Can PDP Rise from Own Ashes?
Since the Julyy 10 Supremep Court jjudgementg which connfififirmed former Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Ahmed Maikarfifi as validlyy elected National Chairman of the Peoplesp Democratic Party,y the ppartyy has returned to the news. Maikarfi’s mandate is to midwife the election of a substantive national Chairman which hopefullypy will take the ppartyy to the next election in 2019.
This sidekick to this developmentp is that beyondy the one-sided narratives from what is fast lookingg like a one-partypy state Nigeriansg are expectingpg robust issue based campaignspg with rhetorics, ppromise and optionsp of “better life” and improvementp of livingg conditions. The All Progressiveg Congress,g the rulinggppolitical ppartyy have had it ggoingg for it since Mayy 29, 2015 all thanks to the pprotracted crises in the PDP. The citizens expectp a changeg in rhythmy in the songsg of hope.p But can the PDP rebrand to pplayy that role expectedp or anticipatedp byy the citizens? The next track on the politicalp album and the lyricsy pplayed by the politicians should chorus that.
Perhapsp what the All Progressiveg Conggress has ggoingg for it is that it was formed on the ashes of those who had playedpy in the Oppositionpp for sixteen yyears; those who felt theyy had pplayedy on the sideline of national ppolitics and those who were disgruntledg thingsg were not as theyy wished in the then rulinggpparty,y the PDP, pput simplypy those who were angrygy with the wayy issues and matters resolved. Theyy needed an expression,p a vent. It then comes as no surprisep that even in government, APC retained itself as an Oppositionpp to itself. PDP looks like havingg a second chance like the mythicaly Phoenix to rise from its own self immolation.
PDP miscalculated on its confidences to dominate the Nigeriag ppolitical spacep for some fairyy one hundred yyears and became too fat to y,y members behaved like fat cows without much troubles and the party became a fiefdom of contest for control of landed ppropertiesp and Spartansp were being g hired as mercenaries in the ppolitical warfare. Since 2011, conqueredq territories declined, the ppartyy started shrinkingg and loosingg battle wearyy soldiers to other politicalp parties.p The few pparcel of land yyet ppartitioned among various contendingg interests. The APC defeated the PDP at its most vulnerable point, lashingg on to its weakest link.
The APC on the one hand built its structure and ascendancyy to ppower on a foundation which appealedpp to the emotions of the yyoungerg ggeneration, maximisingg the new politicalp hardware of the social and new media; the PDP refused to be regenerative.g Exceptp pperhapsp in the South Eastern states, the yyoungerg members of the partypy are ggradu - allyy distanced from the PDP, and the pparty becomes Orthodox sufferingg similar fate as the Anglicang Church in the face of rising Pentecostalism or “Gospel”p churches.
The Supremep Court landmark jjudgementg however ggave a renewed hopep for a re-set; an optionp for a fresh start or further partitioning.p The Maikar fi led National Caretaker Com - mittee has set December 9, 2017 as the date for a new National Convention to elect those who will steer the affairs of the ppartyy towards 2019. Manyy optionsp have been thrown before the members; former South West Deputy py National Chairman, Chief Olabode Georgeg who had also served as the Militaryy Gover - nor of old Ondo State 29 yearsy ago,g preciselyp y between July,y 1988 and Septemberp 199. Also in the race is Professor Tunde Adeniran, a former Minister for Education. Both Bode Georgeg and Adeniran are equallyqy members of the pparty’sy Board of Trustees BoT, (the spirit and highest decision making organ of the ppolitical pparty)y theyy have playedpy roles either for its ggood fortune or otherwise. If ageg is Bodeo George’sg albatross, Adeniran’s ggooneyy bird is the fear that he is beingg sponsoredp byy a controversial Senator from Ogung who manyy believed was a leadingg mercenaryy and one of those responsiblep for the pparty’sy immediate sordid ppass.
A former Governor of Ogung State, Otunba Gbengag Daniel has als shown interest in the race, so is Proessor Taoheed Adedoja,j a former Minister for Sports.p All of them are from the South Western states of the countryy where it is believed the zoningg arrangementg mightg be ppreferred for the reason that the reggion had never had a shot at the offfice since the ppartyy was founded in 1998. The politicalp ppartyy had zoned to the South. Both Adedoja and Daniel are the ageg card pprospectivep to connect and build successor generation and regenerateg the pparty.y
However, Dr. Raymondy Dokpesi,p the media merchant from the South South is also rumoured to be in the race. His main card on the table is the ownershipp of one of the most virile media organisationg which is believed could assist the PDP in its pperceptionp reconstruction. But his choice mayy suffer from the zonal arrangementg and an impedimentp to the aspirationp of the South Eastern part to produce the Vice President in 2019.
Whatever their choice, the PDP has taken on itself the responsibilitypy of redrawingg the ppolitical landscapep of Nigeriag as an Opposipption ppartyy and a pprospectivep ppartyy to be in ppower, it needs to recreate, refresh, rebrand and connect to all generations to live in the future. y