When the People Democratic Party (PDP), the once acclaimed largest political party in Nigeria and Africa, fell from the ruling position following its defeat in the March 28, 2015 presidential election in Nigeria, I wrote an article titled “The PDP, Opposition Politics, and the Test of Character” which was published in Businessday Newspaper of April 9, 2015. In the article, I posited that time had truly come for the party to prove that it remained the largest political party in Africa; to test the character of the party as an enduring, purposeful, and goal-oriented political entity; to know the real members of the party; to ascertain the party’s belief in democratic movement in Nigeria; and to prove its ideologies and political relevance in the Nigerian project.
While the party was trying to recover from the shock of its defeat, and adjust to the critical position of a prominent opposition party, the winds of destruction and distraction started pulling the party further apart. Massive defection of members from the PDP to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party became the order of the day – no thanks to the winner-takes-all politics of our time as well as the serial corruption allegations being levelled against the members of the once powerful ruling party. (It seemed that abandoning the PDP for the APC was an action which was capable of converting an alleged thief to a celebrated saint – at least, for the big guns in the Nigerian political spaces).
The party’s troubles culminated in the fight-to-finish leadership struggles and crisis that pitched prominent members into two groups – the Senator Ahmed Markafi-led PDP and the Senator Ali Modu Sheriff-led PDP. The crisis, which proved capable of sending the PDP to its untimely grave, has kept the party fighting hard for its dear life, and leaving Nigerians with no credible opposition party or political institution to protect them from the injustices and high-handedness of African-type ruling parties. Save for the efforts and committed criticisms of Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State as well as a few other bold and fearless voices, the APC government seemed determined to destroy opposition voices, rule autocratically, and institute a one-party state in Nigeria. In fact, the 2019 political calculations were looking like Nigerians would be left with whatever options the APC government offered – except a timely intervention by the political “jagabans” provided another viable platform for alternative candidates.
In the light of the foregoing, therefore, when the five-man panel of the Supreme Court in Nigeria, on Wednesday, July 12, 2017 unanimously sacked Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the National Chairman of the PDP, and handed the leadership of the party over to Senator Ahmed Markafi-led National Working Committee, the impending obsequies of PDP seemed averted giving an opportunity for a turnaround of the party. With the party’s hastily arranged and just concluded non-elective national convention coming off with some measure of success, it would seem that opposition politics would be hopefully restored in Africa’s largest economy.
I personally felt relieved simply for the implications, on the democratic development of Nigeria, of absence of strong opposition in our political space. In my April 9, 2015 article (which I mentioned earlier), I emphasized that “no democracy – especially an emerging one like ours – can thrive without strong, assertive, and objective opposition party(ies)”. I also posited as follows: “the benefits of opposition politics are too enormous to be exhausted in this piece. But it suffices to mention just a few here. It enriches the checks and balances available in the polity. Strong opposition parties provide useful feedback on governance, government policies, and several other decisions of the ruling party. Opposition parties help curb the excesses of the ruling government, and hence, enable a serious and purposeful ruling party correct itself. As whistle-blowers, opposition parties support corporate governance systems in ministries, departments, and agencies of government. Opposition politics enhances the quality of legislative, political, and socio-economic policies emanating from the ruling party”.
Considering the enormous distractions, defections, and divisions already suffered by the People Democratic Party, there is no automatic assurance that they would be able to offer very tactical, credible, and valuable opposition to the ruling APC party, at the least in the near-term, except the leadership of the party conducts a thorough and sincere self-examination of the party’s downfall and failures with a view to learning important lessons and executing crucial internal changes required for the revival and renewal of the party’s political ideologies and relevance.
The PDP must seriously conduct a root-cause analysis over its past failures. What factors are responsible for the party’s downfall? How much did pride, arrogance, and complacency contribute to its troubles? What role did the absence of internal democracy play in the party’s slide into the abyss of rancour and self-destruction? How did cronies and cabals take over the leadership of the party? How much did the party become insensitive to the yearnings of Nigerians before the 2015 presidential elections? What brought about the betrayals suffered by the party in the hands of its key leaders?
The PDP must imbibe the lesson that no organization is really too big to fail!! They must understand that what keep successful organizations going include a strong attention to governance framework and systems. The party must, as a matter of good necessity, ensure proper organisation of all its structures at every level of governance – the Ward, Local Government Areas, the State, the Geo-Political Regions, and at the National Level. They must pay attention to the details of the processes and procedures undertaken in nominating and electing the various officers or electoral candidates of the party at all levels. The party’s leadership must learn to be humble and democratic in all ramifications.
According to Former President Goodluck Jonathan, in his speech during the party’s just concluded non-elective national convention, the PDP has been born anew committed to the best ideals of democracy. The party’s “born-againism” must not be in verbal expressions only; they must back it up with practical behaviours and practices that demonstrate true renewal and revival. The leadership must actively and dynamically engage all key stakeholders across the nation in peace-making and fence-mending interactions – in the immediate term. They must create a new and clear vision for the party and ensure a good buy-in by all members. They must act in ways to attract quality membership across the nation.
In conclusion, let me strongly advise the party to be innovative in its thinking in the 21st century Nigeria. They must resist the temptation of continuing to recycle old cargoes in the political system; this would not get them back to power any soon. The PDP must aggressively pursue youth-friendly policies – including encouraging young and dynamic leaders to vie for political posts. Nigerians are getting more politically aware, and the party that would make the quick transition from the “old-cargo” politics to dynamism and innovation would achieve greater followership in the coming days.
Orji Udemezue
