The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is at war with itself. The conflict is neither phantasmal nor accidental. It is self-inflicted. It stemmed from its entrenched haughtiness and chronic condescension.
In its heydays as the ruling party, its leaders strutted the nation’s political landscape like Mafiosi. They appeared like they were the nation’s alpha and omega, and they lived it in deeds and speeches.
The current state of affairs with the political party that was once so comfortable that it boasted to rule Nigeria for at least sixty years is an anti-climax.
Like two sides in a battle, PDP’s divided house is now yearning for a truce it would never have needed if it was humble. The party’s search for peace after many months of a needless imbroglio is instructive for discerning politicians.
But will the PDP be able to put its house in order ahead of future elections?
The main opposition party is divided over its agenda for reconciliation and party discipline. While a section of the party is genuinely interested in reunion and sincerely pushing for it, another section is looking for scapegoats to remove from leadership positions and probably expel from the fold.
On the one hand, the party is in search of peace; on the other hand, it is witch-hunting some chieftains and indulging in a blame game. It does not appear to be contemplating mutual forgiveness. Rather, it is further fueling more conflicts. In the melee, rivals are at daggers drawn, spoiling for each other’s pound of flesh. The followers in rival camps are stupefied. Can a house divided against itself remain standing?
The consequence is that the party remains an opposition on paper, barking but not biting. Its attention is divided by multiple crises, not only at the national leadership but also in many state chapters.
Nine years after it was voted out, the PDP has remained in the cold, following the abortion of its dream of staying in power for 60 years.
Unlike the All Progressives Congress (APC), which is relatively cohesive and easier to lead as the ruling party, the PDP suffers from the absence of effective leadership and a lack of crisis resolution mechanisms. The party is torn apart by the antagonistic ambitions of its leading lights, the clash of egos, and the pursuit of personal interests instead of group interests. This is at the expense of collective survival.
These days, there is no shortage of Ahitophelian advice for the party in distress. A party sympathiser and elder statesman, Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, suddenly reemerged on the sidelines of the party, urging the members to elevate disciplinary measures over the peace mission. The ever-combative Ijaw leader accused the party’s Acting Chairman, Ambassador Illyas Damagum, of conniving with the ruling APC to ruin the PDP. It may be possible that the great chief and veteran critic has more information about the party than those currently steering its affairs.
Of course, Chief Clark, a former Federal Commissioner for Information and the Second Republic senator, has an axe to grind with Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike over the protracted Rivers State crisis. Taking sides with Ijaw-born Governor Siminalayi Fubara instead of brokering a truce, Pa Clark called for a probe that would lead to Wike’s expulsion from the party.
This seemingly divisive position by the octogenarian lawyer and politician has further polarised the platform. What influence Pa Clark wields in the party is not certain. But if his advice is upheld, reconciliation would pale into window dressing as mutual distrust would deepen due to the preconceived thought and predetermined plan to rusticate certain members. The implication is that cohesion would become more elusive while unity and tranquility would remain a tall order.
Since last year, when it failed to bounce back at the general election, the PDP has been in disarray. It has failed to do a thorough reassessment of how it had missed the road and deviated from the vision of its founding fathers, particularly its cherished tradition and principles of equity, fairness, and justice. Only few founding members are active now and those controlling the party and tossing it around do not listen to wise counsel.
As the acting chairman was setting up reconciliation and disciplinary panels, it was evident that many other party leaders were not on the same page with him to pursue an agenda for repositioning the platform.
The first committee is headed by former Osun State Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, while the second is headed by a former Foreign Affairs Minister, Chief Tom Ikimi. Both need wisdom, tact, and cooperation from stakeholders for the accomplishment of their assignments.
Ironically, Damagum, who set up the two committees, is being targeted for political liquidation by those plotting his removal as acting head of the National Working Committee (NWC) and the National Executive Committee (NEC).
The Deputy National Chairman (North) became acting chairman, by the party’s constitution, when the embattled National Chairman, Dr. Iyorcha Ayu, could not regain his lost seat.
Although Damagum can only be removed by a National Convention, those scheming to shove him aside do not bother. The plot to remove him has sparked a fresh crisis. If the scheming for his ouster succeeds, particularly if an unelected person is drafted to take charge outside the National Convention, it would lead to litigation that would compound the current distress.
Unknown to the current PDP undertakers, genuine reconciliation can only be undertaken in an atmosphere of mutual trust and confidence, devoid of obvious threats to party membership and avoidance of emasculation of perceived opponents.
While reconciliation at the national level may be hectic, it may be relatively easier by the Oyinlola committee to accomplish the task in many states where local acrimony, bickering, intrigues and division are not fuelled by the war of attrition at the national level. State chapters, like Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Ekiti, Bauchi, Rivers, Edo, Kano, Anambra, Imo, Delta, and Benue need reconciliation.
Indisputably, the crisis at the national level is an obstacle to the proposed convention of the party, where the successor to the position vacated by Senator Ayu is expected to be elected or selected.
This poses a challenge that may be beyond the party. If peace returns to the PDP and the party decides to zone its national chairman to the South in anticipation of picking its next presidential candidate from the North, would the South be disposed to losing the presidency until a Southerner completes a two-term tenure at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja, the seat of government, like former President Muhammadu Buhari did?
The main issue in the PDP is the struggle for control of the party’s machinery between the camp of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President and two-time presidential candidate, and supporters of Wike, former governor of Rivers State, ahead of 2027. The first battle is the national convention that has been postponed because of the lingering crisis.
But the greater issue, indeed the bone of contention in the PDP, is zoning, or rotation of the presidential ticket, as laid down by the party’s early leaders, and its neglect by those trying to arrogantly sacrifice the bond of unity on the altar of personal ambition. Therefore, any reconciliation that ignores the agreement on power distribution may be dead on arrival.
There was a conflict over the demand for a Southern presidential candidate last year. What is the assurance that the same conflict will not resurface in 2027?
The founding fathers of the PDP understood Nigeria as a complex and heterogeneous country thirsty for unity in diversity. There is a perpetual craving for a sense of belonging among the unequal ethnic groups that harbour the fear of marginalisation, exclusion, and deprivation.
To forge unity, the pioneer leaders identified six top positions and levers of power which they distributed among the six geo-political zones. The positions are the president, the vice president, the Senate President, the House of Representatives Speaker, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), and the National Party Chairman.
According to the arrangement and agreement, the Presidency should rotate between the North (comprising the Northwest, the Northeast, and the Northcentral) and the South (made up of the Southwest, the Southsouth, and the Southeast).
