Once, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wielded considerable power, pride, and arrogance. At one point, the party’s primaries could guarantee a general-election victory for the successful aspirant. PDP controlled nearly thirty states, and the party boasted that it would rule Nigeria for sixty years. Subsequently, circumstances reversed, and the PDP found itself in a precarious position.
The current situation within the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), mirrors the factors that precipitated PDP’s near-collapse. Reports indicate that some governors within APC have assumed the role of “thin gods,” determining who should be the party’s flag bearer against the people’s will. This has engendered crises during party primaries. In some states, aggrieved aspirants have moved to other political parties, and in others, leading aspirants have been suspended.
In my view, APC should learn from PDP’s experience of arrogance and pride; otherwise, the party may jeopardize its prospects in the forthcoming general election.
Nigerians are becoming more politically conscious than ever and can decide the fate of any political party in power.
– Comrade Opaluwa Eleojo Simeon writes from Abuja.
