With 166 days to the commencement of the 2019 general election in line with the timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), many Nigerians have become inquisitive to see who emerges as the standard bearer of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
The reason is simple. It is the PDP that has what it takes to do battle with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The other eighty nine (89) parties could be said to be mere pretenders.
So far, the PDP parades the largest number of presidential aspirants. It is this large number that appears to be of serious concern to many members of the party and may have also raised the adrenaline level of some of the aspirants who consider themselves as “bonafide” owners of PDP.
The aspirants include former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former governor of Kano State and senator representing Kano Central in the National Assembly Rabiu Kwankwaso; ex-chairman PDP National Caretaker Committee, Ahmed Makarfi as well as former governors Ibrahim Shekarau (Kano), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Jonah Jang (Plateau), Attahiru Bafarawa (Sokoto), and Bukola Saraki, Senate president.
Others are incumbent Sokoto State governor and immediate past Speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Tambuwal; his Gombe State counterpart Ibrahim Dankwanbo; Datti Baba-Ahmed, Stanley Osifo and Kabiru Tanimu Turaki.
The genesis of fear/apprehension
The foundation stone for envy and feeling of neglect was laid at the 81st National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party, where Uche Secondus, national chairman of the party, gave equal rights to the returnee “prodigal sons” and the loyal members who have toiled for many years.
Secondus, who was overwhelmed with joy over a momentous harvest of many parliamentarians in a single swoop without an election, opened his mouth and made a promise considered as sweeping as that of Herod to the damsel that pleased the king with her dance steps. The promise led to the cutting of John the Baptist’s head.
After praising the defectors for the courage they displayed by returning to the PDP, Secondus promised that the returnees were entitled to all the rights and privileges available to any member.
Before then, the leadership of the party had met with Bukola Saraki in Ilorin, Kwara State and entered into an agreement on power sharing in the party. Other promises were also made. This “excessive pampering” agitated the minds of some “loyal” members and they began to question the essence of their loyalty.
Godswill Akpabio, a former minority leader in the Senate, who recently moved to the APC from the PDP, said he decided to leave the party because of its “poor reward system”.
In the last few weeks, the utterances of some of the presidential aspirants of the PDP tended towards attack on individuals rather than dwell on issues and why they are in the race. They are not sure that the process of selection would be credible enough as to guarantee a level playing ground.
Many observers say that the selection exercise may be explosive given the array of aspirants, each claiming to be the most suitable candidate.
The belief in many quarters is that had all the aspirants been “authentic” members, there would have been less friction, but with many returnees joining the fray, selection appears more difficult.
Eric Attim, a public relations practitioner and social affairs commentator, said that the PDP needed all the wisdom it could muster to have a crisis-free primary considering the large number of aspirants and the utterances of some of them. He also said he did not see any need for such huge number if they really meant to serve their fatherland.
“A situation where every one of the aspirants believes he is better than the other, even when they know that they do not have the spread to win a national election, then you begin to ask yourself, what is the motivation?
“If the motivation is to see a well-governed country, I think the most rational thing to do would have been for such people to truly identify someone who has the clout and wider reach across the country, and support such an individual rather than dissipating energy and resources,” Attim said.
“Let me give you an instance, some weeks ago we heard that Kwankwaso visited Atiku at his residence in Abuja. The question again is, what did they discuss? If the meeting was to work together, why is it that both of them have publicly declared, separately, to contest the primary? Something tells me that some of them are pretenders. I see some of them as moles planted there. Some are there as wayfarers. If the primary does not go in their favour they are likely to either jump out and meet those who sent them or they move into some of the mushroom parties and pick their presidential tickets, just to answer presidential candidate,” he further said.
Conflicting interests of presidential aspirants
Suleiman Yusuf, an astute politician, expressed the sentiment that conflicting interests among PDP presidential aspirants could tear the main opposition party apart.
Presidential aspirant and former caretaker chairman of the PDP National Caretaker Committee, Ahmed Makarfi shares same sentiment.
The ex-Kaduna State governor cautioned against a repeat of the past where crisis engulfed the party immediately it lost the last presidential election.
Is PDP at a crossroads?
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the party had learnt from its past mistakes. He added that events to the build up to the last general election, which saw mass defection from the then ruling PDP to APC, would not repeat itself.
The PDP spokesperson explained that the party had the wherewithal to manage both returnees and old members.
“You know the PDP is a structured party. And we have always had an understanding of the principle of fairness, the principle of togetherness,” he said.
According to him, “What happened in 2014 was a sad experience for our party. Arising from that situation, we have learnt our lessons. Also, don’t forget that PDP as the father of democracy is in its 20th year of existence. So, we have passed the teething stage where little problems would cause division. We are dealing with a party that has become mature over time. So, we don’t envisage the kind of crises that we had in the past to manifest with these defections into our party.
“We can manage the returnees and old members. We have even set a template and our people are abiding by it.
“The template is a framework which the party has given to the respective states to deploy in managing the situation in respect of the accommodation of those who are coming in”.
Wale Ogunade, an analyst, said that the high number of presidential aspirants could compound the party’s woes.
“I don’t see them going anywhere; I hope Makarfi, Lamido and co. would agree to step down for someone like Atiku. If the PDP goes into the primary the way things are now, I foresee danger, and they could eventually play into the hands of APC and Buhari.”
Consensus the way out
The alleged ill-feelings by some aspirants may have necessitated the call for signing of an undertaking by all the aspirants. Some analysts also advised the party to adopt a consensus arrangement.
The planned undertaking was recently confirmed by Atiku Abubakar.
“This is an issue that came up last night, we had our first meeting with members of the national working committee of the party and it was agreed that before the conduct of the primary, there would be a meeting; and that we would sign an undertaking to support whoever that emerges as candidate. We have been assured of transparent primaries by the party,” Atiku said.
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, spoke about “code of conduct” ahead of the primary.
He said: “It is an undertaking and it will be signed by all our presidential aspirants. The undertaking will tell the aspirants what the party expects from them before, during and after the primary.
“The undertaking will make it clear that all the signatories must abide by the decision of the party concerning the primary.
“The party is already preparing it and I want to say again that it will be binding on all those that are taking part in the presidential primary and are signatories to the MoU.”
Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, one of the aspirants, during his recent visit to the party leadership in Edo State, said: “If after assessing all the aspirants and you find one that is better qualified than me to meet Nigerians’ political, socio-economic aspirations, I assure you that I will join other party members to work for the party’s victory for us to provide the alternative leadership.”
Seun Ogunbanwo, a political analyst from the Lagos State University (LASU), said that the large numbers of presidential aspirants was healthy for democracy in the country.
“Depending on how you look at it; the large number is also good for the polity. We expected it; I saw it coming with the mass defection. They must be careful so that things would not go against them. But it can be to their advantage if they could cooperate and come up with a consensus presidential candidate”.
BY OUR REPORTERS
