PDP’s stormy tea cup

By Ochereome Nnanna
WHEN the Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF, election politics was raging and some commentators said Their Excellencies were wasting time on an irrelevant issue that had no bearing on the average Nigerian, I laughed.

It reminded me of what Mohandas Gandhi said about religion and politics: “Those who say religion has nothing to do with politics don’t know what religion is”. They did not remember that a governor is first of all a politician, and a politician’s first reflex is to play the power game.

The NGF election of May 2013 was a dress rehearsal for the shape of things to come, especially in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The PDP knew it was going to expose the treachery, disloyalty and rebellion of the governors bent on ensuring that President Goodluck Jonathan does not win his second term.

[caption id="attachment_412041" align="alignnone" width="412"] PDP Special National Convention: Delegates casting their votes at 2013 PDP Special National Convention . Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan.[/caption]

 

The Governor of Rivers State,  Chibuike Amaechi, was advised to forgo that election and avoid being used by Northern governors to divide the solidarity of the South-South. He refused to listen. Egged on by the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, governors, the rebellious Northern governors as well as their vocal supporters in the media and open forums, Amaechi plunged into the contest.

The recently concluded national convention of the PDP ended with the rebellious Northern governors – Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano, Magatakarda Wamakko of Sokoto, Aliyu Babangida of Niger, Sule Lamido of Jigawa, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa, Amaechi of Rivers and Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara (who was then dancing on the sidelines) – pulling out to form what they termed “new” PDP.

A familiar newcomer, former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his handy political peripherals were there.Within the space of one week, we saw the registration of Peoples Democratic Movement, PDM, as a political party, the announcement of the intention of the rebellious Northern governors to register a new party to be called Voice of the People, VOP and the “secession” to form the “new” PDP.

They do not quite seem to have made up their minds exactly what to do, except that they are all united in their determination to pull the rug from under the feet of the President come 2015. The central question trailing this development is what effect this will have on the ruling party.

The question is best answered by looking at every mid-term to a presidential election year since the return of democracy in 1999. In 2001/2002, there was turmoil in PDP because Atiku’s PDM faction wanted former President Olusegun Obasanjo to “do a Nelson Mandela” and hand over to Atiku after only one term in 2003.

They failed because Obasanjo not only ran for second term but also forced Atiku to run with him as Vice President.In the 2005/2006 midterm toward the 2007 presidential election, another series of crises erupted in the party.

The first was over the determination of Obasanjo’s camp to de-register those big stakeholders in the party opposed to his third term ambition as members of PDP. That was how Atiku and many others were pushed out. This eventually resulted in Atiku becoming the presidential candidate of the opposition Action Congress, AC, for the 2007 election.

The second was the attempt by Obasanjo to use the then ongoing constitution amendment to give himself a third term. Atiku vehemently opposed this bid, along with majority of Nigerians. A crisis-riddled PDP was very instrumental to the abortion of its leader’s unholy ambition.Come the year 2010, the nation was in a heated transition from one president to the other when President Umaru Yar’Adua passed away.

Some Northern leaders did not want then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to succeed Yar’Adua because they said it was the turn of the North to rule for eight years after Obasanjo’s eight. Later, they grudgingly caved in to pressure, only on the condition that he would not seek an election of his own.

Therefore, the PDP crisis in 2010/2011 was basically a section of the Northern leadership versus President Jonathan. Jonathan successfully defeated the regional gang-up against him, and some say the Boko Haram terrorism is a fulfillment of their threat to make Nigeria ungovernable.Against this background, I tend to see this PDP crisis as a teacup storm.

The party is used to them. The party always comes out of these storms intact and strong enough to win the next election. The PDP is a veteran of many civil wars. These wars will never end because they are normal jostling and positioning to hijack the party and use it to win. As it happens, the incumbent President, being the leader of the Party and the man who holds the proverbial knife and yam, he is always best placed to hijack the party for his own political ends.

Much is being made over the “splitting” of the PDP after the convention. It pays to ruminate more on the possible long term survival of the “split”. Ordinarily, the pullout of seven out of 23 governors of the Party to form a “new” PDP is considerably earth-shaking.

In 2010 when the Adamu Ciroma-led Northern Political Leaders Forum, NPLF, queued behind Atiku to drag the PDP presidential ticket with President Jonathan, the governors had kept their distances, obviously because they were looking for second term tickets. Now that all of them are on their ways out, they can afford to join the effort against the President.

The question is: Who will step down for whom? Lamido, Atiku, Kwankwaso and Aliyu are all known to have presidential ambition. Lamido, an ardent Obasanjo supporter, is several times on record pouring vitriol on Atiku as a political leader.

Kwankwaso is also an Obasanjo lackey. Would they agree to step down for Atiku when the time comes? Will they go with Atiku to PDM? It does not seem likely. Some of them may reconcile with Jonathan any time, especially when Obasanjo gives the President one hundred per cent support. Nigeria politicians are not known to voluntarily jump down from the gravy train.

 

PDP implodes like an old NEPA transformer

By Is'haq Modibbo Kawu
“Hi Di Hi nga atstohuwar transhomar Nehwa dai ta kai. In tai tirihin sai a mayassuwa, in tassake kuma a zaka mayassuwa har ta gaji tai bindings baaammmmm!” (Roughly translated from a mischievous presentation of Sokoto Hausa dialect: “THIS PDP IS LIKE AN OLD NEPA TRANSFORMER. IT WILL TRIP AND SOMEONE WILL GO FIX IT UP, IF IT TRIPS AGAIN SOMEONE WILL GO BACK AND FIX IT UP UNTIL IT GETS TIRED AND IMPLODES BAAAMMMMM!”  Taken from a friend’s contribution to an online forum.

THIS is the time that Nigerian politics could have done with the flowery language of the late Dr. Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe, one of the most colourful characters to walk the minefield of Nigerian politics.

If we attempt a post-humous reading of his fertile imagination, the earth-shaking event of last weekend, with the walk out of seven governors, and former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, from the PDP convention in Abuja, would certainly have elicited an absolutely quotable line for posterity!

Okay, the venerable old man died a long time ago, but one of his pithy statements might have anticipated things, and would just have conveyed the colour of last Saturday’s event: “when the come comes to become”! Well, the “come came to become” and it unfurled before the Nigerian people, thanks to live television which, ironically, had been set up to give a contrary impression.

NTA’s live coverage was to underline the legitimacy of the process while presenting the “family-like unity-of purpose”, so central to PDP’s narrative since 1999. Like soap bubble, the charade exploded in their faces, much to the utter embarrassment of the denizens of the party.

Not even Jerry Gana’s “House Nigger” smiles and ubiquitous groveling display of servitude could prettify the gaping crater, deep enough to consume the entire vote-rigging contraption. The PDP is in utter disarray!

I spoke with a very close confidant of top-most leaders of the party on Tuesday evening and he was brutally frank about the situation. “These people studied us very carefully and they struck when it hurts most”, my interlocutor told me. Unfortunately, he added, we do not have people in leadership, with knowledge and wisdom.

