exercise.
In a statement issued in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, APC expressed concern that PDP, which promised to preach issue-based electioneering, had suddenly resorted to mudslinging against its presidential candidate, Buhari; his running mate, Yemi Osinbajo; party leader Bola Tinubu; and indeed the entire opposition.
APC accused PDP of breaching the agreement by “its crude, rude and rambling statements”.
“What is issue-based in calling Gen. Buhari a ‘semi-literate jackboot’ as the PDP’s National Secretary Wale Oladipo has incautiously said? Where are the issues in the pejorative reference to Prof. Osinbajo as an ‘acolyte’ of Tinubu, or in describing Tinubu himself as a puppeteer, as the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary Olisa Metuh has said in the most vitriolic and irresponsible statement that can ever be issued by the spokesman of a ruling party anywhere?” the party stated.
“Where are the issues contained in the statement by the serial bumbler and gormandiser called Doyin Okupe, who regards Buhari’s refusal to enrich himself from the public till as a vice rather than a virtue? Why would a ruling party go after the jugular of the opposition simply because it took its time in choosing its presidential running mate, especially since it did not run foul of any electoral law in doing so?
“The truth is that the Jonathan presidency and the PDP have no issues to canvass during the electioneering for the 2015 general elections because they have wasted the mandate given to them by Nigerians on the altar of unprecedented corruption, incomprehensible incompetence and cluelessness and perhaps the worst leadership ever inflicted on our country.”
Not to be outdone, PDP reached for its arsenal in Metuh, who laid the blame of the unprincipled campaigns on the doorstep of the APC.
He dismissed the claim by the APC that the description of Gen. Buhari as a “semi-literate jackboot” by the PDP National Secretary, Oladipo, amounted to reneging on the commitment.
“In the PDP, we occupy the moral high ground as far as our commitment to issue-based campaign is concerned. Our word remains our bond. Since we made that commitment, we have focused on issues.
“We have also taken up the responsibility of drawing the attention of Nigerians to the obvious cases of incompetence and failings of the APC and those who aspire to the leadership of our nation through that platform.
“There has never been any instance that we have maliciously attacked the characters of those on the presidential ticket of the APC; rather, we have been alive to our responsibility of offering public service, so that Nigerians will not be deceived.
“The particular statement by Prof. Oladipo, referred to by the APC, which we even consider as complimentary, does not in any way compare with the many instances of vicious, malicious and provocative attacks on the person and office of our presidential candidate, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, after we made the commitment to engage in a decent campaign.
“It is on record that a few days after the commitment alluded to by the APC, Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwakwanso, attacked the person of President Jonathan, describing him as an ‘incompetent commander-in-chief.’ No personal attack could be more vicious and unconscionable,” Metuh explained.
“Similarly, the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, has consistently prosecuted a hate campaign against President Jonathan, describing him as ‘an enemy of Rivers people’. I ask the APC and my friend, Lai Mohammed, if this destructive campaign sounds like a love song to him.”
This has remained the trend and has, in a way, denied Nigerians the benefit of issue-based campaigns.
