PDP: THE WAY FORWARD – part 2

I am not a happy man this bright afternoon day of August 17. I am not happy because of certain ominous signals emanating from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) convention holding in Port-Harcourt, south south Nigeria. From all indications this convention will deadlock a second time. As I type this, I hear security agents have cordoned off the venue of the convention for fear of imminent violence. River State Police Commissioner, Francis Odesanya, though, has denied it. But that is beside the point.

From conflicting court pronouncements barring and unbarring the convention, the PDP nevertheless went ahead to attempt to cobble together a convention that would to all intents and purposes define its future. Putting aside the legality of decisions arrived at, at a convention that was ordered not to hold by a court of law, what I am perceiving on the horizon portends grave danger not only for PDP but also for Nigeria as a whole. From all indications, the PDP has imploded, or is near imploding.

If the PDP does implode, it will leave only the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the only strong party in Nigeria, and Nigeria would become a full-blown one-party state. That would be real danger indeed.

But the problem of PDP was not caused by any outside or external force. It is self-inflicted. It is in fact the result of its 16 years of arrogance and (mis)governance, exacerbated on the day the party in its wisdom decided to install Senator Modu Sheriff – a man it had previously accused of founding and funding Boko Haram – as its national chairman.

Now that the party has realised its mistake, it is too late. Sheriff has entrenched himself in the party, holding the levers of power, and threatening to pull down the whole structure unless he is allowed to have his way. Curiously, the arrow heads who helped him to become chairman are the same people fighting him now. But the man has so far proven to be a dogged fighter. 

PDP’s problem is really not so difficult to resolve if certain characters in the party will put aside their ego. I think it was Chief Raymond Dokpesi who few months ago attempted to bring the party back to the point where it missed its way by apologizing to Nigerians on behalf of the party. But soon after, he was roundly castigated for the apology. Ironically not quite long afterwards, the party itself through its Twitter handle apologized to Nigerians for the role it played in fostering a “toxic” atmosphere. The party said inter alia that it had “….noticed with a growing sense of dismay, the level of toxicity that pervades the political space with respect to discussions on national issues,” and it accepted the “….responsibility and apologise for whatever role (it) played in reaching this level of toxicity.” It continued “…henceforth, we commit to focusing only on the issues and proffering cogent & competent solutions to the issues facing the nation.”

What is currently happening in the party however is far from this conciliatory note. For the records, and following from my part 1 of this treatise, here are what I think the PDP should do in order to stand a chance of redeeming itself.

For starters, the PDP should suspend today’s convention, let Modu Sheriff be and give him mandate to reconcile all warring factions in the party. The party has to accept that it scored a deadly own goal with Sheriff; it should therefore accept it and try to do damage control.

Next, the party has to do an analysis of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT). In doing this, it should be honest to itself and accept that it bungled its opportunity in the past. An honest SWOT analysis would no doubt reveal that the PDP today is strong only in two of the six geopolitical zones in the country. These are the South East and South South. These zones alone cannot deliver power to PDP. Its strategy, then, should be to capture as much as possible, significant parts of South West, North East, North West and North Central. I guest this was what it aimed to achieve by zoning its presidential slot to the north in 2019. This strategy however was neutralized the day the party chose Modu Sheriff as its national chairman. As things are at the moment, whatever the outcome of today’s convention may be, it is likely to further weaken and polarize the party as both Sheriff and Makarfi factions are each digging in. 

After SWOT analysis, the PDP should also openly, honestly and wholeheartedly apologize to, and empathize with, Nigeria and Nigerians for its 16 years of comprehensive misrule. It should accept that much of the seed of Nigeria’s current politico-economic challenges was sown in the 16 years the party was in power. It should thereafter make a commitment to help find solution to our present challenges.

Part of helping to find solution would necessarily involve the party withdrawing its support for, and calling on, Senate President Bukola Saraki, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, and House Speaker Yakubu Dogara to step down so as to enable credible leaders of the National Assembly to be elected. Doing this will not be a sign of surrender but an honest message to Nigerians that it has indeed repented

Next is to call Governor Ayodele Fayose and Femi Fani Kayode to order. The party should tell Governor Fayose in no unclear language to face the business of governance and eschew his penchant for amala and kpomo street stunts. If Fayose is to continue his street escapades, let it be for projects flagged off or commissioned – not for charade. I doubt Fayose himself would heed such advice, but the party issuing such would send the right signal to Nigerians.

And to Fani Kayode, PDP has to be honest, recognize and accept that his writings and comments in the public domain amount to stoking ethnic fire. Fani Kayode’s disdain for the Hausa/Fulani is too obvious. The PDP should call him to order in this regard.

Pursuant to its promise to turn a new leaf, the PDP should also pay less attention to the person of President Muhammadu Buhari and more attention to proffering alternative policies that would bring the country out of its present economic challenges. If any lesson has been learnt, it is the fact that personal attacks on the President did not stop him from winning the last presidential election. It is also not likely to stop him now from achieving that which he has set for himself and his government.

The PDP is widely perceived as being behind the militant group Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) which is currently blowing up oil and gas infrastructure in the creeks of the delta. The activities of the militant group has worsened the country’s economic fortunes with almost a million barrels of crude oil lost per day due to its activities. The PDP will do well if it publicly denounces this group and its activities. In addition, it should ask members of the militant group to lay down their arms and surrender to the law.

The criminality in the Niger-Delta region is beyond politics. It is economic sabotage and a threat to our national security. The PDP must see it for what it is and admit that it was responsible for arming those criminals. It must recognize that even if it wins the 2019 general election, what the NDA is currently doing in the Niger-Delta would significantly affect its capacity to perform – just like it is presently affectiong the APC federal government. If the criminality continues, even the PDP would find it difficult to fund its future activities. So the PDP must eschew politics and recognize the activities of the militants as threat to our national interest

Finally, for PDP to stand a chance of redeeming itself, it must dismiss all those who have been indicted in Dasukigate and the ongoing arms purchase fund probe. It should in addition ask those on the run to return and submit to the law. It should also specifically ask Government Ekpemukpolo a.k.a Tompolo and Diezani Alison-Madueke to submit themselves to the law. The party must recognize that leaving these people in its fold is akin to laying landing mines both for itself and for the country.

Above all, PDP must recognize that if President Buhari’s government is a failure as its apologists are wont to say, PDP itself caused and facilitated his emergence by its failure to give effective leadership under its watch. Therefore now is the right time to show an appropriate dose of penitence for its past wrong-doing.

All I have been saying in a nutshell is that now is time for introspection for PDP; now is time for internal soul-searching, for reflection, for re-strategizing and for charting a new direction. It is not time for the bitter politics currently going on within the party. It is a shame.