Even the fixer-in-chief, Tony Anenih, appeared shell-shocked on television on Monday morning when he read a meaningless two or three line statement to the media, that a meeting held and it would continue. Those who made a career of mischief, intrigue and are past masters of cloak-and-dagger, were beaten to their game. Stories emerging in the media, say that “New PDP” wrong-footed the old PDP assembled at Eagle Square, because security reports hadn’t foretold what happened.

The riposte of a parallel presentation of an alternative leadership was so well choreographed, that those assembled around President Jonathan, who were already strutting triumphantly, deluded they had clipped wings of the dissenting governors fatally, found to their chagrin, that PDP’s implosion truly resembles the proverbial old NEPA transformer indeed!

Let us be clear about a few basic points here. The PDP operates from a premise that elections can be securely and successfully rigged, when its governors control the levers of power in states. The governors that pulled out, in the majority, are from states with large number of voters: Kano, Sokoto, Rivers and Jigawa, for example.

The emergence of “New PDP” narrows very dangerously, President Jonathan’s base of support in 2015 and this is a self-inflicted humiliation, arising from the desperate effort to seize initiative in the lead to that landmark election.

There is the earlier emergence of the APC, which continues to consolidate its place in the consciousness of the Nigerian people as a potentially viable alternative to the PDP behemoth. The sweep of the APC already takes in the Southwest; a part of the South-South and some states in the North. As things stand today, President Jonathan’s PDP has narrowed dangerously to a South-South party, with presence in Benue and Plateau states in North Central Nigeria.

Even in the National Assembly, the Jonathan PDP is becoming a minority. While insults and insensitive statements by people like Chief EK Clarke, alienate more sections of the Nigerian society.

In politics, as we all know, perception is everything. Unfortunately for President Jonathan, his presidency is perceived to be very divisive and polarising; there is too much effort to manipulate the fault lines of ethnicity and religion, and the administration has narrowed in base, pandering ever more to elite preferences of the Niger Delta, including rehabilitated criminal elements who became modern-day Nigerian (or more appropriately, Niger Delta billionaires!).

It is not good strategy to open so many battlefronts then expect to be victorious; the battle within the PDP was so badly handled because of the arrogant assumption that the Tony Anenihs, Jerry Ganas, EK Clarkes and Tukurs, will deploy time-tested cunning and ruthlessness to subdue dissenters within the party. But they miscalculated! There are too many endangered interests that the surprise would have been refusal to respond, as “New PDP” did!

The leading individuals in the “New PDP” have a serious dilemma which obliges towards the denouement we are witnessing today in Nigeria. It is very easy to pick on individuals, but together, they are formidable foes for Jonathan/Bamanga Tukur/Tony Anenih. In the long run, Jonathan might have to accept a most humiliating climb down, to ensure return of the “New PDP”.

The contours of rapproachment are beginning to form. The most important issues for individuals like Bukola Saraki, who is very central to the new arrangement, are the termination of the EFCC’s investigation into his alleged corrupt practices in power and at Societe Generale bank as well as stay of action from efforts to seize party machinery from his grip in Kwara State. Such grievances can be extrapolated into other recesses of the “New PDP”.

So for the sake of PDP’s bearhug on power and access to lucre, they are likely to rally around face-saving compromises in the long run. In truth, neither Jonathan’s PDP nor  “New PDP” is concerned about genuine interests of the Nigerian people.

We are witnesses to a manifestation of what the much-lamented Chief Sunday Awoniyi saw with clarity, a couple of years ago: the PDP is a basket of scorpions, stinging themselves to death. But access to power and lucre made it imperative to ensure that lethal doses of poison do not take root so as not to end that much coveted access permanently.

The Sokoto analogy perfectly fits PDP’s politics that resembles a cheap, badly produced old American Western film.  The self-acclaimed ‘largest party in Africa’ is actually not better than an old NEPA transformer; it cannot serve the needs of modern Nigeria!

Governor Kashim @ 47

LAST Monday, September 2nd, 2013, Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima clocked 47 years. I read that he had vigorously declined an offer by some friends to organize a birthday party for him in Abuja. I was not surprised that Kashim declined, because it just isn’t in his character!

I have known Kashim Shettima long enough to say, that he is one of the outstanding individuals in Nigerian political leadership today. Many of his peers who met him in the course of the politics which culminated in the formation of the APC, such as Kayode Fayemi, Ekiti state governor, have very good things impressions about Kashim’s intellectual capability and genuine devotion to the cause of Borno state and Nigeria’s progress. Kashim is a very passionate individual whose modesty and sincerity mask his deep intellect and a genuine love for scholarship.

He reads avidly and follows intellectual trends passionately and over the years, he amazes me, with his down-to-earth, humane qualities.

Kashim was manager of the Maiduguri branch of Zenith Bank, when my wife was transferred there in 2002; she resumed with our very young second child.

Kashim made her stay comfortable, arranging food delivery everyday from his own house at the bank’s guests’ house where my family had lodged. The fact that she was the wife of a journalist he had read avidly over the years, was a coincidence he appreciated so much. We became family friends ever since.

When I saw the trajectory of responsibilities that he was assigned in the Ali Modu Sherriff’s administration: Finance and Economic Development; Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs; Education; Agriculture and Health, it seemed he was highly trusted and was actually being prepared, almost inadvertently, for the position he now occupies as governor of Borno State.

It is his fate to provide leadership in one of the most tragic phases in Borno’s history. And the fact that he has remained committed to development, peace-building and reconciliation, tell of his strength of character. I once told him that he has a historical precursor to inspire him: one of the greatest rulers of old Kanem-Borno, Mai Idris Alooma. Alooma was a superb administrator and organiser of a brilliant empire in one of the great periods of African history.

Kashim Shettima is still a very young man, but he has demonstrated intellect, wisdom and statecraft enough, for us to comfortably predict that he will make definitive marks on the future of Nigeria. Happy Birthday Governor Kashim Shettima.

Jerry Gana, Suntai and the Taraba charade

JERRY GANA is unlikely to be absent in political, ethno-religious/regional controversies. When he became the chief orchestra conductor besides Danbaba Suntai at the Abuja airport the other day, it was clear that mischief was in its elements.

The Geography professor from Niger State and arguably Nigeria’s number one AGIP (Any Government In Power), declared with professorial surety that Suntai was capable of returning to power.

The days since have been anything but edifying in Taraba state. Jerry Gana moved on, organizing the convention which led to PDP’s implosion!

That is the man and his nature. How Jerry Gana sleeps well at night with his conscience, or what he tells his grandchildren of his place in the Nigerian loops of power and religion, must be interesting indeed!

 

Gulak says moles in PDP uncovered

Abuja -  Special Adviser to the President on Political Affair, Ahmed Gulak, said on Monday in Abuja that the PDP had uncovered the moles in its fold sent to destabilise the party.

Gulak stated this in an interview with State House correspondents shortly after a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

[caption id="attachment_364348" align="alignnone" width="412"] Gulak[/caption]

He was reacting to the crisis in PDP which deepened on Saturday when some governors walked out of the party’s special national convention to form a splinter group.

Gulak, who did not specifically name the moles, alleged that they were sent by the opposition with the aim of breaking the party.

