TO BE, OR NOT TO BE ? There is an often repeated cliche that those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it. History often draws conclusions from a happen-stance of events with a caveat that we draw conclusions & learn lessons to avoid a repeat.However, when a litany of events build-up later,history may conspire to repeat itself yet again, if care is not taken. Such is the magnitude with which we view an impending merger between Labour Party (LP) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). We have tried ceaselessly to figure-out the attraction for LP, who are runaway favourites - in opinion polls; to wrestle the keys for Oke Mosan from All Progressives Congress (APC) in February 2015; and PDP that are placed third in the same poll. Why would LP supplant this advantage, earned after making indelible winning impressions on Ogun electorate; and dissolve into a party that up-till-now have not offered any new policy initiative & still struggles to get into their strides. Lets not kid ourselves, PDP lost election 2011 not because APC were that adept at electoral re-engineering; not because Senator Ibikunle Amosun (SIA) himself was a master tactician and certainly not because APC had the numbers. Even with all the deliberate misinformation and desperate jingoism that characterised the airwaves, APC did not win because of what the party did. Although the un-ending PDP internal power struggle did much damage, but the critical factor was the confusion that took flight once OGD political family pulled-out to form Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN). This happened so close to elections and created a pseudo fear-factor. It became a case of the devil you know. Fear of the unknown did irreparable damage to OGD family in 2011. Assuming this merger goes ahead, the journey from now till primaries & beyond till elections is fraught with deep-seated & deeply-rooted cut-throat rivalry among multi-layered candidates, confusion amongst rank and file & unbelievable distrust by the electorate. Animosities that would fester within such an environment may prove impossible to contain & could spell political wilderness for some arrow-heads of the Labour campaign. Truth of the matter though, is that LP in Ogun State has transformed into an electoral asset that has astonished other two main parties & re-written the seeming political equation for good. As elections fast approach, the last thing for LP to engage in is merge body and soul with PDP; as from then on, it would be every which way but lose. With APC Immersed in prolonged internal wrangling and PDP suffering a hangover from 2011 election loss; LP is the only in-form political movement with bragging rights in Ogun State. LP has completely re-defined & latched unto the focused commitment of the Awolowos, selfless passion of the Azikiwes & boundless sacrifice of the Ahmadu Bellos. Labour has a distinct message -welfarist in orientation & people-centred by design;that resonates with different strata of Ogun electorate. It would be a grave, illogical, costly and irredeemable error of judgement to dissolve totally into PDP. Better to lose an election honourably with Labour heads held high, than gesticulate after elections on what might have been when the real PDP agenda unfolds. At the end of the day, whatever the colouration & make-up of the next government post February 2015, LP cannot afford to dilute, suspend or abandon peoples agenda for change. At-any-rate,Ogun electorate seek poverty solutions and not political re-alignments. LP in the Gateway State is more acceptable, more reliable, more trust-worthy,more believable, more determined, more responsive, more down-to-earth, more exciting,more responsible, more celebrated, more encouraging, more motivated, more organized,more ambitious & more committed to roll-out far-reaching peoples agenda. So, the cogent, relevant and transparent question to ask LP is; if this merger is to be, or not to be ? Fela Rotimi
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 21:14:56 +0000
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