DOES superiority necessarily mean the same thing as supremacy? This is the thought-provoking question prompted by President Muhammadu Buhari’s word choice when he addressed members of the National Executive Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on July 3. Buhari was quoted as saying: “Let APC work; let the system work and let us have a government that will earn the respect of our constituencies. Please accept the superiority of the party.”
On reflection, there is a sense in which superiority does not denote dominance, control and unchallengeability. There is a sense in which supremacy means these things. This is why Buhari’s word choice is problematic. A functional interpretation of party supremacy must be informed by the logic of supremacy. Supremacy is supreme. Such subtleties of meaning suggested by Buhari’s preferred word will only help to fuel the party’s crisis of individualism.
Certainly, supremacy cannot mean infallibility. So the party can err. It does not guarantee fairness. So the party can be unfair. The essence of party supremacy is its conclusive collective voice.
From this perspective, the self-serving arguments being circulated on behalf of anti-party manoeuvres by Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara of the APC betray a fundamental trivialisation of party supremacy. Only a distressingly dysfunctional decoding of the concept could have created the circumstances that brought the two men to power in the National Assembly, in defiance of their party’s desire and decision. It is revealing that the same warped twist has resulted in the queer cohabitation at the helm of the Senate with Saraki and Deputy Senate President Ike Enweremadu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) belonging to opposing parties.
However, it is not only Buhari who has complicated party supremacy by his initial liberalism to the detriment of the collective expression, and subsequently by his indistinct word usage. Although it is open to speculation whether a timely intervention by Buhari could have foiled the rebellion that enthroned Saraki and Dogara, it is possible that the president’s non-involvement undermined party supremacy; just as it is possible that the president’s word choice downplayed party supremacy.
What about the visit to Saraki by the State Chairmen of the APC from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory on the same day Buhari spoke about “the superiority of the party”? This was definitely not a reflection of party supremacy because it reflected the accommodation of a figure that emerged outside party supremacy. It is incongruous and ironic that Saraki reportedly said to the visitors: “I want to assure you that all of us APC Senators, we are committed to ensure that the APC is successful so that we can win elections years and years and years and years after because of the foundation we are laying.”
If Saraki’s words show an appreciation of the party platform for the purpose of political pursuits, his role in the humiliation of party supremacy is not worthy of appreciation. Does he think that the party is a ladder to reach political heights, but not a voice that must be obeyed?
It is clarifying to note what Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole told the media after 16 APC governors held a meeting with Buhari on June 24 in an effort to emphasise the supremacy of the party, and get Saraki and Dogara to accept its choices for specific leadership positions in the National Assembly. Oshiomhole said: “Basically, what we are saying is that the senators should adopt the position of the party. We were all elected on the platform of the party. We are not just a collection of individuals. We are a political party and when a political party has spoken, we must listen.”
The question is: How can the party reassert itself and its supremacy in the circumstances? It is clear that Saraki wants his controversial election to be treated as a fait accompli, and he is not prepared to stop at that, which is why he subsequently rubbished the party’s list for leadership posts. Dogara is staging a similar play in the House of Representatives. Beyond these early signs of disruptive behaviour, there is a dangerous probability that these characters will be encouraged to perform even more daring stunts to disgrace party supremacy if they are allowed to get away with the initial misbehaviour. Furthermore, others may be inspired and emboldened by their example.
APC supremos must save party supremacy, and they must find their own way of doing so. The rebels must have built various scenarios in trying to anticipate the consequences of their rebellion, and the party must be prepared to explore multiple possibilities to checkmate them.
In particular, the defensive claim that the rebellious lawmakers are motivated by a perceived democratic duty to restrain alleged domineering tendencies by certain powerful interests in the party flies in the face of the internal logic of party supremacy. The point is that internal politicking in a political party may give an advantage to certain interests such that they enjoy leadership influence, but this is no reason for the disadvantaged to bellyache to the point of belligerence and centrifugal conduct.
The conflict over party supremacy in APC is nothing short of a domestic war of sorts. It is not for the faint-hearted. On both sides, it will require a capacity to endure a war of attrition. The ultimate casualty will likely be the people because the hostilities will constitute an unproductive distraction from the serious business of good governance.
The mess amounts to a colossal shame for a party that attracted impressive public support and won convincingly at the history-making polls only a few months ago especially because it wore a badge of decency. That badge seems to have been torn to shreds by the party members themselves. What this means for the party and the polity will unfold as time progresses. The path to follow is to restore party supremacy erected on party discipline, party cohesion and party integrity; and that path must be followed wherever it may lead.