IS THINGS FALLING APART IN THE PDP? In Chinua Achebe’s popular novel, Things Fall Apart, Achebe uses William Butler Yeats’ poem as an epigraph, describing the chaos that arises when a system collapses. Emameh Gabriel As the poem reads; “Turning and turning in the widening gyre the falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, the blood-dimmed tide is loosed,” reads the poem. In this poem, Achebe tries to paint a picture of the imminent collapse of the African traditional systems, threatened by the rise of imperialist bureaucracies and the imminent disintegration of the British Empire. The theme can also be used to aptly describe what is happening in the ruling People Democratic Party (PDP) in Nigeria and the largest in Africa which is currently mired in chaos as the battle for 2015 presidential election is already tearing the party apart. The reason for this is not far from the battle on who takes over from President Goodluck Jonathan come 2015 if the president is willing to relinquish power. The second reason is that Jonathan must work in accordance with the agreement he made with Northern governors before the 2011 election. As it boils, the party’s heavyweights are seen publicly clashing in unprecedented fashion in the acrimonious power struggle. These are, indeed, days of the long knives for the PDP. In the open clash between top shots in the PDP over a long period without achieving a result despite frantic efforts by some of the founding fathers of the ruling PDP, prominent Nigerians and respected parties chieftains to ward into the crisis, no result have been achieved-rather it is escalating. It seems that Mr. President has lost control over managing the internal crisis in his party and there is the doubt if he can manage the country to achieve anything meaningful before 2015. One of such is the crisis rocking the Anambra State chapter of the PDP, which most analysts believed may have cost them the state after protracted legal battle in the court on who flies the party’s flag in the just concluded election in Anambra. Before the election, the crisis took another dimension as supporters of the Chairman, Senate Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Senator Andy Uba, his brother and a chieftain of the party, Chief Chris Uba and those of the party’s candidate, Tony Nwoye, engaged in a free-for-all. The Eagle square, venue of the convention was literarily turned into a boxing arena as Anambra delegates threw away decorum and engaged in fisticuffs before delegates from other states. The face-off between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is still yet to be addressed with ASUU not ready to shift ground. Other bodies have threatened to join them, corruption is on the loose, pipelines vandalism and oil theft is serious dragging the economy backward. While the rate of unemployment remains a thing of concern, porverty is on its peak in the lives of majority of Nigerian citizens and the nation external reserves is shrinking according to recent report. HOW IT ALL STATRTED The crisis in PDP is no news, but what makes the current crisis rocking the party different is the inability of the party from the central to address certain issues that have threatened its stability. Some say the President at a point diminished and sideline those key to his emergence after winning the battle against the late President Yar Ar’ Dua’s cabals. For instance, when former President Obadsanjo tendered his resignation letter as the BoT Chairman, Jonathan gladly accepted it. ‘‘Obasanjo was sorely infuriated by Jonathan’s non-challant attitude’’, said a source close to the both men. Obasanjo worked at cross purpose with the president during the PDP’s 2012 national convention that brought the Tukur-led National Working Committee of the party. He had in some cases severally makes open scathing remarks against Jonathan’s government, and in May this year he refused to honour the President’s invitation to attend activities marking this year’s Democracy Day in Abuja, preferring rather to be in Dutse, the Jigawa State capital on that day to felicitate with Governor Sule Lamido. Before the special convention in Abuja this year, some of the G7 Governors have kicked against Tukur’s candidacy as the National Chairman of the PDP but GEJ has persistently insist that Tukur is his candidate. In the same day of the convention, the G7 along with Atiku and other aggrieved party chieftains walked out of the party’s convention showing contempt for the disrespect of the rule of law, democratic tenant and internal democracy by the President and his party men. Recently, Governor Sule Lamido has also in a media report referred to Tukur as a virus in the PDP. A key member of the group and former minister who spoke on condition of anonymity said the group felt humiliated by the decision of the party leadership to sideline serving governors at the convention. “By right, state governors are leaders of the party at the state level just like President Goodluck Jonathan is the national leader of the party. But at the convention, Dr. Bamanga Tukur and his executive sidelined state governors and appointed cronies to be leaders of some state delegates.” “Take for instance, the minister of national planning, Dr. Shamsudden Usman was appointed leader of the Kano delegate in place of the state governor, Dr. Musa Rabiu Kwankwanso. In Enugu State, because of the political interest of deputy Senate president, Ike Ekweremadu, the state governor, Barr. Sullivan Chime and his deputy were denied accreditation and were therefore absent, paving way for one of Ekweremadu’s supporters to lead the state contingent. Is that proper? Is that the kind of party we all founded? Is that what democracy entails?” she asked. The tussle between Ameachi and Jang in the Governors’ Forum this year had further deepened the crisis as allegations hold that the President interfered in the election that saw Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State with 19 votes as against 16 turned in favour of his plateau State’s counterpart, Jang. Analysts say the open clashes over the controls of the Governors’ Forum have greatly affected the relationship between the President and G7 Governors who continue to wax stronger in their match to dislodge Jonathan in 2015. BATTLE LINE DRAWNED The crisis rocking the ruling party lingers after several attempts by Jonathan and his men to put it to rest- the battle line is drawned as manifestation of the broader factionalism in the party still brews and the subsequent defection of five members of the G7 governors to APC threatens the party’s acclaimed united family. This shows the centre is beginning to crumble amid looming heightened chaos that could accompany the fall of the party. The governors -- Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso (Kano), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Abdulfattah Ahmed (Kwara) and Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto) -- and members of the “new PDP” defected to the APC. Analysts have agreed that the merger could be another way to further strengthen the democracy in Nigerian. They say it will make APC a formidable contender of the ruling party (PDP) come 2015. As members of the National Assembly loyal to the defected governors are warming up to join the APC in few days from now, Nigerians are watching what fate has for Jonathan and his falling PDP.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 11:21:58 +0000
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