Mega party: How far
can opposition go?
The recent statement by
the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),
Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, that the party would rule the
country for the next 60 years, has sent shock down the spines
of leaders and members of other political parties, who have
concluded with the statement that the ruling party is driving
the country to a one-party state by hook or crook.
Probably, the PDP
national chairman hinged his assurance of the fact that the
party has been having an upper hand since 1999 the present
democracy started. The party is still controlling the
presidency, the National Assembly and most states despite the
annulment of the party’s gubernatorial elections in Anambra,
Edo and Ondo states.
Prince Ogbulafor’s
remark was even re-echoed penultimate Thursday in Abuja by
Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, who not only said he has
no regrets over the intention of PDP to rule for "more than 60
years," but insisted that he would work hard to crush every
opposition. Lamido’s argument is that since no political party
in the whole world would willingly give out power to another
political party, PDP is not contemplating on giving power to
any opposition and may continue to rule even till eternity.
"You don’t form a party
for the purposes of going to election to lose. The purpose of
forming a party is to win people’s confidence and respect; to
gain authority and power to lead them. You don’t go to
election and say after 50 years, I will hand over power to the
opponents. You don’t say a thing like that, PDP will keep on
contesting and winning every election from now till eternity.
I have no apology for my statements over our stay in power. We
will stay forever because the other political parties are
crying," Lamido said.
These comments have been
met with severe criticisms especially from the opposition,
describing the remarks as not only uncalled for but also
impossible for a particular party to have a hold on a country
with other 49 political parties, which number may even
increase as long as democracy continues. Some of those who had
lambasted the PDP national chairman over the issue, stated
that the party wants to turn Nigeria into a one-party state by
allegedly continuing to rig elections in all the tiers of
government. According to them, there is no way the PDP will
continue to rule the country for such a long period if there
is a free and fair election closely supervised by an unbiased
electoral body and other stakeholders including the security
agents. They further hinge their conviction on the fact that
since there are other qualified candidates in other parties,
PDP cannot claim to have the monopoly of right candidates.
Among those who
condemned the PDP’s sing-song of ruling for over 60 years is
Dr. Sunday Makinde, prelate, Methodist Church, while speaking
with newsmen in Ilorin penultimate weekend, said: " The plan
by the PDP to lead Nigeria for 60 year sis a euphemism for
perennial darkness and unemployment. Besides, it is 60 years
of armed robbery, corruption and poverty. We cannot tolerate
that but the opposition must be strong; the country is
drifting to one-party state. A government that can address the
problem of unemployment, fight corruption, provide electricity
has to come on stream. But we cannot achieve that unless we
put right people in political offices."
But Governor Lamido, who
stated that it was a misnomer that people equate the desire of
the party to remain in power to one-party state, also said:
"Even in our human scenario, you would want your family to be
the greatest family in the whole world. It is up to the other
parties to go into and win elections.
"My duty as a member of
PDP is not to build their party. If they are so weak, then I
come and give them our strength and all that? This is not
possible."
He further stated: "I
have no apologies for demolishing smaller parties. I will
continue to do that. I shall do that and I will not stop. That
is my commitment to the party and I have no regrets over that.
Our duty as a political party is to crush them, my duty in PDP
and as a party man is to go and destroy our opponents; that is
my duty. A party is different from a government. The first
commitment in joining a party is to go into election and win.
We enter into the contest for the purpose of winning election.
I have no business to go into a mosque or a church to pray for
the victory of ANPP (All Nigeria Peoples Party), AC (Action
Congress) or any other party."
Probably miffed by these
remarks and in order not to let PDP make good its threats, the
opposition parties are proposing to team up and form a mega
party to wrestle power form the ruling PDP. In fact, a group,
the National Political Summit Group (NPSG) led by the elder
statesman Chief Anthony Enahoro, is leaving no stone unturned
in ensuring that the dream of the PDP to rule for eternity in
the country turns out to be that of the Rip Van Winkle’s
through the mega party.
In fact, Chief Enahoro
did not mince words during the inauguration of a 30-man
steering committee to drive the process of convening the
national political summit and bringing together all interested
political parties in the country, when he said: "Except we all
come together to form a common platform and chase the enemies
of our people out of power, the nation may not witness any
progress. A great battle is ahead of us and all Nigerians must
be ready to join forces with this team to recover Nigeria from
imminent national chaos."
