National chairmanship and PDP in 2019: A house divided against itself cannot stand! by Buchi Obichie

macfranc007 December 16, 2017 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Nigerian newspapers 24/7 Buchi Obichie

Editors’ note: The writer, Buchi Obichie, takes a look at the events which led to the eventual election of a South-south individual (Uche Secondus) into the office of the national chairmanship of the PDP, against the previous agreement that the South-west would take the spot. She highlights the fact that the aspirations of certain individuals within the opposition party were allowed to overrule an agreement that was reached for the greater good of the whole. She questions just how the PDP would be able to present a united front and overthrow the APC in 2019, when it is apparently divided against itself.

The elective national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party has come and gone, but the consequences of the outcome of the exercise; especially as concerning the national chairmanship position, will certainly reverberate in the political landscape for a long while.

Against the previous arrangement which zoned the position of national chairman to the southwest, a candidate from the southsouth, Uche Secondus, eventually emerged as party chairman.

As expected, there is deep anger among various top party members, especially those from the southwest who feel like their ‘birthright has been snatched away’ from them by connivers and usurpers; notably among whom are Governors Nyesom Wike and Ayo Fayose (the usual suspects), who openly campaigned for Secondus.

The initial calculation for the zoning of the national chairmanship position to the southwest, was in order to provide a control center that would effectively tackle the APC, come 2019.

As the calculation went, the ruling party currently has its VP position (Osinbajo), national leadership (Tinubu) and five governorship positions (Lagos, Osun, Ogun,Oyo and Ondo) from the southwest. Hence, giving the zone a strong foothold in the PDP was meant to ensure that there was a formidable attack system against the APC, when 2019 arrived.

But alas, that dream was not allowed to come to pass.

It was also hoped that the emergence of a national chairman form the southwest would help move the party from the squabbles that has been so rampant ever since the Sheriff/Makarfi saga that played out in the public domain.

After going from lawsuit to lawsuit and finally achieving some semblance of normalcy when Makarfi was eventually announced as the legal leader of the party, the hopes of party chieftains was that the party would then go forth in that same steady stance, to challenge the APC. And the national convention was meant to show that. But apparently, some party leaders had their own plans.

Fayose and Wike made no secrets of the fact that they would back the emergence of Secondus, against the aspirations of the South-west which fielded candidates like Prof Tunde Adeniran, Chief Bode George, Gbenga Daniel, Jimi Agbaje, Rasheed Ladoja and Taoheed Adedoja.

Adeniran in fact, had the backing and blessing of old party hands like Jerry Gana and Ibrahim Mantu who believed that as a founding father who had never jumped ship throughout the party’s travails since its inception, he had the expertise and intricate knowledge of the party, to steer it to victory in 2019.

And being from the South-west, to which the position had been zoned, it was expected that he would receive broad support…but he didn’t…because men like Fayose and Wike, plus other PDP governors, had their own plans running full steam.

One thing the PDP convention showed is that even though plans and allegiances change in politics, one thing constant is that money remains a strong motivating factor, and the piper dictates the tune. Hence, though former governors and ministers as well as BoT members supported a southwest candidacy, the governors eventually decided how the votes would go because they had the ‘purse’ and were able to sway votes with ‘monetary incentives’.

This was evident n the statements from top party leaders including IBB who stated just before the convention: “In the last few days, I get frightened by the monetary consideration that is likely to dictate who emerges as the national chairman of our great party, rather than what people truly want.”

Also, Raymond Dokpesi, a contender for the chairmanship position stated that money had exchanged hands overnight, as he arrived at the Eagle Square venue of the convention.

Some other southwest supporters also lamented over the fact that the region may not eventually be given the position as a result of the fact that those who were behind Secondus- the governors- had the ‘Paris-Club refund’ stash to influence the decisions of delegates.

And so, Secondus won!

So, what does this mean for the party going forward? If the reactions to the results are anything to go by, it would be safe to say that the PDP may be in for some rough times ahead. The night before the convention, Bode George dropped out of the race. He stated: “It appears that PDP is now based on self-destruction, the party has lost its soul. I cannot be a part of this criminal aberration.”

He also stated that Yorubas had been insulted by Governor Wike, whom he said, owed the tribe an apology.

It should be noted that Wike has since paid a conciliatory visit to Bode-George; but the visit reportedly ended on a negative note as George’s wife, Roli, allegedly lambasted the Rivers governor for berating her husband at the convention.

Also, on the convention day, Adeniran stormed out as the results were being announced. His camp further called on Ahmed Makarfi to hand over to the BoT until ‘credible’ elections could be held.

Certainly, these do not augur well for a party whose path to victory in 2019 would certainly entail presenting a formidable united front against the APC.

If I were to be in the minds of Wike and Fayose as they plotted ahead of the convention, I would say that their calculation probably went something like this: “We would play our own cards, and everything would eventually calm down.” But considering the volatile nature of Nigerian politics and judging by the previous antecedents of the party, I beg to differ with their thought process.

What happens now to the southwest zone in the PDP?

Buruji Kahsamu had pointed out the fact that the region would be rendered irrelevant if it did not get the national chairmanship seat. This is because other top positions have already been zoned to others. Would the southwest now be compensated with the vice presidency position? Then what happens to the southeast, to which the nations’ number 2 political slot had already been given?

Logical argument goes that if the southwest’s claims to the national chairmanship could be challenged, then the southeast can also be challenged for the vice presidency.

At the end of the day, all this spells one thing - chaos!

For the sake of the goal – victory in 2019- Fayose and Wike should have put their own plans aside and gone with the general consensus and allowed the southwest claim victory. It is even more disheartening for the region considering the fact that they are the only one which has not occupied the position of national chairmanship of the PDP, since the party was formed.

How would this situation be rectified amicably? No one knows. Certainly, reconciliatory moves have already begun; but like we all know, political slights/wounds run deep in this country and do not heal easily – case in point, the move to placate Bode-George, which I already highlighted.

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My late mother used to tell me and my three brothers whenever we fought among ourselves: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” This quote is true, even for politics. This PDP house is certainly deeply divided at this time, and it would take a lot of compromise and redirection, to put it back together again.

Time flies fast, and 2019 is already on our doorsteps. If party members cannot put their own individual aspirations aside for the greater good now, it is hard to see how they would present a united front against the APC in 2019! But what do I know? I’m just a bloody non-politician!

PDP chieftain, Chief Chyna Iwanyanwu speaks about the party's crisis - on NAIJ.com TV: