WEDNESDAY COLUMN BY USSIJU MEDANER
info@medaner.com, justme4justice@yahoo.com
It is necessary to remind ourselves of the link between an effective national development and integration and a political party’s internal organisation and stability. They have to be in alignment. For a plural society like Nigeria with multi-ethnic, religious and linguistic diversities, the political party as an institution, and being an instrument that organises the various diverse units under a single umbrella, holds a huge responsibility of coordinating itself to positively influence national policies and decisions that support integration efforts of the country, as much as the socio-economic uplifting of the national order.
The All Progressives Congress, APC, by the statement of its founding principles, is established to provide exactly this role for the country. Organising a pluralistic membership and support base to a unified national objective; taking legitimate power through elections to implement policies that deliver the same objectives and setting examples of democratic organisation from within its structure. So much so, the need for continuous internal organisation of the party in sync with national goals and desires; coordinating elements within that are permanently conscious of its overriding expectations and formulating strategies to respond appropriately.
Currently, Nigeria needs a strong political party with a political structure that goes beyond just capacity to win elections, but also, among other desirables, the willingness to present and coordinate a robust political party’s internal democracy, national development policy implementation and non-stop research to enshrine continuous development of every sector and unit of the country’s architecture.
The All Progressives Congress, the ruling party has been everything at some point, but currently, represents a departure from the expectations from the once boisterous enigmatic party that coordinated the downfall of an erstwhile ruling party, on the back of national acceptance and selfless programs. The party administration overtime apparently no longer reflects the founders’ dreams of the party. So many things went out of place; internal democracy, capacity to organise membership to participations, flare for research and continuous improvement and most importantly, the much needed consciousness of national political environment. All thanks to a national chairman, who is being looked up to, to play the right card in the bid to align the programs of both the party and the president.
A number of unattended issues including mishappenings across the party units nationwide have created concerns that would require immediate responses and attentions if we are to remain in the nearest future, a political party of substance worthy to be reckoned with in the scheme of national events and permutations. 2027 is around the corner and another round of intense politicking is about to erupt. What are we doing? We seem too much at ease in the face of an intense gathering of opposition. Our house is not in order, but we seem not to bother. The party administrators are at ease while watching the party crumbling slowly across the states. We forgot that a king’s crown never sits easily, that we must do everything it takes to maintain the position we hold in the country.
The crisis in Benue state and the nature of interventions from the party national secretariat remains a concern for the party’s future, not only in Benue state but across the country. Allowing the crisis to linger this long without a compromising resolution that positively benefits the party’s lot in the state is a testament to the failure of the party administrators. It is a fact that the state governor, Father Alia has made huge mistakes, especially by fraternising with cloaked enemies who present themselves as allies. The same elements who are marked as perennial betrayal of the party and will manipulate the system again, are using the governor now to prepare themselves for a possible 2027 take over of the state’s ultimate seat. It is about time the governor realises he is but a pawn in the hands of elements using him to their selfish ends. It is obvious that those decisions that turned him against the existing party structure in the state and against his benefactor were cleverly masterminded by those who needed to weaken him to unseat him in 2027. They were the ones who emboldened him and dragged him to the path of political brutality; to take laws into his hands to suspend the processes of bye-election that he has no power over, as much as fighting those he is supposed to be working with.
For Father Alia, it is time he sat back to ask himself where the fight all began, what those pressing him on really want from his impasse with the established party leadership and structures in the state. It is also about time the Catholic church aids the governor, who is of their fold; just as in religion, leadership and influences are recognised and respected in politics. Perhaps, the church would be able to rein in the governor back to the path of self realisation to allow the party functions seamlessly and for the good of the state, it’s people, and the country.
And now that dangerous silence looms over the state, the party at the national level cannot assume all is well with the APC family in Benue state, just like in several other states. The party must not be satisfied with anything less than full restoration of orderliness in the party.
Currently, it is a known fact that all is not well with the souls of the party across the states and yet we maintain dangerous silence. The ongoing war between the governor of Kaduna state and his predecessor is tearing the party apart, as members are taking sides and political rearrangements that could probably affect the lots of the party in the state is taking effect, yet, the national secretariat is silence about the need for appropriate countering actions to restore sanity to the party in the state.
It is the same in Ondo state, where the internal war ravaging the state is open to all. The need for reconciliation was overdue and yet, there has been no response from the party leadership. Despite the growing animosity tearing the party in the state apart, we still are approaching a primary election that would most likely not only throw up a winner, but also create dissent more than agreements for the family.
The level of insensitivity being manifested by the current leadership of APC is unprecedented. At no time ever in the history of the party has the national secretariat been as inactive and underperforming as we are experiencing now. Even the home state of the national chairman is getting hotter for the party without any projected action coming from the party. The extent of the insensitivity and the lack of actions and reactions to demanding issues is both alarming and worrisome to party faithfuls.
It appears that the ruling party has altogether lost its research and development capacity. We are not doing anything worthwhile to understudy events as they unfold in other parties, to take advantage of them; neither are we working on devising new methods of complementing the development pathway of the president as a ruling party. The Labour Party is breaking with internal warfare, PDP is not getting its rhythm, the events in Rivers state is throwing the party open for an opportunistic grab, yet the ruling party isn’t doing anything beyond watching. The issue in Kaduna state is turning up a potential critical political permutation for the country; for instance, the rumour of a potential El-rufai and Peter Obi combo. As much as it appears a rumour, it is only an unserious ruling party that would ignore it as a rumour. What is the APC national secretariat doing about it? Or do they just accept it as a mere rumour like the ordinary men on the street?
We parade a national chairman who has taken the soul of the party to sleep along with him. And rather than setting up a reconciliation team in Ondo state, which is even an urgent case, to bring together warring factions, he seems to be creating more divisions by imposing his own primary election committee on the state.
Who is going to reign in the National Working Committee, and wake up the national chairman? Who is going to remind them that there is work to be done as a political party to remain relevant. We cannot afford to stay in a coma any longer. APC must wake up!
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!!