Another leader statesman
and proponent of the mega party, Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande
of the Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA), also said: "The mega
platform has come to stay to the shock of the PDP and some of
its agents posturing as progressives. The mega party will lead
the people into a new Nigeria with abundance economic
prosperity," while the Head of NPSG Secretariat Wale Okunniyi
explained that "the group has resolvedto mobilsie a granite
coalition of a broad movement with a view to forming a mega
political party in order to give Nigerians and our fledging
democracy a new lease of life….."
Another proponent of a
mega party and an Afenifere chieftain, Chief Ayo Adebanjo had
told the Sunday Guardian in an interview that the mega party
is what Nigeria needs to work because, according to him, "it
would be hard for Nigeria to operate as a federal state
without a coalition of political parties to check the exceses
of the ruling PDP." Adebanjo further said: "… without the mega
party, the country would be heading towards a one-party state
with the People Democratic Party in office,….because none of
the opposition party can single-handedly face the PDP both
financially and otherwise. The opposition believed they could
fight the PDP in their own way but this became practically
unachievable. It was then we, the progressives thought it does
not make sense splitting our energy to fight a common enemy.
We believe it is common sense that those of us who believe in
the unity and progress of this country must come together and
lay aside our minor differences among the opposition party to
face the common enemy, which is the PDP."
The question on the lips
of some political observers is how would the mega party would
work considering what has befallen such movements and
arrangements sine the First Republic., coupled with greed
which may make some members to compromise their integrity and
principles. The political pundits are quick to point out that
some political parties may not speak with one voice as they
are factionalised. It is argued that members of a faction may
be infiltrated by the ruling party, which may jeopardize the
objective of the mega party.
For instance, the
Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) which comprises
opposition parties, is so factionalised that we have different
voices. Some people are even confused who is really the
National Chairman of the group the same applies to ANPP and AD
and other parties.
The analysts recall that
in the First Republic, due to electoral upheavals in the
Western Region which snowballed to a coup d’etat, the United
Progressive Grand Alliance (UPGA) crumbled like a pack of
cards shortly after its formation.
The National Party of
Nigeria (NPN) under the chairmanship of the late Chief
Meredith Adisa Akinloye, stole the show in the second
Republic. The party won the 1979 presidential election with
Alhaji Shehu Shagari in the saddle.
But in order to let NPN
have another slot at the presidency in 1983, its arch-rival,
the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) founded by the late Chief
Obafemi Awolowo, the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Great
Nigeria Peoples Party (GNPP) and Nigeria Peoples Party (NPP)
formed an alliance. This also did not work at the end of the
day as Chief Awolowo and the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe of NPP
did not want to step down for the other in the 1983 general
election. This gave the NPN the opportunity to clinch the
presidential seat again.
At the inception of this
political dispensation, when it was obvious that the PDP would
win the presidential election in 1999, the then All Peoples
Party (now ANPP) and the
Alliance for Democracy
(AD) teamed up to field Chief Olu Falae to slug it out with
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. The latter eventually won the
election. The APP/AD alliance crumbled after the presidential
election.
Efforts by the ANPP, AD
and some aggrieved members who defected from PDP to form AC,
did not yield any result as none of the presidential flag
bearers of ANPP and AC, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) and
former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, respectively, stepped
down for each other, paving the way for the PDP to be in the
saddle at the Presdiency for the third time.
As observed by Chuks
Okocha of ThisDay: "The history of mergers and alliances in
Nigeria reveals an idea that is always conceived with
prospects, but devoid of strategic drive to achieve this
objective:’ reconcilable differences contribute to the failure
of such alliances and plans.
As the progressives
strategise for another alliance under the auspices of a mega
party, what’s the possibility that it would go the way of the
others before it? Would the dramatis personae summne enough
courage to shun all forms of acrimonies, bickerings, greed and
backbiting to ensure the realization of these objectives?
Would the stakeholders muster enough strength to wrestle power
from the ruling PDP, which is now cock-sure to rule for over
60 years? Is anybody ready to step down for the other when it
comes to who should be fielded for the presidential election?
