PDP AND ITS ETERNAL AMBITION

Ogbulafor, Baraje
OLUSOLA FABIYI writes that opposition parties need to be united to wrest power from the Peoples Democratic Party, which has boasted that it will rule Nigeria forever

The date was April 17, 2008. Pungent smell from the various cuisines filled the air-conditioned room. Guests and the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party could hardly wait for the expected briefing to start before descending on the groceries on the well-decorated tables.

Dressed in an immaculate white agbada with a shining neck lace was Prince Vincent Ogbulafor. As the chairman of the party, he was sandwiched by other party officials. The sitting arrangement made it easy for Ogbulafor and the members of the National Working Committee of the PDP to converse inaudibly. At the end of their less than 20 seconds' conversations, they agreed that the meals should be served before the chairman's speech.

At the end of the slap-up meal, Ogbulafor stood up. He cleared his throat and began to speak. It was there he revealed the plan of the PDP to rule Nigeria for the next 60 years. Ogbulafor also said the party would soon establish committees to monitor the performance of PDP governors. Possibly still feeling the taste of the sumptuous meal, Ogbulafor likened his party to a reliable Boeing 747 aircraft, adding that it was large enough to accommodate every Nigerian. He said the opposition parties were like small aircraft with propeller engines. The Abia State-born politician said that he would feel fulfilled if all Nigerians could disembark from the 'risky small aircraft' and board the 'reliable Boeing 747 aircraft', which is the PDP. He was of the opinion that it would be a positive development for the country if the PDP became the only political party.

Ogbulafor dismissed claims that the party had been weakened and factionalised, saying it remained strong and united. After clearing his oesophagus, he said, 'When I hear people say that our umbrella is torn, I just laugh because I know that the umbrella is as strong as ever. I expect that every Nigerian will soon join the PDP. I don't care if Nigeria becomes a one-party state. If we succeed in bringing all the states under the control of the PDP, we would have achieved a lot.'

Apparently oblivious of what was to happen to him as the chairman of the party, Ogbulafor called on the Federal Government to take the war against corruption seriously. 'The party wants the fight against corruption to be taken seriously because corruption is a cankerworm. If you don't fight it, it will not go away. We want to rule this country for the next 60 years and we mean it.' Ogbulafor, who was later booted out of office and charged for corruption, said 'my emergence as the PDP national chairman was divine and I shall be ready to put my life in the service of the country.'

After Ogbulafor made the statement on the 60 years ambition of the party, reactions started pouring in, expectedly from the opposition political parties. But Ogbulafor was undeterred. Hence, on November 13, 2009, he took his prophesy to Kaduna, where he told those who cared to listen that the PDP would actually rule the nation for at least 60 years. Ogbulafor, who spoke at Murtala Square while receiving defectors from other political parties, said that his much-criticised position on 60-year rule would be fulfilled

Events in the last few days showed that Ogbulafor was even modest in his conjecture going by the revelation made by the party's Acting National Chairman, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, who declared that the PDP would continue to dominate the affairs of the country forever. He said it would be difficult to wrest the control of the nation's governance from the PDP's grip because governors and lawmakers on the platform of the party were posting 'satisfactory performances.'

'When we came on board on July 28, we promised that we were going to focus on some areas, which included the review of our constitution. We are reviewing with the aim of making the PDP stronger and making it the doyen of Nigerians. It has always been the doyen of majority of Nigerians in the past. We will continue to make it and it will continue to remain on top forever as the dominant political party in Nigeria,' Baraje said.

He spoke in Abuja on Wednesday during the inauguration of a committee saddled with the responsibility of reviewing the party's constitution. At the inception of democracy in 1999, the PDP produced the President in the person of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and won the governorship seats in 23 out of the 36 states in the contry. In both chambers of the National Assembly it also produced the majority of the lawmakers.

But while it continued to produce the President in succeeding national elections in 2003, 2007 and 2011, the party lost some of the states under its control. For instance, its candidates in Edo, Ondo, Osun and Ekiti states in the 2007 governorship polls were all removed by the Appeal Court on the grounds that their victories were undeserved. While the Labour Party chased away the PDP governor in Ondo, the Action Congress of Nigeria candidates took over in Ekiti, Osun and Edo states. In the 2011 race, the party also lost Ogun and Oyo states thus completing its annihilation in the South-West geo-political zone. In the South-East, both Imo and Anambra that were under the PDP rule in 1999 had since fallen to All Progressives Grand Alliance.

The acting chairman of the PDP said the desire of the party to continue to dominate Nigeria's political landscape was part of the reasons that its National Executive Committee agreed to the idea of reviewing the constitution of the party. Baraje told the 23-member committee that the leadership of the party was not happy with the lack of discipline among its members, adding that there was no way an association would grow when its members were not disciplined.

Nigeria's dominant opposition political parties, the ACN and the Congress for Progressive Change, have however carpeted the PDP for its ambition, describing it as inordinate. The spokesperson of the ACN, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said there was no way anybody or any party could rule forever.

'If the PDP said it would rule forever it means Nigeria is doomed forever. If you watch what is happening in Libya, Tunisia and Egypt, you will know that there is no way anybody or any party can rule forever. The 12 years that PDP has ruled us, it has suffocated all Nigerians to the point of the death,' Mohammed said.

Speaking in similar vein, the spokesperson for the presidential candidate of the CPC, Maj.-Gen. Mohammadu Buhari, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, said PDP was deceiving itself.

'Let them continue to deceive themselves thinking that Nigeria would allow the PDP to continue to lead them,' he said. He also referred to the revolutions in Libya, Egypt and Tunisia as also possible in Nigeria.

Speaking on the same issue, the National Chairman of the All Nigerian Peoples Party, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, said it would be insane for any political party to think of ruling the country perpetually. 'Monopoly has never worked anywhere in the world. And for any political party to say it will rule forever is kidding,' he added.

The CPC governorship candidate in Enugu State, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, called on Nigerians to hold the PDP responsible if the country remains undeveloped. He said, 'Nigerians should wake-up because the PDP is at it again with its traditional proclamation which regrettably reminds us that PDP has captured our commonwealth, subverted our electoral process and fuels the dangerous slide of Nigeria into a failed state. Our dear country men, if Nigeria fails as predicted or remains underdeveloped, we should look nowhere but hold those who on one hand want to rule Nigeria forever and on the other hand have phobia for free and fair election.'

Visibly angry Okechukwu wondered how a political party which he alleged had squandered the nation's resources could openly boast of ruling forever. However, he said since every dog has its day with history, a day is coming when the PDP will meet its waterloo.

But a political scientist, Alhaji Jamiu Abdulraheem, believes the day may not come soon, if the members of the opposition parties do not come together. He said before the PDP could have the temerity to raise its ambition from 60 years to eternity, the party must have studied the body language of the opposition and found out that it is feeble and disorganised.

'Until they sit together and agree on how to fight the monster call the PDP, the party will continue to play on the intelligence of Nigerians and take them for a ride,' he added.

Maybe until that is done, the PDP will continue to openly navigate the political landscape without any serious challenge.