PDP CONVENTION AND THE GATHERING STORM

The in-fighting among members is unhealthy and counterproductive, writes Adamu Gwazuwang

The growing tension between aspirants contesting for the office of National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has taken a worrisome dimension as members and supporters of different contestants take turns on a daily basis to abuse or denigrate their opponents on pages of newspapers and other mass media.

The National Convention slated for December 9-10, 2017 is an internal political contest to elect officers of the party that will run the day- to- day affairs of the PDP at the national level. The resort to name-calling, blackmail and antagonism is therefore totally unnecessary as every member of the family must be retained after the convention in order to continue to propagate the ideals of the PDP and win the hearts of Nigerians.

Sometimes I wonder why the campaign for an internal elections such as this will result in the use of caustic and derogatory words against fellow party men when the aspirants are all supposed to be working together to achieve one purpose, which is to revive the PDP and return the party to its winning ways.

I appeal to our teeming members and supporters, especially the aspirants, to sheathe their swords and be reminded that we are different stakeholders in Nigeria before the emergence of the PDP in 1998.

Nigeria prior to 1998 was in a state of coma with serious human rights record of the serial military juntas. Our economy was on a steady slide to damnation. There was near hopelessness and uncertainty in the country. The political situation, to say the least, was in despair and the only five registered political parties strangely adopted a serving military head of state, General Sani Abacha as its candidate.

Nigeria was passing through a phase described by some experts as “the dark ages”. At a point, it seemed no one could stand in the way of this rampaging dictator who was bent on entrenching himself as the country’s president.

While this sad state of affairs was playing out, a group of politicians under the auspices of the All Politicians Summit convened a meeting in 1997 to discuss the way out of what was fast becoming a festering dictator- ship. That meeting, led by the late Dr. Alex Ekwueme, former Vice-President of Nigeria, was brutally dispersed by the security network of the late General Sani Abacha. Still undeterred and undaunted, these political leaders, 18 of them, decided to dare the lion in its den. This group of politician known as the G-18, in February 1998, wrote a letter to General Sani Abacha, which was delivered by late Chief Solomon Lar, stating their opposition to his planned transformation from a military head of state to a civilian president

In the letter, they advised Gen. Abacha to resign and seek nomination on the platform of any of the political parties of his choice if he wanted to continue as president. The attempt to muscle the five existing parties to adopt him was unacceptable to the G-18.

These were the highlight of the struggle that led to the formation of an all-inclusive, detribalised political movement which is today known and called the Peoples Democratic Party.

The overriding objective of the PDP since formation was to bring together all patriotic and like-minded Nigerians into a single formidable political movement, capable of organising and advancing the cause of Nigeria as one united country.

Campaign efforts must therefore focus on how to restore our party to the ideals of the founding fathers that suffered and sacrificed their lives to form this party. We must challenge ourselves, especially with the current vindictive government of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and unite to unseat this administration in the general elections coming up in 2019. The in-fighting is unnecessary, unhealthy and counterproductive. We must look at each other as one family and work for the growth and development of this great party, the PDP.

Finally, let us call on all our elders, leaders and members of our party nationwide to remember the pain of the founding fathers of this party and make this convention in December, a rallying point for the unity of all members of our PDP. We also call on all members that left the party due to one reason or the other to come back and help in the rebuilding process. PDP will rise again.