What is going on in the ruling party today has little to do with the ordinary people of Nigeria. It is simply an internal and brutal struggle for the very soul of the party which is being waged between the new order, led by a relatively weak, inexperienced yet desperate President and the old order, led by a highly experienced, dangerous, calculating, patient and ruthless former President. The latter group is fully backed by elements from the old ruling military establishment who have effectively been running the affairs of this country and determining who would become what since 1966. President Goodluck Jonathan came to power on the backs of these people though he never asked for it and, in fairness to him, he now seeks to assert himself and break free of them. They, on the other hand, see the PDP as their construct and their creation. They see it as THEIR platform. They believe that they literally own it and that they also own the President that they afforded the rare privilege of mounting it in order to acquire power by their collective resolve. That platform was conceived and established by a tiny group of exceptionally powerful men led by General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida and General Aliyu Gusau in 1998 almost immediately after General Sani Abacha was murdered and General Abdulsalami Abubakar came to power. Its objective was to keep Nigeria one, to bring General Olusegun Obasanjo to power, to keep the progressives and radical elements out of it and to protect the interests of the powers that be, the ruling class and their business associates. Given this scenario it does not take a genius to figure out the fact that the stakes here are enormously high. In the minds of the protagonists and antagonists one thing is clear- whoever ends up controlling the PDP, they believe, will end up controlling Nigeria with its vast oil and gas resources and it’s enormous influence on the African continent.- Femi Fani Kayode
Posted on: Tue, 17 Sep 2013 06:49:41 +0000
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