``The opposition out there wants the party to split and there are moles.

``They sent moles in the cloak of PDP.

``We have discovered them and Insha –Allah (God’s willing), all PDP stakeholders, especially our field commanders who are governors have discovered this, and we are talking,’’ he said.

Gulak said he was surprised that former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, whom, he said, had benefitted mostly from PDP could lead the breakaway faction.

``I was surprise because Atiku is supposed to know more than any other person that there is no party like PDP.

``He once left PDP and went to ACN and he came back to PDP because he discovered that outside PDP, there is no other party.

``He had to come back and he was even given the waiver to contest the primaries election in 2011.

``Atiku should be grateful to PDP. Atiku is indebted to PDP and the best way to continue to pay the debt is to protect the party not to destabilise it,’’ he said.

He gave the assurance that the development would not lead to the demise of PDP but would rather make it stronger.

``PDP has been there from 1998. It is only PDP that has still maintained its name and identity.

``The other people you are talking about started as AD, transformed to AC, then to ACN and now APC.

``You know they have lost their identity. It is only PDP that has consistently maintained its identity and name.

Gulak noted that the meeting between the President and some of the breakaway governors Sunday night was part of the urgent reconciliation moves.

``The President had useful discussions with them and God's willing these things will be things of the past.

``Politics is about interests and whatever somebody says or does is on how his or her interest can be protected.

``They have put on the table what they want and what it should be, and the leader (the President) has carefully listened to and analysed  it and we will keep on talking,’’ he said.


Asked whether the breakaway governors stood their ground on the removal of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur as the party’s national chairman, Gulak said the issue was a difficult task for the party.


``You cannot remove the national chairman like that.

``He was elected and you will remember that of all the offices, INEC observed that only the position of the national chairman and the financial secretary were properly done.

``That is why we had do to the special national convention to properly elect the other officers.

``There are processes, there are provisions of the institution, there are electoral acts; we should not act outside the laws.

``We must act between the extant laws of the land because the PDP is a law -abiding party, we must entrench internal democracy,’’ he said.

Gulak pleaded with the party leaders, senior stakeholders and other members to embrace the dialogue in resolving the crisis. (NAN)

PDP crisis: Obasanjo sues for peace

Abeokuta - Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, on Sunday called on aggrieved members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to embrace peace in order to move the party forward.

Obasanjo, who was the immediate past Chairman, PDP Board of Trustees, in a statement issued in Abeokuta on Sunday, appealed to the aggrieved party members to remain calm and allow the resolution of of the crises rocking the party.

The Special Convention of the party was held at the Eagle Square in Abuja on Sunday where 17 new national officers were elected while a faction of the party under the leadership of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and seven Governors also met at Shehu Musa Yar'Adua Centre where it elected another set of officers.

The Atiku-led faction said they took the decision to salvage the party from ''those who had hijacked it.''

"I want to passionately appeal to both sides to sheath their swords and maintain status quo.

"I urge members of the party to remain calm while the elders of the party meet to resolve the issues," the statement quotes Obasanjo as saying.

The former president expressed optimism that the crisis would be resolved soonest and that the party would be the better for it. (NAN)

How PDP has blessed Nigeria - Jonathan

By Emmanuel Aziken, Henry Umoru, Ben Agande and Dapo Akinrefon

President Goodluck Jonathan,yesterday, described the 14-year-rule of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as a blessing to the country. In a speech to the Special National Convention of the ruling party,  Jonathan noted the strides in various sectors of the polity including communication, power, education and transportation as progressive developments that only those in the critical segment of the opposition have refused to acknowledge. The President, in a speech covering 3,735 words, said the task before the party was “difficult, thankless but ultimately rewarding.”

His speech to rouse the party faithful nonetheless did not stop six governors present at the occasion to walk out to form for the first time, a parallel faction of the ruling party.

Before him, senior party officials, including the National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih, the Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, Obong Godswill Akpabio, had, in remarks at the Convention floor, reiterated the need for unity and determination to rally round the President. Anenih, while noting what he described as the seeming grievances among party men, pledged to redouble his efforts in reconciliation. Tukur, as he if in anticipation of the walk-out, called on the faithful to remain vigilant as he noted that troubles against the party were not yet over.

Jonathan, in his speech, narrated how the PDP had since it came to power at the federal level in 1999 posted several successes in the different sectors in the polity. He also took out time to subtly poke the opposition, noting that the PDP had remained one without changing identity, flag, or name. In a subtle dig at the Lagos State government, he also said the PDP governor would focus on attacking destitution instead of attacking destitute persons. Commending members of the former National Executive Committee, NEC, of the party who resigned to allow the regularisation of the election of members of the NEC, he said their action was in conformity with the party’s inclination to the rule of law.

“They are patriotic party members unlike others who drag the party to unnecessary litigation. We commend them and promise that the party will reward them.  We are here fellow delegates in obedience to due process. We are confident that all those who will. be elected today into positions of responsibility entrusted with the mantle of leadership within the party will work diligently as one team. The party has provided a level playing field for all contestants to demonstrate their readiness for this call to service.”

[caption id="attachment_411758" align="alignnone" width="412"] *President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife at 2013 PDP Special National Convention . Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan.[/caption]

Noting how the party has survived because of its inclination towards internal democracy, he

said: “Of the three political parties registered in 1998, and I want you to listen, only PDP has retained its singular identify and core vision as a political movement till date while others have been imploded along the way or subsumed their identity in search of political direction and relevance. The PDP has remained a strong fortress of hope for our people but remained focused on building a greater Nigeria, one that can afford this generation and the generation to come better life.”

The President started his narration of PDP’s delivery of democracy dividends with the multiplication of telephone penetration which, he said, progressed from “400,000 in 1999 before the PDP came on board to over 120 million today. Our telecom sector has grown to be the biggest in Africa and one of the fastest growing in the world providing jobs for millions of Nigerians and creating a new generation of successful entrepreneurs and industrialists.”

Jonathan also cited developments in the banking industry which, he said, has flourished and the education sector developments “critics never want to acknowledge”. Besides what he claimed as progressive revival in primary education, he noted the construction of over 120 Almajiri primary schools and the establishment of nine federal universities.

The President also chided those arriving the federal capital for failing to acknowledge what he described as the state of the art road network leading into the city saying: “Our belief is that our critics don’t come into Abuja through our airport, (otherwise) they would see the airport road. If they drive round Abuja, they would have seen the outer lanes and others. We have changed the face of Abuja”, he said. “Under the PDP government we have embarked on massive infrastructural development that all the

geo-political zones are being linked up and people are acknowledging that driving across the country is now less painful. Though we are yet to get to where we want to, surely PDP will lead Nigeria to where we want to go.”

In what could be interpreted as a dig at the recent removal of some destitute persons from the All Progressive Congress, APC, controlled Lagos to Anambra State, Jonathan said:

“We recognise Nigeria as one indivisible entity, we deplore ethnic distrust among our great people. For we are one people under one umbrella in this republic. In the PDP, we fight against poverty not the poor. In the PDP, we attack destitution, not the destitute. “In the PDP, we believe in the tenet of democracy and development. This is who we are. We must remain a party of national unity, we must insist on justice and equity. We must insist on defending Nigeria from those who threaten her in words and deeds. We are a nation in God’s hands and we must keep it so.”

In his own speech, Tukur said: “This is the first time this is happening in the annals of Nigeria to repeat the entire process of an electoral process of any political party.  PDP is indeed showing a good example for other political parties to follow.  Apart from this, the Special Convention is also coming on a very official and significant date which coincides with the birthday of our party which was launched on August 31 1998,that is 15 years ago.”

Anenih, also addressing the PDP Convention,  said: “As you all probably knows, a lot has been written about conflicts and crises in our party, almost on a continuous basis. Let me assure you that a great deal of what is published is exaggerated. While it cannot be denied that there are differences and disagreements, now and again, our party has a very effective arrangement for conflict resolution.

I want to take this opportunity to assure you that the PDP is one great family and appeal to all those who have one reason or the other to be aggrieved to take advantage of the abundant opportunities for conflict resolution in the party.” “As Chairman, Board of Trustees of the PDP, my focus has always been on reconciliation, party cohesion and discipline. It is true that given the enormous size and spread of the party, there are bound to be challenges in his organization.

However ,you will agree with me that recent challenges problems of indiscipline are weighing heavily and affecting the smooth operations of the party in nearly all of its chapters. We have a strategic obligation to put our house in order to retain our dominant position in the Nigerian political system and continue to be a stabilizing force in the Nigerian democracy.”

Meanwhile, voting commenced at the PDP convention ground shortly before 3.00 p.m. after the chairman of the electoral panel, Senator Ken Nnamani, addressed delegates on the voting pattern. Delegates from all 36 states voted for the different positions on the ballot according to their states and each state was led by the highest political office holder.

Jonathan led delegates from Bayelsa State, Vice President Namadi Sambo led delegates from Kaduna, while the president of the Senate, Senator David Mark led delegates from Benue .However, voting was restricted to statutory delegates from Anambra and Adamawa States as elected delegates from the different factions were barred from voting.Voting ended around 4.30 pm following which the long process of counting the votes commenced. As at press time, counting was ongoing.

Convention shocker: PDP Splits!

By Soni Daniel, Emma Ujah and Henry Umoru

Atiku, 6 govs form faction
*Baraje, Oyinlola, Jaja lead faction
*Other national officers to emerge soon

Exactly 15 years after its formal launch, the lingering crisis in the ruling People's Democratic Party, PDP, degenerated, yesterday, when
former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and seven governors broke away, formed  a faction and named  new national officers for it.

The governors are: Sule Lamido of Jigawa, Musa Kwankwaso of Kano, Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa, Abdulfatah Ahmed   of Kwara, and Babangida Aliyu of Niger.

The governors and their teeming supporters had earlier stormed out of the Eagle Square, venue of the PDP Special Convention, after they alleged  that the list of delegates for the election  of national officers of the party, scheduled to be conducted at the convention, and the contestants had been manipulated by the leadership to usher in their preferred candidates.

Sunday Vanguard learnt that the PDP incurred the wrath of the governors when it also became clear that the party was not ready to adhere to the guidelines released by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for the conduct of the convention and remove the impediments that led to the cancellation of the previous convention.

Agenda

The embittered governors,  some senators and House of Representatives members as well as other statutory delegates from their respective states later converged at the Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, where they unfolded the agenda and the names of the national officers of their faction. Some former national officers of the party made the list of new officers of the new PDP. They were, Abubakar Baraje, who was named the new National Chairman, Olagunsoye Oyinyola, National Secretary and Sam Sam Jaja, who emerged the New Deputy National Chairman of the faction.

Shortly after being proclaimed the new National Chairman of the party, Baraje said he was ready to make the PDP the party that would give adequate attention to all members and give them a level -playing field to achieve their political ambitions.

[caption id="attachment_411747" align="alignnone" width="412"] President Goodluck Jonathan addressing at 2013 PDP Special National Convention . Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan.[/caption]

Baraje said the Bamanga Tukur-led PDP had destroyed the core values, which the founding fathers of the PDP bequeathed to Nigeria and frustrated many key members out of the party, while those who knew nothing about the philosophy of the party were now the leading lights. He also denounced the tendency by the Tukur administration to breathe down on the neck of members, who do not do the bidding of the Presidency and its lackeys, saying that such a practice was undemocratic and retrogressive.

Baraje said, “While we have done everything humanly possible to bring to the attention of critical stakeholders within the party the dangers inherent in the course   being charted by that leadership, it has become very clear that the desperate permutations towards 2015 general elections have blinded certain people from the consequences of their actions.

Violations

“Not only has the Constitution of the party been serially violated by Alhaji Tukur and fellow travellers, but all the organs of the party have been rendered virtually ineffectual by a few people who act as though they  are above the law. “Unfortunately, it is obvious that that they get encouragement from the Presidency whose   calculations are geared towards shutting out any real or imagined opposition ahead of the party’s presidential primaries for the 2015 elections.

“As leaders of our great party, we consider it a sacred responsibility to save the PDP from the antics of a few desperadoes, who have no democratic temperament and are therefore bent on hijacking the party for selfish ends. While the list of their violations of the tenets of our great party is long, we will highlight just a few:

*The National Executive Committee of the PDP, at its belated meeting of 20 June 2013, approved 20 July2013 for the conduct of a Special National Convention. However, that date was changed to August 31 without reverting to NEC (the only authority vested with such powers) by a few people, apparently acting on the authority of the Presidency.

*Notwithstanding the fact that INEC had noted that the PDP congresses in  nine states were not properly conducted, the illegal delegates from such states are being paraded at the so-called convention being held today in a cynical attempt to circumvent the law and further bring the name of the party to disrepute

*In gross violation of the PDP constitution, which stipulates that the NEC meeting must hold at least once in a quarter, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and a few people have been running the party like a personal fiefdom without recourse to that important decision-making organ of the party.

*The NEC of the party accepted the resignation of the former members of the NWC whose offices were affected by INEC observations based principally on the agreement that the affected officers would be returned to their respective offices at the convention

*Notwithstanding INEC insistence   that Senator Andy Uba is the duly elected candidate of the party in Anambra State and against the background that he is so recognized by majority of our party members, the Bamanga Tukur-led Executives announced a purported suspension of Senator Uba and some other members close to him in defiance of subsisting court orders.

*Despite that the PDP Constitution is very clear that the state chapter of the party cannot discipline a national officer, the Deputy National       Chairman, Mr. Sam Jaja, has reportedly been dismissed by some renegades, who have hijacked the Rivers State chapter of our party with the connivance of the Bamanga Tukur leadership.

*The persistent change in the list of the party’s delegates in many states as part of a deliberate attempt to rig the party’s nomination of       candidates, especially at the Presidential and gubernatorial levels, with a view to foisting on the PDP some unpopular candidates who are bound to lose at the polls.

*The suspension without due process of the Governors of Rivers and Sokoto states even when the illegal suspension on Sokoto State Governor has been lifted, the Rivers Governor remains purportedly suspended for no just cause.

*The illegal dissolution of the Adamawa State chapter of the party is a clear abuse of power by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, thus causing confusion in his home state.

“Given the foregoing, it is very clear that the Bamanga Tukur leadership cannot guarantee for our millions of party members democracy anchored on  free choice and the rule of law. We have therefore, taken it upon ourselves to rescue the party from their inept and dictatorial leadership.

“It is indeed noteworthy that from 1999 to date, Nigerians have constantly voted the presidential candidates presented by our great party but not only does   such trust come with enormous responsibility, we recognize that we cannot continue to take the people for   granted.

From now, the new leadership of the party under us will strive to build a fairer as well as a more transparent and accountable PDP that will put the   interest of members and indeed all the people of Nigeria above that of one single individual.

“For all the members of our great party who may have become disillusioned by the anti-democratic tendencies of the Bamanga Tukur leadership, there is  a new lease of life in the horizon. It is a new dawn for the Peoples  Democratic Party.

“As we take over the leadership of the PDP, our immediate priority is to revive the culture of robust debate of all contending issues while providing a level-playing field for all our members. These were the ideals  that differentiated our party from others and endeared us to Nigerians. ‘We are not, and have never been, a political party where one man would be taking decisions for all members and where once you do not kowtow before the Presidency, you are deemed a rebel that must be crushed. That is not the PDP bequeathed to us by our founding fathers. That, I dare say, is no longer what PDP under our leadership will represent from today.”

‘Party brought down’

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, in his remarks, lamented that the PDP,   which started in 1998, had been brought down by those who knew nothing about it. “Let us see how we can reform PDP for those lofty goals to be achieved. They can never be achieved by the Presidency and the current PDP leadership,” Atiku said. “I’m sad to see this. I will, therefore, want to appeal to the rest of our members who are still sitting on the fence to join the new PDP. I want to assure you the new party will restore the fading values of the founding fathers of the party. By the grace of God and with your support the change will come.”

PDP election: Why they are after me - Olisa Metuh

By Henry Umoru

Chief Olisa Metuh, the immediate past National Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP is a lawyer, a real estate manager, and an administrator.

Metuh hails from Otolo Nnewi, Anambra State. The former PDP National Working Committee (NEC) member, who has picked the form to return as the party’s spokesperson, was a Zonal Youth Leader, National Auditor and National Vice Chairman, South-east.

In this interview, Metuh bares his mind on his plans as he prepares to come back to Wadata Plaza, among other issues.

You resigned recently as National Publicity Secretary of your party following what happened at the 2012 Convention. Why do you want to be returned?

When I assumed office on March 24, 2012, I made a commitment to myself and to my party to change the way we do business. We moved from a reactionary apparatus to an innovative and proactive directorate. My team was determined to rebrand this party and restore the confidence that was eroding by the day. I reorganized the publicity department into a full-fledged research and operation based directorate and created tactical units, streamlined to operate under the direct supervision of the National Publicity Secretary.

With very minimal resources, we developed many units like the media monitoring and surveillance, event planning, rebranded the Umbrella magazine to a world class content oriented magazine, arranged ministerial scorecard sessions; and created the social media unit to manage the PDP website as well as PDP Facebook, twitter, blackberry messaging, blogs. Due to our drive, our Facebook participating followers moved from less than 300 to almost 18,000 people in less than three months and the followership is still growing.

[caption id="attachment_360077" align="alignleft" width="244"] *Olisa Metuh[/caption]

We continued to reach out using the social media even without funding from the party. All these innovations have brought great dividends to our great party. Reckless and unfounded attacks and blackmails against our party have declined tremendously. But we are not done; we have achieved all these in just 14 months. Our commitment and resolve to achieve more cannot be deterred by sabotage and elements of undemocratic process.

For me, it is not a question of just being National Publicity Secretary. It is that of building institutions. I have laid a solid foundation which has effectively curtailed negative media reportage against the party. The National Publicity Secretary of the largest party must have a sense of responsibility to help the nation to have a good image. We have more work to do. That is my drive and that is my commitment.

What stands you out among other contenders?

While I encourage active participation by Nigerians in governance or in the political process, nevertheless every position in the work place comes with requisite qualification and experience expectations. The National Publicity Secretary of a great party like PDP is no different from other corporate entities with regards to that expectation.

I possess both practical and institutional knowledge of the process necessary for the effective dispensation of the duties of this office. While these aspirants are hoping to be elected so that they can learn on the job, I bring experience, I bring capacity, and I bring access to credible relationships that help in managing the image of our great party.

As you know, I rose through the ranks of this party, from youth leader, ex- officio, National Vice Chairman Southeast and to National Publicity Secretary. I am no stranger to the workings of this party. While some appreciate these qualities, others antagonize me because of that, but I always welcome a healthy competition. That is the beauty of democracy.

What is your take on some individuals who are engaged in campaigns of calumny and law suits against you despite the fact that you have a large support base in the South-east and across the nation?

You know that success begets envy. As you rightly mentioned, I have the support of party members from the South-east and across the nation. That support comes from tested and trusted engagements over the years. When it matters, I have always stood tall with my people even at the expense of personal comfort. The records of my performance in all my previous positions are public record. The complexities of the Southeast politics are common knowledge to all, but I have been able to manage these conflicts for the greater good of our party.

While I am not perfect, I have always strived to be fair and consistent in my dispositions, and that has brought me reverence from many stakeholders and attacks by a few. That is what democracy is all about. But you will agree with me that most candidates that are driven by content and quality do not engage in politics of calumny. Just tell the people why you are a better candidate. But you cannot say that when you don’t have a record. When people have no credible record of service, that’s when they resort to desperate actions to destroy others.

With regard to the various law suits, I am a lawyer and therefore encouraging citizens to seek redress in court as key to sustaining a true democracy. However, engaging in frivolous legal actions amounts to abuse of the process and an attempt to deny the citizens of their fundamental rights. But these are signs of desperate people and our people are no fools. Our courts are equipped with men and women of reputable jurisprudence experience. The Supreme Court is equally taking steps to curtail these abuses.

Do you foresee any internal opposition against you?

I don’t understand what and who you describe as internal, but I do know that these desperate individuals will stop at nothing to advance their cause including infiltrating the hierarchy of our party to perpetuate lies, unfounded attacks and even inquiries in my office activities seeking for anything to malign my person, my family and to undermine the good works we are doing for our party and our country.

Be rest assured that we are not perturbed by this; our focus is on the opposition who is bent on undermining the good deeds of the President. If any member of our party allows himself or herself to be used by the opposition, to make unnecessary allegations, and unwarranted inquiries, that shows how much they love our party.

I hear that some elements are looking at my records to see how they can tarnish my image. There is nothing about my life family, my business and my tenure as party official that has not been subjected to all kinds of scrutiny by these undemocratic elements but thank God we are answerable for our actions and we are waiting for them.

Some have questioned the publishing of the PDP magazine; that we were charging people money for interviews and I laughed. Let me tell you, we independently sourced for funds and printed the magazine without financial assistance from the party. It is only PDP members who participate in the magazine that provide the funding. We rebranded the magazine and have been running it successfully. So we are waiting for these undemocratic elements and I know God is with us.