For some Nigerians, the
National Assembly has turned to a congregation of greedy and
selfish politicians who have little or no regard for the
people they claim to represent.
And Nigerians who hold
this impression may not be completely wrong , at least going
by the reported mass looting and other related scams that go
on in the nation’s apex lawmaking body.
Becoming a lawmaker has
today become so lucrative that some politicians jostling for
it would rather die than allow their opponent have it, largely
due to the naira rain that go for such seat. It was recently
reported that the Federal Government had spent over
N524billion in the last ten years to maintain only 469
lawmakers.
The same report also
revealed that there were not much for these politicians to
show for the huge tax payers’ money lavished on them in the
last ten years. In the National Assembly today, what occupy
the mind of most lawmakers is how to return in 2011 and for
them every other thing including their primary assignment of
lawmaking can wait.
Even those who have
nothing to show for their first two legislative years are
scheming for another four-year tenure in the National
Assembly. The hot chase for either second or third term as the
case may be is not because of the love these politicians have
for the job or their father land but for the naira rain and
aura that go for these offices. Some of them are being fired
by their desire to enjoy more uninterrupted access to public
funds.
Interestingly, some
lawmakers are standing trial in connection with their alleged
role in the N5.2 billion contract scandal at the Rural
Electrification Agency (REA). Some of them have not only
abandoned their sweet campaign promises but today prefer to
spend better of their time at home oiling their political
machineries and telling their gullible supporters they same
stories failed promises they forced into their ears in 2007.
Sunday champion gathered
that some of the lawmakers in the hot chase for another term
may have as well lost count of the number of times they were
absent from sitting in the last one year.
Some of them who are
themselves product of zoning arrangement are now leading the
campaign against the high turnover rate of lawmakers.
In fact, the new posture
of the lawmakers is that lawmakers should not have limitless
term but should remain in seat over a period of time to be
able to acquire more experience in legislative processes.
Their argument is that the high turnover of lawmakers has
continued to deny the present National Assembly the desired
experienced hands in lawmaking business even as some of them
blamed the seemingly unimpressive performance of the present
National Assembly in the last two legislative years on lack of
experience lawmakers.
Lawmakers elected on the
platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are at the
vanguard of the renewed campaign for automatic return ticket
for themselves irrespective of the reported poor individual
performance at the end of four years in 2011.
A recent remark by the
national chairman of PDP Prince Vincent Ogbulafor at a meeting
with party caucus in the House Representatives is largely seen
by some as an impetus to push for automatic return ticket
2011. Ogbulafor at the said meeting was reported to have
lamented the high turnover rate of members of the National
Assembly. In fact he was quoted to have said that such trend
would be reverse in 2011.
According to him, ‘the
party’s National Working committee (NWC) is not happy with the
rate of turn-over of honourable members and senators and we,
along with the president, have agreed that as much as
possible, during the election, for experience you have
garnered, for the exposure you have, for the training you have
received but when it is time we should tap your knowledge. We
also said that by the next election, the tide will be a
different one, come from this NWC".
Though Ogbulafor spoke
mainly in proverbs, but his speech has continued to cause
ripples in the land. Some of the PDP lawmakers had
misinterpreted Ogbulafor’s to mean automatic ticket for
themselves.
In the National
Assembly, some of the lawmakers are counting on PDP leadership
to return to their seat in 2011. Though it is too early to
predict how far the party would go with this seemingly
undemocratic arrangement but the fact remain that Ogbulafor’s
remark jolted the political landscape.
Some mendacious
political oligarchy appear to working on such arrangement and
Some of them are said to have initiated move to reconcile with
their hither political godfather to be able to benefit from
the PDP planned generosity.
Recall that senators of
PDP extraction had before the party’s recent special
convention canvassed for automatic ticket for themselves and
President Umaru YarAdua.
In fact, PDP senators
are of the view then that the lawmakers should be given the
first option of rejection in the next party’s primaries.
According to the lawmakers the president should be given the
choice to decide whether or not to run for second term.
Spokesman of the Senate,
Senator Ayogu Eze, at a news briefing, said that senators
should have no business with party primary, but should be
given automatic ticket to run for the election. Though he
denied that the caucus did not resolve to push for a second
term yet for president YarAdua, he said that members were of
the opinion that all PDP Senators should be made automatic
members of the party National Executive Council (NEC) in order
to enable the lawmakers play major role in decision making in
the ruling party.
