Sheriff, a prediction foretold

In the article titled “Sheriff, PDP chairman or undertaker?” published in this column on February 28, I examined the character and political temperament of former Borno State Governor, Ali Modu-Sheriff, who, at the time, some members of the speedily cascading Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wanted to lead the party.
However, to many discerning political minds, Sheriff’s choice was simply borne out of desperation, and perhaps selfish consideration of a few PDP felons who saw in his coming a goldmine.
They thought he was a moneybag but soon discovered he was like any other Nigerian politician.
Last week, PDP power brokers, including Board of Trustee (BoT) members and governors, formally handed over the party’s national headquarters to its National Caretaker Committee, headed by former Kaduna State Governor, Ahmed Markafi.
Then drama heralded Sheriff taking over the same premises. All of this vindicated my prediction.
Here is the earlier thought on Sheriff published on February 28…
A new sheriff is in town. His image now looms large in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), once the behemoth that walked the land.
Luckily, his name is also Ali-Modu Sheriff. Since he was unveiled as the PDP chairman to take over from Adamu Muazu who resigned last year, and pilot the affairs of the party, he has been talking tough.
But his sermon is with a caveat. He is pleading with those opposed to his choice to give him a chance and join hands with him to salvage the party from the straw it is clutching to in a sea of unimaginable depth.
Sheriff has been talking since Tuesday, February 16 when his party unmasked him from where he was hiding because of his alleged links with Boko Haram.
His words: “The task ahead of us is very challenging. The task is to rebuild this party; carrying everybody along and making sure the PDP secures victory in 2019.
“I know that some people have expressed some feelings, which are allowed in any democracy but I want to assure everybody that for the choice you made today, nobody will regret it. The PDP will win come 2019.
“The PDP is a party that has structures across the country, it is a party that is focused, all we need to do is join hands together to achieve success. It is not the task of Sheriff alone. We will pilot this party to success in 2019.
“For 16 years, the PDP won elections and controlled the government at the federal level. Therefore, there is no reason we should not recover and become stronger in the days ahead.”
The choice of Sheriff, former senator and two-term governor of Borno State, has attracted a lot of flak from members and non members of the PDP. The argument from both sides is the morality of his selection given his alleged links with Boko Haram.
But do morals really count in political calculations in Nigeria? And how many Nigerian politicians are morally credible?
Femi Fani-Kayode, a PDP chieftain, said: “Given today’s events there appears to be deep cause for concern. It is clear to me that more than at any other time in almost 17 years of its existence, the PDP needs serious prayer.”
The moral burden of Sheriff’s selection wags the tail of the South East and South South PDP caucus members in the National Assembly (NASS) who have rejected him and are threatening mass defection from the party.
“We all know the issue that has been around Sheriff. For some time now, his name has been consistently linked with the Boko Haram issue and we need to allow him clear his name rather than bother him with the leadership of the PDP at this time.
“If those pushing for the former senator succeed, I can tell you that the nation will witness massive defection from the PDP. We in the South East and South South are ready to leave the PDP,” a senator was quoted as saying.
Given the history of the PDP from the days of former President Olusegun Obasanjo when stooges were preferred for high profile positions, one is not surprised that the party is still not ready to learn from its own failings.
With the exception of former Vice President, Alex Ekwueme, and former Plateau State Governor, Solomon Lar, all PDP chairmen were lackeys of PDP presidents, including Goodluck Jonathan.
Three main scenarios may have given fillip to the choice of Sheriff at this critical juncture in the life of the party.
First. He is believed to be very wealthy and may, therefore, have been drafted by some PDP National Working Committee (NWC) members and other party chieftains for pecuniary reasons, not for their believe in his capacity to turn the party around.
It takes a Sheriff with a deep pocket from the North East, where the PDP chairmanship is zoned, to give a handsome valedictory to PDP NWC members whose tenures are expiring.
Second. Sheriff may have been recruited by the All Progressives Congress (APC) or its allies as the undertaker for the PDP’s final resting place.
Obasanjo did a similar thing with Mahmud Waziri and Edwin Ume-Ezeoke. He planted them in the then All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and used them to destabilise it to the advantage of the PDP.
Obasanjo was also instrumental to Sheriff dumping the ANPP for the PDP.
Third. Sheriff himself may have entered into a clandestine deal with the APC – which comprises his political associates from his days in the All Peoples Party (APP) and ANPP – to use his PDP chairmanship to clear his name and reunite with political folks for future exploits.
These are the things that should really worry the PDP and not the moral burden all of them are wearing like agbada….
We hope that (then) PDP spokesman, Olisa Metuh’s explanation is true: that Sheriff was chosen based on assessments independently carried out by PDP power blocks – Governors’ Forum, NWC, NASS caucus and national leadership.
We hope they weighed all the options that may work against the party with Sheriff in charge.
The PDP needs a direction provided by a turn-around political artist, young and vibrant, hardly tainted by the stories we hear about the characters that have been leading the party….
There are young men and women from the North East ready to work for the PDP’s revival.
With the right leadership, a party that controls 11 states should not be afraid to win back federal power. Or to keep Muhammadu Buhari’s feet to the fire, and give him and his APC a good fight for good governance.
Did I hear the PDP say the APC hired embattled, nay rejected, Sheriff to destroy the PDP before the 2019 general election?
Can anyone say the PDP is not justified in taking that position, considering that Sheriff forced himself into its headquarters in Abuja on Monday, June 13 and said he remains its chairman till 2018 and that no one has the power to remove him?
Is it also for nothing that the policemen who earlier stopped Sheriff from gaining access to the PDP national secretariat were the same policemen who escorted him hours later into the office after overlooking thugs with dangerous weapons who were ready to harm any intruder?
“[PDP] National Secretary, Wale Oladipo, is here with me. He knows that both the NWC members and all the PDP governors begged me to come to become chairman.
“All the NWC, BoT and [PDP] Governor’s Forum supported my being chairman and when it came to voting, I got 69 votes to emerge the winner over other contenders,” Sheriff retorted at a press briefing while taking a swipe at the PDP for disallowing him access to the party’s headquarters.
Need we say more?