However, I must state that the fight is not within the party and that is why I have not paid attention to them. The problem is outside the party. There are those who want to scuttle the progress of the party and bring down our government. But we will not lose focus. We have to prove to them that President Jonathan is doing well for the country and to showcase that the PDP is the only option for the country.

By the time we engage in negative campaign with these undemocratic elements, we lose the moral advantage of fighting for the general interest of the party and the people. So I will refrain from focusing on intra-party matters. My job when I am elected by the grace of God is to engage in inter-party matters and focus on projecting the image and achievements of the PDP. My job is not to start fighting our members or to discredit them.

What innovations are you bringing in especially with the registration of the APC?

We believe in integrity. We will say the truth and allow Nigerians to decide. We will not engage in any campaign of calumny or go about pouring vituperations on people. Ours will be to stand by the truth, say the truth and allow Nigerians to decide. We will continue to showcase the achievements of the party. PDP remains the only national non- tribal party that is fighting for the interest of all Nigerians and we will continue to drum it to the ears of the people with all vigor.

PDP is the only party that is committed to the unity of this country.  It is the party that has the best governors and the best legislators at the federal and state levels. Our ministers are doing well. The truth is that we have capable hands. Most of all, we have a President who is humble and forthright. We have a President who has done well and, by the time, he leaves office, Nigerians will know that a great man has passed through this country.

Your party has been passing through a lot of crisis recently. What really is the matter? Do we have any solution in sight?

Our party is not having any crisis. What you see is ordinary politicking. It is normal in politics especially as the general elections draw nearer. PDP is a big party. We have millions of Nigerians as members all over the country and people are trying to get involved in one way or the other. So it is normal politicking but the PDP is so strong that it has been able and will continue to withstand such things. So there is no cause for alarm. The National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, has been able to steady the ship of this party and he is doing well.

Recently, the Interim National Chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi akande, described President Goodluck Jonathan as kindergarten President. What is your take on this?

I think the Presidency has already answered that, but we need a President who is a kindergarten and not a graduate of corruption. We need a President who is not a graduate of violence or a graduate of deception, or a graduate of ethnic and tribal politics. We need a President who is a kindergarten and not a graduate of nepotism. So if he is a kindergarten in the sense that he is at the least level in corruption, that means he is fighting corruption. If it means he is at the least level in playing ethnic politics and promoting violence, then that is what we need.

S-South PDP passes vote of confidence on Jonathan

BY FESTUS AHON
UGHELLI-LEADERSHIP of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, South-South zone, has passed a vote of confidence on President Goodluck Jonathan for the success of his transformation agenda, stabilization of national economy and enhanced security of lives and property.
 
The PDP leadership in a communiqué it issued after its Zonal Working Committee, ZWC, meeting held at the weekend also praised President Goodluck Jonathan effort in the fight against terrorism and other related crimes in the country.
 
They also commiserated with the first lady, Dame Patience Jonathan on the passing on of her beloved mother, praying God to grant her the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

The people in the communiqué, which was signed by the zonal chairman, Dr Steve Oru and the publicity secretary, Mr Omo-Owo Okpokpo said; “ZWC condemns the breakdown of law and other in Rivers State and appeals to all the warring factions to sheath their swords.
 
“The committee wishes to join hands with well meaning stakeholders to resolve the crisis in Rivers State. To this end, the committee resolves to visit and discuss with President Goodluck Jonathan, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, Chief Tony Anenih, Governor Godswill Akpabio, Governor Lyel Imoke, Senator Victor Ndoma Egba, Hon Leo Ogor, Chief E.K Clark and Governor Seriake Dickson.
 
“The ZWC expresses satisfaction with President Goodluck Jonathan mid-term performance score card and expresses her gratitude to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan for accepting to host the ZWC meeting in Asaba, Delta State.
 
“On tour of some facilities, the committee was satisfied with the level of infrastructural development in the areas of education, network of roads, healthcare, aviation and sports. The committee commends the Governor for providing purposeful leadership in Delta State and for the giant strides he is taking to make the State first among equals in the country.
 
“The ZWC urges all members of the party in the zone to remain disciplined and supportive of the party.”

PDP: Shadow boxing for 2015

By JIDE AJANI
“Before people decide what they think of your message, they decide onwhat they think of you” – Harvard Business Review (July-August, 201
So, what do Nigerians think of  People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and its message to day? Ask its leader, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan!  He can speak for the party. Or, better still, ask the owners of the party!

Almost all of them would echo and ape Mr. President. Leaders and owners of the party would say the useful things; yet they go ahead to do the useless things – that is the way of the organised chaos under the umbrella called PDP.

First, how did the party get to a point where the President is heading for the hilltop whereas some other leaders in the same party are speeding down the valley?  What thinking goes on in a party where there is no love lost between some state governors and their President?

But there is something inescapable and binding still: wealth and power. The roots of the dog-eat-dog syndrome that manifests in every aspect of PDP’s modus operandi can be located in the quest for and retention of wealth and power.



From elbowing one another out of electoral contests, breaking limbs and bruising heads, to inflicting maximum embarrassment, and allegations and threats of assassination and assassinations, leaders of PDP, nevertheless, still find common ground.

And that is why every contestation for power is derisively termed a family affair. Members of that family run on the steroids of distrust for one another and treachery against same. The latest in this never-ending saga is the open confrontation between some state governors and President Jonathan. Threats of decamping from the PDP are again in the air.

It is all too familiar. In 2002, 2006, 2010 (almost always on the eve of any general election), there were similar threats – some were seen through and many of the so-called decampments have since been reversed. However, democracy in PDP lost its soul sometime after Monday, February 13, 1999, immediately after Matthew Okikiolakan Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo emerged as the party’s presidential candidate in Jos, Plateau State. In choosing his running mate, a decision, which had favoured a consensual agreement was unilaterally ignored by Obasanjo in Abuja.

Leaders of the PDP, who had scheduled a meeting where the choice of running mate would be made, were stunned when Obasanjo presented them with a fiat accompli. That was the first error by the then presidential candidate.

But the PDP itself had committed the first blunder by not sticking to its own electoral guideline, one aspect of which was that for any individual to qualify to seek the presidential ticket of the party, he must have delivered his ward, local government area and state – Obasanjo neither delivered his polling booth, his ward, local government nor his OgunState base, yet, the leaders of the party, with scornful disdain to their own guideline, permitted him to seek the ticket.

That was an error of gargantuan proportions. Obasanjo’s next onslaught was against state chairmen of his party. Rather than flow with the structures on ground, structures which saw to his emergence and the emergence of the governors’ elect, Obasanjo, just out of prison some seven months earlier, mis-directed the loyalty base from party structures on ground, to newly elected but yet to be sworn-in state governors. State party secretariats were relocated to the residences of the governors’ elect.

From February 1999, Obasanjo shifted the paradigm from party politics to personal loyalty to individuals. PDP has not recovered since then. And it is not about to recover.It was on that template that every other public office holder in PDP sought, demanded and grabbed loyalty for himself and not the party – the cancer obtains in other parties.