He told journalists that
it was ‘ the view of the lawmakers at the said meeting that
both president Yar’Adua and senators should not be subjected
to party primaries except in a case where the senator decide
not to rerun for his seat. According to him, if you watch the
trend in democracies all over the world, the option of first
rejection belongs to the incumbent.
In the American
democracy we copy, no senator goes to primaries and when there
is presidential primaries the option of first refusal belong
to the incumbent’ According to him the president should be
given the option of either to accept or decline to return to
office in 2011 as it is the practice in the United States .
The thinking of some of
the lawmakers is that president Yar’Adua can as well forget
his perceived second term ambition if he cannot influence
automatic return ticket for the lawmakers themselves. Some of
them believed that the President has not done well to deserve
a second term. For such persons, for President to return to
power, the party should implement automatic return ticket for
the senators.
The President appears
not to be averse to this idea; after all, what is good for
goose is good for the gander. In fact, source alleged that the
president now releases the quarterly allocations of the
National Assembly up front just to remove the eyes of
lawmakers from him and indeed ignored his health problem s and
its attendant poor performance
Some of the lawmakers
are now drumming support for Yar’Adua even when the president
had asked them not to campaign for him. Some, however, alleged
that the president himself is being attracted by the rhythm
and moves by these political entrepreneurs who are at work
again.
Their message is largely
spiced with ethnic and primordial sentiments and fired by the
chop-and-chop syndrome. The only business for these political
jobbers is to secure automatic return ticket for President
Umar Musa Yar’Adua in 2011 general election.
Some streets of Abuja
are being adorned with Yar’Adua’s photograph ahead of the 2011
presidential election. These elements are not doing all these
because of the love and confidence they have on the Katsina
state born President but because of the naira rain that goes
with such campaign. The agenda as hasty and unpopular for now
is beginning to cause ripples in the land. They were not in
any way deterred by a recent remarks by the presidency’s
spokesman, Mr. Segun Adeniyi, that his boss would concentrate
in his first four years in office rather than talk about
second term, which according to him, would for now constitute
a distraction to governance. He did not say categorically that
Yar’Adua would quit after his first four years in office in
2011.
Unfolding political
events in the land speak volume of the plan by the ruling
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to field President Yar’Adua in
2011 presidential election. Chairman of the party, Prince
Vincent Ogbulafor, was reported to have disowned some senators
opposed to the plan. Source alleged that the party leadership
has vowed to whip such disloyal lawmakers back to line. Such
disloyal lawmakers stand the risk of losing their return
ticket to the National Assembly. Emerging signals, however,
suggest that this (second term) project may turn out to be
another major political battle that may be won or defeated in
a near future on the floor of the National Assembly. Recall
that third term project which would have a vicious violation
of the 1999 Constitution was defeated on the floor of the
Senate in 2006.
Though the second term
agenda for President Yar’Adua is a legitimate battle, there
are however fears that the task of securing another four years
in office for the president in 2011 may not be an easy battle.
The President’s first hurdle would be to secure the support of
the PDP control National Assembly. Interestingly, the PDP
caucus in the senate was reported to have asked for additional
representation (all senators) in the party National Executive
Council (NEC) which the highest decision is making body of the
ruling party. The request if considered by the party would
further confirm the senate as the political bride, that even
political neophyte cannot ignore in the scheme of things.
But the mood of senators
at a recent party caucus meeting in the senate, suggests more
trouble for the president. It was another tale of woes as
senators took stock of the first two years of Yar’Adua in
office. Source alleged that the lawmakers for the second time
this year expressed reservation about the perceived general
failure of governance in the land.
For the senators, the
political fortunes of the ruling party may further crash in
2011 if urgent steps are not taken by President Yar’Adua to
improve on governance (address power problem). And for some of
them it would be political suicide to field Yar’Adua in the
next presidential election if the story remains the same after
his first four years.
Source alleged that the
lawmakers were particularly worried about the state of power
sector despite the huge sums of dollars already injected into
it by the present regime. It was also reported that the caucus
had at the said meeting recently mandated the senate president
David Mark to brief the President on the feelings of the
lawmakers.
