This article was earlier sent to me privately by the author Dr SKC Ogbonnia before going public on the International Guardian Vol 17 No 9 of January 2016, Ordinarily, the caption would have elicited some excitement had it been it was sincere, unbiased and constructive in attempt to demonize a party that ran the affairs of Nigeria for sixteen years. I have a lot of respect for Dr SKC for his interest in the affairs of Nigeria from the Diaspora. But in the author’s position as it concerns who leads the opposition in Nigeria, I have some reservations that he may not have done a good research or he purposely decided to label all members of the present opposition party in Nigeria the PDP with one tag. This to my mind and that of many discerning minds is fallacy. I guess he wanted my reaction that’s why he sent me a copy and I respect him for that privilege.
The Peoples Democratic Party still commands the respect of many Nigerians despite many lies told by APC before the 2015 elections against the party which many have come to realize in recent times as mere propaganda. The Peoples Democratic Party’s umbrella still have array of well meaning Nigerians of all works of life who are decent in character. As a party, they had and still having their challenges which is not uncommon with political activities. For anybody to wake up from sleep to assert that PDP is too corrupt and too sick to lead the opposition is jaundiced. All across the country Nigeria, there are signature people oriented infrastructure which the PDP led government in the past 16 years will be credited for. At the same time, there are mistakes they have made which should not be given as an excuse for non performance of the present APC administration.
For the records, the PDP was elected into office in 1999 and in 2000, less than one year, Nigerians could boast of GSM services throughout the country without blaming the military misrule which Buhari was a key actor. Nigeria under PDP saw the rail system destroyed by the military which Buhari was a key actor being revived, thanks to President Goodluck Jonathan administration. New airports were built under PDP. Workers salaries were increased, the price of fuel was stabilized, new universities established and lots more under the PDP administration. Compare that with 9 months of inactivity of the Buhari led APC government which glorifies itself with the Change mantra but administratively inefficient and developmentally visionless, one would appreciate the fact that the elements that constituted a clog in the wheel of progress in Nigeria democracy in the challenging days of PDP are now calling the shots in APC. By that, one would ask where lies the morality for anybody to assume that APC members are less corrupt or too healthy to lead at the federal level? These same elements who blame PDP today were the real architects of some of the challenges that faced the party either as governors, ministers, legislators, board members or contractors from 1999 to 2015 but today find themselves in APC. They trade on names calling and blame games which have brought untold avoidable hardship to Nigerian. Nigerians are quick in getting disillusioned with the APC administration which should have been the major concern of DR SKC Ogbonnia. Many leaders of APC have some moral burden but that does not make everybody in the party bad.
On the issue raised by Dr SKC that PDP leaders are befallen with one form of acute sickness or another instead of defending themselves and the cause of the party, one begins to see a kind of American Donald Trump insulting rhetoric. Sickness is something that could happen to anybody and should not be a political issue. Are there no APC leaders who are sick? Don’t APC leaders now go on oversea treatment? Going abroad for treatment, has been a problem with the Nigeria leadership since post independence which is condemnable. I think what we need to do is to hold our leaders accountable for failing to strengthen our health care programme and that is not something the PDP should be held solely accountable. Dr SKC should join forces with other Nigerians irrespective of political party affiliation to encourage the present administration which came to power on the mantra of change to do something about health care services rather than continue to blame President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration. Buhari is to blame for his inactivity and lack of vision. They promised Nigeria change and they should change those things that are not good not blaming the past and doing the same thing. We all are against corruption no matter the party in power. The constant globetrotting and gallivanting by President Buhari for medical treatment abroad ,wasteful and unrewarding diplomatic meetings must be reassessed considering that the Naira{N} has fallen to a shameful value under his watch with a dwindling economic situation. That leads to the possible conclusion that “na the same people”.