Today, whatever goes on in the PDP is a product of the seed Obasanjo sowed. The former president may not be the major problem of the party, but the negative aura he radiated then and still radiates, in alliance with other dark forces of democracy, continue to pollute the air in the polity.

Unfortunately for Nigeria’s warped democracy, we now have a President and state governors who believe in and subscribe to the influence of less than a dozen individuals to hand them power in 2015, thereby relegating the delivery of the general good to the largest sum of Nigerians, which is the raison d’etre of participatory democracy, to the background.

Whatever is going on now in the PDP, between state governors and Mr. President, is nothing more than braggadocio in shadow-boxing.

 

Suspension of Fayose: Insultive,it can't stand - Tukur

By Henry Umoru
ABUJA- NATIONAL chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur has described the alleged suspension of former governor of Ekiti State, Chief Ayodele Fayose from the party by a faction of the PDP as a violation of  laid down procedures and cannot stand.

According to Tukur, the move was an affront on the national leadership of the party without the consent of Tukur led National Working Committee, NWC, just as he  expressed surprise that such a far reaching decision involving a former Governor and a Gubernatorial Aspirant of the Party can be taken by the State Chapter without  due consultations and consent of the National Leadership of the Party.

[caption id="attachment_210325" align="alignnone" width="412"] Former Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose, outside the Federal High Court, Ado-Ekiti, after yesterday's sitting.[/caption]

In a statement by his Special Assistant, Media, Prince Oliver Okpala Special Assistant,  the PDP National Chairman  made these statements when he received some members of the Ekiti State Executive of the Party, accompanied by some Elders and led by the former Governor who was at the National secretariat  to complain to Tukur  over the unilateral suspension of the former Governor of the State by the State Chairman of the Party.

The  National Chairman however promised that the National Leadership of the Party will  create a conducive and enabling environment for every member  to contest for  election to any office, adding  that even where it becomes necessary that there should be a consensus arrangement, everybody within the party must be carried along so that nobody at the end will feel short-changed or isolated.

"The National Chairman wondered why such a decision should be taken in a hurry when he has received the complaint of the state Executive led by the Chairman few days ago and assured that he is going to handle the issue at National level with a view to finding a final solution to the problem.

It is the view of the National Chairman that the State Executive having brought the matter would have allowed the National Leadership look into the matter and take a decision before the hurried suspension.

"He said that such a decision violated lay down procedures and cannot stand. He  remarked that the National Leadership of the Party will not condone any act of imposition of candidate in the party under his leadership.

Tukur assured the delegation that the National Working Committee will soon look into the matter critically and come out with a decision.

Responding, Fayose  who led the delegation said  he was pleased when he heard from the media that the National leadership of the Party will handle the matter and was waiting to be invited to present his own side of the story only to also read in the papers of his hurried suspension from the Party.

He denied having any hand in the catastrophic actions that took place in the Party's  State Secretariat, adding  that as a man of honour and as a Former Governor of the State who believe in the rule of law, there was no way he can encourage any act of lawlessness, thuggery brigandage.

Governor Fayose pledged that he and his supporters will abide by any decision of the National Leadership of the Party as a true Party man and democrat

The PDP finds its undertakers

By Is'haq Modibbo Kawu
“People are saying that the PDP is dead or about to die a concerned person like me will remain in the party till it dies and give it a befitting burial. If PDP will die, let it die in our hands so we will give it a befitting burial and mourn her.” – Adamawa State Governor, Murtala Nyako.

THE late Chief Mobolaji Bank-Anthony must be turning in his grave! It was on Igbosere Road in Lagos, if I recall properly, that he established his undertaking business in old Lagos. It was appropriately named “THE SYMPATHETIC UNDERTAKERS”.

I don’t know if the business is still thriving, because far more aggressive undertakers entered the morbid business, reflective of the arrival of vulgar money and its vulgar display in Nigeria, including the preparation of the dead for the final rites!



We can lament the passing of Sir Bank-Anthony’s more dignified business approach, but recent rumblings in Nigerian politics come with noise, blood and tears. Cloak-and-dagger is at the heart of politics, except that the PDP took vulgarity and cut throat to a height that should shame that most shameless of contraptions, Africa’s largest vote-rigging monstrosity, the PDP!

We have arrived at a critical juncture on the route to 2015; the gloves have fallen and the pugilists are revealing very ugly bare knuckles.

The struggle is for the soulless soul of the PDP and President Goodluck Jonathan’s corner, is the red corner of mischief, that brought together the most eye popping and strangest bedfellows: old men Tukur, Anenih and EK Clarke; the eternal AGIP Jerry Gana and sundry political flotsam and jetsam.

They are confident, as someone once mischievously noted, that their PDP faction can seamlessly “merge” with INEC and the security agencies to show muscle. This is where Murtala Nyako comes to fore. He represents the “Undertaker” faction within the huge basket of scorpions that the PDP has always been, as Chief Sunday Awoniyi once observed.

After years of injecting political poison into Nigerian political society and ingesting collateral poisoning themselves, including DELIBERATELY herding the people of Northern Nigeria to Northern Cameroun, with their opportunistic support of Jonathan in 2011, Nyako and his colleagues in the “Undertakers” faction of the PDP are now on an offensive.

They will stop Jonathan by all means, including hastening the death of the behemoth holding Nigeria in bearhug, the PDP. They are importing political caskets, but unlike Sir Bank-Anthony, they are UNSYMPATHETIC undertakers for the PDP. The solution finally discovered the problem on the turf of Nigerian politics!

Let us be clear about it; all the tendencies within the PDP are embattled. Nigerians will give everything to chase away the party that has systematically institued underdevelopment and the pillaging of our national patrimony since 1999. The duel-to-the-death will weaken the party further; yet, I get a sneak feeling that, when all is said and done, they will somehow paper over the crack and pull from the precipice.

The fear of loss of power will nudge them back to political realism, akin to a wedding between a feuding couple: each is fed up but none can or dares walk out! But before that realisation, we are guaranteed a lot of absurdities. For example, PDP just set up a “reconciliation” committee composed of Jonathan sidekicks and headed by his number one Man Friday, Seriake Dickson. He previously added much Niger Delta petrol to the raging political fire, by serially abusing Jonathan “enemies” in the recent past. How then does he function as reconciler-in-chief?

Meanwhile, Nigeria bleeds 400,000 barrels of crude oil everyday, while Jonathan continues to pay billions of naira monthly to Niger Delta thugs “protecting” pipelines to facilitate continued oil theft, almost like a vital component of Jonathan’s “Transformation Agenda”.

Jonathan needs an extra term in 2015, to ensure that his Niger Delta constituency achieves “Resource Control” by subterfuge, through the continuing oil-theft regime. This backdrop plus a threatening political death emboldens the “Undertakers” of Murtala Nyako’s corner of the political boxing ring. Seconds Out! Bring on the political caskets!!

Ilorin: The eternal colour and taste of Ramadan

I RETURNED to Abuja from                          Ilorin via Kaduna, on Monday. I had been away for nine days. It is one of my annual rituals to spend at least a week back home during Ramadan. This is a most special period in Ilorin and I return attempting to catch a whiff of the colour and taste of the community which moulded my life and which has retained a remarkable sense of its piety and traditions, rooted in Islam.

