At the height of its infamy, Hardball remembers calling his readers to re-do the PDP acronym. Of course, PDP is nothing else but, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). But we had asked readers to re-interpret the acronym based on their understanding of what PDP really stood for. A few interesting entries had come in.
You all must know the common one made popular by a former president and leader under the party, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. His rendition was, PDP: Papa Deceiving Pikin. Not bad at all you must agree except that he could have been the star of his lampoon i.e. Papa. But give Baba his due; he has the acute wiliness of a cowboy. And it has served him marvellously well in this jungle environment.
Then you have heard some of the more common ones like, PDP: People Damaging People; Peter Dey Pay; Punish De People; Passionately Damaging the Polity and Poison Dey Palmwine, etc. But last week, PDP’s spokesman, Chief Olisa Metuh, told Nigerians in a most remorseless manner that PDP does not have funds to complete its 12-storey head office.
What immediately came to mind upon reading this was, PDP: Pirate Damaging and Pillaging! And mind you, the exclamation mark is deliberate because what struck one upon reading that piece of news was: how damning! How could a man who cannot build his own house pretend to be building for others?
Recall that during the heat of electioneering, PDP had garnered over N21 billion in one fund-raising event. All sorts of carpet-baggers and Ministries, Departments and Agencies of state had openly shovelled funds to PDP. When Nigerians had wailed at the impunity and naked obscenity of it all, they had quibbled that some of the money would be designated to completing the still-born party headquarters in Abuja’s Central Business District.
How could a ruling party sitting over the commonwealth for 16 years, ravaging the treasury, fail to tidy up even its own headquarter building? The way that building, which has become an eyesore of the federal capital is, is the same manner PDP managed the country for so long and eventually abandoned it in utter dereliction.
Ah, the greatest party in Africa destined to rule for 60 years has damned itself in the final analysis. Hear Metuh: “During our sales of forms, we had planned to use substantial part of the money (realised) to complete the secretariat.”
“We also had a fund-raising dinner where money was raised and we were told that about N21 billion was raised and that some of it would be given to us for the completion of the secretariat, but we didn’t see the money.”
Where are they now, how do they feel now? All the people who stage this huge bazaar for 16 years, what are they thinking now having left the country in the lurch? What a damned and a damning era? For instance, Prof. Jerry Gana was the chairman of that obnoxious fund-raising during which N21 billion was taken from Nigeria’s treasury in broad daylight. Where is he now? Where are the Pirates that Despoiled and Damaged our land?