The offensive write-up however noted in self contradiction that PDP still have ardent supporters who still see hope believing that the party will soon usher in some credible leaders. For sure the party will usher in credible leaders because they abound. Dr SKC agreed with ardent PDP supporters by going ahead to name people like Sen. Ken Nnamani, Nuhu Ribadu, Donald Duke, Segun Mimiko and so on as those he adjudged untainted. The author made himself a moral judge of determining Nigerians who are tainted and untainted. This to me and many others is fallacy. Since the author believes PDP still parades credible people because there are indeed men and women of integrity and class in PDP who have served Nigeria and many more with patriotic zeal to serve humanity. That therefore exposes the fallacy in Dr SKC’s misleading sermon that if like God’s promised not to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if there is found one righteous person amongst them, he will not destroy the city. In PDP there are still men and women of honour who are not sick in the authors view that can provide leadership at all levels as to lead the opposition to recapture power at the centre again not by propaganda, not by threat of monkey and Baboon soaking in blood, not by making empty promises that holds no water like the APC, not by playing politics with insecurity and insurgency in the country, not by use of bombastic languages against the establishment but by exposing the hypocrisy of the present government of APC as a visionless, careless, directionless,, lawless, vicious and dictatorial regime with skewed mentality of vendetta, nepotism, blame game and deception.
With the experience of a missing or lost and found 2016 budget the first of its kind in the modern society where a country’s budget would be declared missing at the National Assembly, APC as a party if decent and incorruptible should have asked President Buhari and those involved in the budget saga to honorably resign for the shame and embarrassment they caused Nigerians. PDP as a party and government would have done better.
Again, the article in view suggests that the author who claimed to know the next move of the PDP even before they hold their congress has made himself a seer who has the supernatural powers to know ahead those in the northern part of Nigeria who will be handed the mantle of leadership by PDP and has condemned them as wearing beads of corruption another fallacy of hasty conclusion and fallacy ad-hominen because people are presumed innocent before the law until proven guilty. It is only in Nigeria under President Buhari where people are presumed guilty until proven innocent, an affront to rule of law. This is the situation with the so much orchestrated Dasukigate Dr SKC talked about. Dasuki has not been allowed to speak out; all the allegations against him have been by the government who are on vendetta mission. Note that in 1985, it was Col Dasuki that led the group that kept Gen Buhari then president under house arrest after the coup that overthrew him. The public need to know that fact and see clearly why Buhari wants to get a pound of flesh from Dasuki. APC liars have been publicizing names purported to have been mentioned by Dasuki as those involved in the said scandal which from reliable source close to Dasuki were not mentioned by him.
The author went ahead to opinionate that the timbers of 7th Assembly mentioning only those who are in the PDP still as only those who are corrupt. He said and I quote; “the timbers of 7th Legislature, particularly former Senate President David Mark, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and former Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha are pondering what could have happened. They were well groomed as the picture perfect baby-face of the opposition with every resource in tow. However, the trio has suddenly has suddenly grown too old and too important due to a raging fear of imminent probes into the billions budgeted for constitutional review and constituency projects from 2007 to 2015.” This sermon is laughable in the sense that the author expected these great leaders to start fighting the government for mere fighting sake. These great Nigerians are democrats whose interest is how to move Nigeria forward not to use their experience to drag the government down like the APC did during President Goodluck when they joined the Boko Haram as their advocates, sponsoring insurgency and doing things that undermined the security of the country. Knowing that APC is visionless with the conglomeration of strange bed fellows those PDP leaders mentioned by the author know very well the antecedents of most of the leaders of APC and are convinced that their infighting and greed will derail their administration and provide the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP a stable to be back to power. On a personal note, Rt Hon Emeka Ihedioha today in his state of Imo is seen as the solution to the maladministration of an APC Governor Rochas Okorocha who rigged himself back to power. Go to Imo State people are crying why not Ihedioha. His past performance and his characters as a man whose word is his bond have positioned him as a pragmatic leader. Again, all those who were labeled too corrupt and too sick are PDP members. One may ask when did APC become an abode for forgiven sinners? Does APC have the canonical right like Catholic priests to give absolution for sins? Any mention of Rt Hon Emeka Ihedioha, the Deputy Speaker 7th House of Reps without mention of Rt Hon Aminu Tambuwal , a man of character now in APC and governor of Sokoto State the then Speaker, 7th House of Reps, is selective judgment and such cannot pass objectivity test. Again the mention of PDP leaders as corrupt because of allegations by the APC without mention of APC past governors and top government officials who have been indicted by panel of enquiries set up by constituted authorities for embezzlement and management of state treasury amounts to hypocrisy. Today APC governors who are on their second term in office have mismanaged their state resources and have declared their state broke. A state like Imo where the governor is APC, the economy is deplorable yet the author failed to mention it. Gov Rochas Okorocha is a symbol of a typical APC leader, insensitive, lawless, nepotic, greedy, corrupt, liar and propagandist, confussionist, visionless and loquacious.