As I have written repeatedly on this page, my forefathers were Jihadist Islamic scholars with roots in the old empires of West Africa (called Bilad as-Sudan, in medieval times). In Ilorin, Ramadan has always brought out the best of the people’s fidelity to their religious traditions. But even within the context of the month, a lot has evolved with many old ways having died out. As the saying goes, if you wait long enough, everything changes!

As a growing child of the 1960s, I recall the special atmosphere about us in the lead to the month and I think it was Ramadan, which first triggered my consciousness about the incredible energy of women in our communities. They fast just like the men, but they cooked all day, as the men either rested or attended Tafsir in the mosques. The cooking continued during Sahur, early in the morning, while in between, they attended sermons in the night, which usually lasted beyond midnight. Women just never seemed to find respite, and Ramadan magnified their roles especially.

Probing weaknesses  of the adversary

For the children, we engaged in a game that has all but become extinct today, called EPA OKUTA (a kind of bean used to make what must be an Ilorin-only delicacy called KANGU! I loved it from childhood and up till my mother’s death in 2009, she would purchase and send to me in Abuja). The game had a sophistication about it, that I still recall today, because it taught practically every element of warfare: defence; attack; preparing fortresses, building alliances and probing the weaknesses of the adversary. Children will gather from near and far, around my family’s mosque.

Often, they had accompanied their grandfathers to attend Tafsir at the mosque;  while the elderly carried on their religious business, children engaged themselves in that game. There was also the tradition of children constructing their own mosques during Ramadan. As a matter of fact, the preparation commences several days before, and it was one of the reminders that the holy month was approaching. There was a competition to construct the most colourful and most intricate mosque, which often stayed months after Ramadan; children then simulated the prayers that took place inside the real mosques.

There was not much in terms of material wealth then, but people readily shared the little they had and even the poorest families seemed to get a lot, in the spirit of Ramadan. What was lost in Ilorin, that I have continued to lament, was the way bands of young musicians (they were called AJIWERE) would roam the entire community each night, singing really beautiful songs to wake people up for Sahur. There was a finale, which brought the best AJIWERE to a night of competition to select the best musician for the year, at the Emir’s palace.

Some of the great musicians of the past included YE-BOBO; ADISA; SAKA DANFO and AREMU (SECOND DIVISION!). A couple of years ago, with the fundamentalist religious revival that caught the Muslim world, Ilorin was also brought into the sweep. Religious scholars convinced the emirate hierarchy to stop the musical extravaganza; they substituted with recitations of the Qur’an and that musical tradition gradually withered away!

I have returned for a nine-day stay to catch a whiff of this truly remarkable month in the Ilorin because it offers a poignant moment of connection with forces which helped to provide some of the building blocks of my consciousness.

The passing of Alhaji Abubakar Lah, Shettiman Ilorin

LAST Sunday, Alhaji Abubakar Lah, Shettiman Ilorin died. He was in his late 90s and was in fact, the oldest surviving alumnus of the famous Barewa College, Zaria. I think it was in 2002 that I conducted and published a lengthy interview with Alhaji Lah, as Editor of DAILY TRUST; it alerted the hierarchy of BOBA, the Barewa old boys association, that he was still alive and was their oldest member. I was in Ilorin up till early Monday morning but somehow missed the story of his passing.

I only discovered on Monday night, back in Abuja, as I checked a local Ilorin website for stories of happenings in the community. I had a very close relationship with the incredibly modest old man, who had played a central role in the education of many generations of people all over Northern Nigeria. He spoke many languages: Yoruba, Hausa, Nupe, Fulfulde and English, amongst several others.

The late Lamidon Adamawa was one of the oldest monarchs in the North, but had in fact been a student of the late Alhaji Abubakar Lah. A few years ago, the Emir of Ilorin told me an interesting story. There had been a meeting of Northern Emirs in Kaduna and the late Lamido  inquired about the late Alhaji Lah.

He was alive, hale and hearty, the Emir of Ilorin told the Lamido. A few months down the line, Alhaji Lah was made head of a delegation to Adamawa, where he met his old student, the Lamido and other former students, after over sixty years. Alhaji Abubakar Lah was a repository of the history of his times and as the famous Malian historian, Professor Hampate Ba once said, an old man or woman in Africa, was the repository of the history of our peoples, and everytime they die, it was the equivalence of the burning of a library.

With Alhaji Abubakar Lah’s death, Ilorin, the North and Nigeria, lost a remarkable son who contributed, especially in those early years that we have continued to valorize as our golden age. May Allah forgive his sins and grant him Aljanna. Allah ya jikan Shettiman Ilorin, Alhaji Abubakar Lah.

 

 

PDP ‘ll never die, it will outlive us -Tukur

By Henry Umoru
ABUJA— NATIONAL Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, Wednesday, said that the party will not die, as it has come to stay as an institution despite threats from some quarters that the party will be buried by some of its members.

Tukur said that like democracy as propounded by Socrates, which outlived him and became universally acceptable, PDP will outlive those he accused as wishing it premature death and gain more recognition worldwide as the largest political party in the black Africa.

Tukur speaks

In a statement by his Special Assistant, Media, Prince Oliver Okpala, he said: “It is unfortunate that in Nigeria, like in other advanced countries, orientation courses, seminars and retreats are not organised for elected governors to help reform and remodel them into being politically and socially civil in their public utterances, mode of dressing, social comportment and the norms of the society as against their past indoctrination and behaviour.

[caption id="attachment_399417" align="alignleft" width="412"] PDP National Chairman, Dr Bamanga Tukur[/caption]

‘’This lacuna in our political structure has allowed elected governors to behave and talk in ways that desecrate the sanctity of the office of governor of states that they were elected to hold.”

Five PDP governors

It will be recalled that five PDP governors on Monday in Minna, Niger State, after their visit to former Military Heads of State, Gen.  Ibrahim Babangida and General Abdulsalam Abubakar, had said that if their consultations aimed at saving the party failed, the party would be buried.

Jerry Gana committee

Also yesterday, the leadership of the party inaugurated the Professor Jerry Gana-led Special National Convention Planning Committee,  a month after it was put in place by the National Executive Committee, NEC of the party.

Inaugurating the committee, Alhaji Tukur agreed with the dates fixed by the convention national planning committee for the mini convention and South West congress to hold on August 31 and 24 respectively.

It will be recalled that following a friction between the party leadership and the committee, Tukur had last week ordered the committee to halt all preparations ahead of the convention and South West Congress, which it had earlier announced would hold on August 30 and 24 respectively. The party cited anomalies and breaches of the party’s constitution by the committee.

Tukur, who affirmed that the convention and South West Congress would hold as scheduled by the committee, urged them to ensure a free and fair convention. He asked them to make loyalty, patriotism the hallmark of their work.

In his response, the chairman of the convention committee, Prof. Gana said that the 14 subcommittees were expected to submit their reports next week Thursday, adding that the committee would  start work immediately and urged members to report everyday to the office.