When Governor \Murtala Nyako was removed from the Government House, Yola, without any form of resistance, I was tempted to believe that the 2015 general elections (including the presidential poll) might be a walk over for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). One was forced to ask if the All Progressives Congress (APC) has any strategist. The House met, hatched the conspiracy, effortlessly got the numbers and executed the scheme. All the APC could do was whine and warn.
The PDP aim was very clear- snatch Adamawa from the opposition party and plant doubt in the minds of voters on the readiness of the APC to take over from the ruling party at the federal level. Boni Haruna and Buba Marwa who had just defected to the PDP were out to prove that they call the shots in the North Eastern state.
The success in Adamawa emboldened the PDP strategist to move into Nasarawa, being one whose legislature is equally controlled by the party. However, Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura would not give way so easily. He understood the political terrain and sought to strike at the PDP soft underbelly. The party has been unpopular in Lafia, the capital town, since the late Senator Haruna Abubakar pulled out in the first stanza of this dispensation.
Throughout the period that Governor Abdullahi Adamu ran the state affairs, he knew it was suicidal to attempt a popularity walk on Lafia streets. In the hands of a charismatic politician like Al-Makura, that was a potent weapon. The Lafia people were incensed that the PDP was seeking power through the back door. They, whether engineered or not, swung into action, sweeping through the streets. That was enough to set the alarm that the delicate peace in the state could be ruptured should the PDP insist on applying the Yola formula in Nasarawa.
The message could not have been lost on the 20 desperate PDP state lawmakers. While they got their brief from the Abuja overlords and would not easily lose the benefits promised, they knew they had people at home to contend with. They moved away from Lafia, illegally congregated in Abuja and Karu to hatch the plot, but found time, under heavy military cover, to sit in the official House of Assembly to pass the resolution mandating the Chief Judge to constitute a seven-member panel to investigate the allegations against Governor Al-Makura.
The legislative rascality following the panel’s sitting and dismissal of the 16 counts must end at that point. The constitution leaves no room for the legislature in determining composition of the panel, deciding the mode of sitting or the outcome of the deliberation. In the same way that what constitutes gross misconduct is left entirely to the legislators, the composition is the prerogative of the Chief Judge. If any of the concerned parties felt strongly about any of the issues, the court is the place to go. Refusal to accept the panel’s verdict amounts to legislative rascality and any attempt to force out the governor through extra-constitutional means would mean an open invitation to anarchy.
However, the APC should learn some lessons from what has transpired in Adamawa and Nasarawa States. It is not enough to lambast the federal ruling party for adopting anti-democratic style of governance. The party should have a political think-tank to advise and assist any of its governments in trouble. Truth be told, if the PDP believes it could remove any of the APC governors, thus weakening the opposition, it would do so. But, if it knows that such measures would come at a heavy price, it would be forced to think twice.
It should be noted that the ruling party has so many of those who sold out the Abiola/SDP victory in 1993/94. Many of the leaders do not care if Nigeria burns. All that matters to them is the pecuniary benefits they could rake in at any point in time.
Unfortunately though, the APC has failed so far to demonstrate that it has in its ranks people who understand the sociological make-up of Nigeria, its political behaviourand a machine that could proactively engage the ruling party. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has always said power is never served a la carte. It comes after a fierce struggle. But, his party is yet to demonstrate its understanding of this principle. Worse still, very little is being done to show the basic distinction between the two major parties. If tomorrow, Iyiola Omisore, having lost the Osun governorship election, seeks a space in the APC, he would be found one in the party’s highest organ.
The party must redefine its goals, mobilize people along the line of the goals and assure its supporters and all who think the PDP is an unmitigated disaster that the APC has what it takes to win elections and run a good government.
At the moment, the APC has a duty to follow the development in Nasarawa, Edo, Rivers and Borno States keenly and do as much behind the scenes as is being done in the public sphere.
Above all, Al-Makura received the votes of the people- he must survive. Nigeria must survive.