Having said that, I make bold to say that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has all it takes to lead Nigeria once again especially now when the hawks that were in the party have found themselves in the All Progressive Congress, APC. The kind of opposition expected of democrats is not destructive opposition but constructive one that deals with issues not the type of propaganda done by APC when they were in the opposition which they have continued to do by blaming the past administration for their inactivity and cluelessness in governance behaving as if they are still the opposition party. Any citizen of Nigeria that wants the progress of the country should advise the new government to take off with their campaign promises and stop blaming the past. The government should be held accountable for not being able to fix problems of governance and deal with issues that will accelerate development. The government of Buhari should be encouraged to do something fast to stabilize the Naira and check fuel scarcity. Nigerians are suffering under this APC administration and people should ask government to do something to checkmate recent mayhem caused by Boko Haram before they recapture all the communities from where PDP led government dislodged them before APC came on board. The APC government should address non payments of salaries of civil servants by governors under their party. APC should caution the Imo State governor to stop mass sack of more than 4000 workers and pay arrears of salaries owed workers as many believe that Gov Okorocha stole Imo money to sponsor President Buhari’s election. Same is the fate of Rotimi Amaechi former governor of Rivers State who records have shown, looted the state treasury to sponsor Buhari’s election which resulted in his appointment as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Corruption no doubt has been one of the banes of Nigeria towards achieving greatness. It is so rooted that hardly any political party or class can beat their chest to claim innocent. I am solidly behind any effort by any leader or group of people to fight the menace of corruption and other evil in the country called Nigeria. Tribalism, divide and rule, religious bigotry and sycophancy have all promoted corruption in Nigeria and any attempt by anybody or group to fight the hydra headed virus, such person or group must as well live above the mentioned sentiments. I am in support that anybody who has looted or has breached public trust should be brought to book. I am of the firm believe that to achieve success in the fight against corruption, people should stop the sycophancy of praising President Buhari when he has done little or nothing. Nigerians should also demand that the rule of law should be followed in prosecuting his war against corruption and there should not be sacred cow or selectivity. Those in APC who have in one way or the other involved in corrupt practice should be made accountable. In my candid opinion, I expect Dr SKC to be a father figure as the president of Nigerians in Diaspora, NIDO Texas, which is made up by people of different political linen, to be apolitical. Aligning himself with a political party to hastily condemn another as too corrupt and too sick to lead may be counterproductive.
I wish to state that PDP as a party irrespective of the challenges they have faced in the past or facing in the present, by omission or by commission, is still a party to be reckoned with. There are men and women of impeccable character who have the patriotic zeal to serve the country. PDP remains a viable alternative to the present clueless regime. APC parades some good guys too and such people should be brought on board to assist the administration instead of President Buhari appointing according to him, people from areas that gave him his so called 90% votes leading to his skewed appointments. To move Nigeria forward, all hands must be on deck. No section of the country should be alienated; those who have something positive to offer irrespective of their party affiliation should be embraced by the APC administration because the total national interest should be making Nigeria great.
■ Casca Ohanele is Journalist, member Nigeria Union of Journalist, Newspaper columnist, a Social Commentator and Political Analyst and Lives in Houston. Contact: email to Casmir.tochiohanele@yahoo.co.uk
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