By Ayodeji Ologun
Opposition parties in Nigeria have long tried to avoid multi-cornered fights during election of their leaders, preferring to reserve their limited resources to fighting the dominant party as the case may be but with what is playing out in the PDP in Osun State, Maybe it’s time for another change.
For the PDP in the state, the process leading up to 2018 elections has began on a very terribly disheartening note judging from the campaigns for the chairmanship of the party up to the held “aborted” congress of last Saturday.
The upcoming election might not be so neat. After rounds of “horse-trading” talks, there are indications that all is not well and still leading to a much higher possibility of multi-cornered fights.
The PDP as a party and particularly in Osun state has become more associated with the personalities behind her, rather than their ideas and beliefs, as seen in the way some “party leaders-hop” from one group and camp to another. “Personality-focussed parties is a routine characteristic of underdeveloped democracies,” said Dr Barr.
There is need for a party that would be organized democratically, with freedom of discussion among the members leading to a vote on the party’s programme, policies, tactics and action. Once a decision had been made then every member of the party would be obliged to fight for it.
There is a popular joke often repeated in political circles and that rings in my head, that if you place two PDP leaders on the moon, chances are they will form three political parties and not just camps.
The joke is an excellent analogy as the party in Osun State which historically seems to have a rather naive tendency to form new political parties within its party to deal with leadership deficits in existing one.
The inability to unite and collectively work towards the dismantling of stranglehold has been and continues to be the undoing of PDP’s opposition in Osun State. Time and again political upstarts enter the scene promising eager and desperate electorate fine-sounding changes, but many of them remain just on paper. Most will die natural deaths with no functional structures, grassroots support, agendas or known programmes simply because they practically got into leadership by blocs and not a collective resolve to get and do things right.
It would be unfortunate if change should come by way of PDP self-imploding from the bitter internecine rivalry to succeed Gani Olaoluwa between Soji Adagunodo and Bayo Faforiji factions, one in rebellion to continued influence of one man and the other towards the self serving interest of same man, “Chrisore Omisore” and not from a united opposition rising above itself to give Osun State a credible alternative that delivers real democratic change beyond the present charade.
Not spared in this calamitous demise of the opposition is the main opposition, which celebrates its readiness to lead again but sings discordant tunes. It is now limping, though in the past it enjoyed massive support from the people of all walks of life and posed the biggest challenge to self succession.
The party has all but squandered the people’s goodwill and ruptured into several mini opposition formations that stubbornly hang on to the PDP name, and sadly only distinguish themselves by oddly using a leader’s name or surname as a feature to prove their difference.
We hence have ended up with PDP led by Iyiola Omisore, PDP-Renewal led by Prof. Ladipo, and PDP-T led by veteran party faithful like Adejare Bello, Oduoye Kayode, Jide Adeniji and many others. None has a differentiating policy.
Last week, the red carpet was rolled out for new outfit of leadership that was to begin with a ward congress but what we had was allegations and counter allegations of an election that held and did not hold.
Where a national committee divided itself along two lines loyal to each camp, residing in Ile Ife and the other in Osogbo. If this is a sign of things to come, then the road for those aspiring to political office in the 2018 gubernatorial election is going to be a long and bumpy one.
The increasingly despondent and uninspired electorate are in dire need of political solutions to the issues affecting their daily life, the rot of corruption presided over by an uncaring ruling elite and mounting poverty compounded by unemployment that has forced many to leave the country in droves. Abroad they are often treated as second-class citizens, but returning is not a viable option.
The hallmark for the function of any true democratic society is in the promotion of alternative views, through which members of society are able to express their diverse political positions and preferences.
But in Osun, the people are caught between a rock and a hard place: bear with the ruling APC party’s continued intransigence or believe in the promises of an increasingly weak opposition, overtaken by internal battles.
Past experience has shown how costly the opposition groups’ inability to work together for a common agenda has worked against them and favored the APC.
At this rate, sadly, the ruling APC party’s political hegemony will continue, until the opposition parties up their game by putting together a refreshed, united front that is genuine in its intentions to better the lives of the people of Osun State.
Can the real leaders stand up please?
Ayodeji Ologun writes from Osogbo and he is a public commentator and a broadcast journalist
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