The PDP Lives On – In Self-Induced Coma -By Otu Ita Toyo

Otu Ita Toyo

In its days, it was impossible to imagine the Peoples Democratic Party brought to its knees by a simple family squabble. The party used to solve such problems consensually by exacting a trove of balanced compromises from each faction. Simple. It may not have been an ideal form of equity, but it worked. More so, the adherents were willing to abide by the results knowing the alternate scenarios were perhaps more chaotic. More important though, was their belief that such imperfections were, as they thought at the time, but a passing phase. A necessary discomfort/sacrifice to buy time. Time enough to allow the “great” party continue the process of molting into a genuine political institution. The umbrella just continued with the essential business of further enlarging itself, negligently unperturbed by the developing culture.

Such customised methods of conflict resolution work only if the arbiters and litigants are people of honour operating in an environment with clearly defined and universally accepted norms and goals. Unfortunately for the polity, the Ekwueme/Lar era of the PDP had given way to a new season which brought on board some of Nigeria’s most acutely impatient but excessively extravagant breed of politically enabled “emerging tigers”. To this breed of PDP drivers, power and the control of the vaults became standard tools of operation and the party drifted into being a huge theatre of manipulation. Real politicking and nation-building beat a retreat. It was only a matter of time before the edifice would start to sink under its own weight.

In the age of “emerging tigers”, it became the norm for contending rivals or disagreeing supporters to end up on the tiger’s breakfast table. “Loyalty” was redefined; rewards and sanctions were meted out according to the readings of the masters’ sycophantic barometer and bore no relation to the quality of investment. Truth, discipline, equity and order were sacrificed on the altar of “filthy lucre”. It appears the “tigers” were on a demolition mission. Nothing could stand in their way and no target was too big to conquer. By some creative mathematical formula, they attempted to subdue and captured the Governor’s Forum. When they failed, they launched their exclusive Governor’s club in utter defiance. From there it was only a matter of time before they arrived at the villa and took the bewildered occupant hostage. The stage was now set for the epic confrontation with the new alternate political platform, the All Progressives Congress. Blinded by their sense of invincibility, they completely forgot the founding creed of their organisation. It was now “power to the forum” as they took over every organ of that well structured party.

The members – the people – just didn’t matter. They were converted into commodities which could be bought, and thanks to the very dexterous invention of deprivation as a system of electorate management, their value was moderated by need. They could not constitute any obstacle to the CBN oiled campaign machinery. But that was where the “tigers” missed it. They had deliberately ignored the people, particularly in the last six of their 16 years in charge and the feeling was mutual. In 2015 the people voted against the tigers of PDP. Where they still have any control today, they had wrestled from the people with brute force or by judicial collaboration. Today that once proud political behemoth struggles, unable to resolve a simple feud in its ranks. It’s National Convention diminished into a conclave force held in their Port Harcourt branch. One can hear the bell begin to toll.

The PDP has mastered the art of lying to itself and its followers. Today they strut on the landscape as if there is still one party. “If all the governors are not with Sheriff”, they opine, “who then is sponsoring Sheriff?” Who indeed, but Sheriff lives, as active and stubborn as ever. His legitimacy, and he does have legitimacy, constitutes grave danger to the survival of the party. If this factionalisation is not resolved very quickly, there is the chance that sooner than later both factions will acquire judicial recognition. In the ensuing political dance, a bridge will very quickly be constructed over the troubled waters and the typically opportunistic political players will begin a trickle to the other side and it can’t be long before the exodus will begin. My take is that the flow will be away from the PDP.

There are suggestions that to survive, the Makarfi faction should ignore the Sheriff PDP and try to revamp the party on its own. That’s one very risky option. The problem is buried deep within the Party’s DNA and it is very predictable that should any of the factions attempt to merge, metamorphose, buy into or swamp another party, the same fate awaits the new organisation. A leopard can never change its spots.

A cursory look at the reaction of the Makarfi factional NEC to the court order and subsequent abortion of its unconstitutional convention is a pointer to this. Rather than blame itself for fundamental flaws in its strategy, it is busy shopping for scapegoats and excuses. They rushed into conclave and came out hiding behind barricades just to shift the hour of doom for 12 months.

Pitiful but in character with persons who confuse power with popularity. Sycophancy with acknowledgement. Who have turned the phenomenon of living in denial into an art form. Who deploy state facilities as punishment towards dissenting voices. Who believe that might must be right. Who think dialogue is a tool for the weak. Who revel in half-truths and goebellian status quo. This is not the attitude of party builders. And if there is anything the PDP needs at this time it is a tribe of party builders.

The PDP, of course, exists in two very active factions and there are only 10 governors. Even if they had 36 governors, that would still be the equivalent of 36 members. Governors, yes, but members and nothing more than that. Did the PDP creed say “Power to 36 people only?” This once formidable mass movement unwittingly created it’s 36 Frankensteins monsters by consciously selling their family birthrights to their governors in exchange for a slice of the security vote pie. The governors, in their bid to retain absolute power, effectively recreated a big party into a club of 36 with de-fanged followers. No club of that hue can survive long in an electoral environment. This is the crux of PDPmenlitis. There are others but let’s deal with the gubernatorial principals.

The governors have in the main been less than creative. Mired in unproductive power play, they effectively depopulated the party of strategic thinkers and productive organisers in preference for a large tribe of fawning sycophants whose only talent is to mouth uncritical praise of every of His Excellency’s pet projects; no matter how debased the underlying mis-justification. This turned out to be a myopic act which demuscularised the party’s intellectual-cum-strategic base while elevating mediocres beyond their levels of competence. The results are all too glaring at the utter dearth of strategic management of the current crises.

The governors and (it must be said for fair measure, greedy and clueless party administrators) have mortally wounded this once great mass organisation. It will be a miracle for it to regain its former stature and even if it comes back as a dragon in its afterlife, it is doomed for eternal perdition unless it completely overhauls its DNA. The wages of sin can only be death.

The PDP lives yet but it is in a state of self induced coma. A careful look at the Makarfi prognosis leaves me with little hope.

Let other pretenders to eternity take heed. Even PDP’s modest, self awarded, 60 years of continuous rule, turned into a road taken too far.

As the man said in the beginning, everything has an expiry date; nothing is forever, nothing at all.

Otu Ita Toyo, an architect and former chairman of PDP, Akwa Ibom State writes from Uyo, and could be reached on 08174121339 (text only).