With the endorsement of President Muhammadu Buhari for the presidential ticket of the party by the governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the door may have been shut against anyone nursing presidential ambition on that platform.
The endorsement was ahead of the party’s National Convention this month where its candidate for the February 2019 election would emerge.
Buhari had recently declared his ambition to run again at the APC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party in Abuja after which he jetted out of the country to London.
The declaration came at a time when many Nigerians believe that the President is not deserving of another term given his below-par performance in the last three years. They believe that under his watch, the country has experienced a serious economic slowdown that has negatively impacted the quality of life of citizens. They also point to the widespread killing of innocent citizens by the Fulani herdsmen, and the kid-glove handling of worsening insecurity in the country.
Observers said that the President’s declaration has thrown a serious challenge to the opposition and that such a decision in the midst of deafening cries and lamentation in the land occasioned by seemingly non-performance amounted to grandstanding and a feeling of “who can stop me?”
Since the President announced his decision on the 9th of April to seek re-election bid, however, no other member of the party has openly
indicated intension to challenge the President for the ticket of the APC.
Nigerians were outraged on that Tuesday in April when Benue State was in a mourning mood, Buhari and APC governors were talking about re-election. They gathered in Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), a facility built and maintained by tax payer’s money, to talk about a fresh mandate for a new term when the current one has not been justified.
That was the same day gunmen visited a Catholic Church in fury and snatched away in cold blood the lives of two priests and several worshippers in Benue State.
After the endorsement that very Tuesday, the next day the report on human rights abuses committed in the current administration since 2015, chronicled by the United States Department of State, went viral on the social media.
While some analysts have said that the endorsement of Buhari signaled a smooth return to the power stool in 2019, arguing that there is largely absent of a formidable contender, some other pundits believe that it is not over until it is over.
There are some other aspirants who have since declared their interest to contest the ticket with President Buhari. One of such aspirants is Adamu Garba 11 an entrepreneur-turned politician, who exuded confidence, thus: “I am contesting under the platform of the party as president. We have been assured and given guarantee that they would do the right thing, we want to see the way the primaries go first, before thinking of the next move.”
Some analysts say that with the Buhari’s APC in control of the wealth of the country and the security apparatus, it may be inconceivable to imagine that power may slip from their grip, discontent in the polity over the poor state of affairs, nonetheless.
But the allegory of the defeat of Goliath, the Philistine warrior as chronicled in the holy book, gives an insight into what is possible in power struggle, even when the odds are strikingly staked against someone.
There was a time in Israel, when the people’s hearts fainted over the daily threat by a man of war, Goliath, the Philistine warrior. He dared Israel to produce her best to challenge him. The sight of the intimidating figure made the hearts of the best of Israel’s soldier to sink. Saul the king was in distress over the daily taunting and apparent state of hopelessness.
Although Israel’s soldiers had massed out at the war front and although everyone in Israel knew their men had gone to face the foes, they were oblivious of the fact that those they were trusting to bring deliverance were as fearful and helpless as the least man in town!
No one was able to face Goliath who had been a man of war all his life. He had everything going for him – sophisticated spear, breastplate, iron helmet, iron shoes and everything that seemingly protected his body. And he had the height that made any Israel’s soldier looked like a dwarf.
Each time he came up to taunt Israel and to urge them to send someone to battle with him, King Saul and his men scampered because the man would not just speak, he roared. He even challenged Israel’s God!
Then came a game-changer, David, a boy who strolled into the war arena on an errand. Every other thing that happened remains a history.
Today, analysts say that the APC has named its Goliath and the question is – is there a David anywhere?
Several names are being bandied as those jostling to deliver the Nigerian masses as it were, but analysts believe many of these people may have not got the right stone to bring down the Goliath and that any attempt to go into the war with such level of unpreparedness could leave, not only the challenger, but the entire masses more bruised than they were.
Several names have since come up as those seeking their parties’ endorsement to do battle with the APC’s “Goliath”.
In the camp of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) are Atiku Abubarkar, Sule Lamido, Ibrahim Shekarau, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and Aliyu Mohammed Gusau.
Some pundits say the battle in the PDP is likely between Kwankwaso and Atiku, and that it is either of the duo that can pose a resistance to Buhari
“For Kwankwaso, he is well-received in Kano and he is likely to split the votes in Kano where massive votes always come from. But my fear is that Kwankwaso does not have the same clout across the country. But granted that the PDP picks him, he may have a block vote in South East that is predominantly PDP and a huge harvest in the South-South. In the South West, he can also make an impact, ditto in North Central where it is expected that protest vote will be made against the APC over the herdsmen killings,” Cromwell Gaius, an Abuja-based policy analyst said.
Describing the chances of Atiku Abubaker should he clinch the APC ticket, Gaius said: “I sincerely think, without belabouring the matter that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is the best bet for the PDP in the circumstance. Why did I say so? Atiku is well-received in many parts of the north; he has the money to run his campaign without relying so heavily on his party; he his friends and allies across the country. In fact, I must tell you that the man has more friends in the south than he has in his own region of north. If you are talking about or looking for a David, Atiku fits the bill,” he said.
In the last three years quality of life of Nigerians has drastically reduced. Job losses have been terrible and employments have shrunken as companies struggle to stay afloat. Security situation has gone 100 times worse than it has ever been since the country’s return to civil rule in 1999. It is difficult to describe the current regime as a democracy as almost all the ingredients of a democracy are lacking. Life has been brutish in Nigeria.
The report by the US Department of State on human rights abuses in the country succinctly captured the situation of things and observers have also raised the alarm that Nigeria may likely witness a full blown anarchy as it approaches 2019 except the ruling party moderates its actions and inactions.
Chinwendu Sunday
