2015: PDP, APC and the rest of us

While the ruling party has continued to dominate national politics since then, the emergence of the All Progressives Congress following the merger in 2013 of several opposition parties has created what many Nigerians consider to be a viable alternative.
The scenario painted above, seem to be what is obtainable in almost all states of the federation, as a fallback from the primaries conducted by the PDP and APC aimed to pick popular candidates who will be the  flagbearers of their political parties.
In Adamawa State, the dramatic emergence of Nuhu Ribadu as PDP candidate and other nominees for the red and green chambers of the NASS, and even the state legislature in Abuja, against the popular wish of the major stakeholders and electorate, has considerably weakened and disintegrated the PDP’s much talked-about followership as a dominant ruling party in the state ahead of the 2015 general elections.
Based on this inaction of the PDP, the ambitions of governorship aspirants namely: Dr. Ahmed Modibbo, Engr. Markus Gundiri, Alh. Auwal D. Tukur, Senator Girei, Alh. Adamu Modibbo. Others are Colonel Andrawus Sawa, Brigadier General Aliyu Kama and Dr. Umar Ardo among others were dashed. Miffed by this injustice, most of the aforementioned governorship hopefuls went their separate ways to pursue individual ambitions elsewhere. While Engr. Markus Gundiri pitched his tent with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) as its governorship flagbearer, Dr. Ahmed Modibbo picked the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM).
Although Engr. Gundiri was reportedly referred to as the underdog in the 2012 governorship rerun in Adamawa, the outcome of the elections proved many bookmakers wrong. Apart from winning the required 25% of the total votes cast in 16 of 21 LGAs trailing behind a sitting governor with 60,000 votes, Engr. Markus Gundiri was the acclaimed winner of the February 4, 2012 election under the defunct ACN.
At a formal flag – off campaign/declaration for governorship of Adamawa under the SDP recently in Yola, Engr. Gundiri said “I have made wide consultation with my political associates and teeming supporters with whom we share a common belief in the Adamawa project before arriving at this decision to join the race”. This collective decision, he explained, is vibrant, timely and represents the desire of an overwhelming majority of the state. Just like the question he was asked exactly four (4) years ago, a group of newsmen repeated it rhetorically and asked,“you are regarded as an underdog in this year’s election in the state? What is your take?” His response: “No, I am the candidate to beat, while others are the underdogs”. Believe it or not, the man’s followership and support across the nooks and crannies of the state this year cannot be compared with that of 2012.
In my opinion, it is a matter of strategy. Some people are by nature propagandists, while others are not. Propagandists like to be noticed where they go and in whatever they are doing. They always want to present a false picture of themselves not minding the consequences. But Engr. Gundiri is poles apart from this class of politicians. He is always unassuming, a reserved person and a silent achiever. This idea that he was the underdog and even in the forthcoming election is a misnomer, and an indictment on the media.
As an insider, I can confidently assure without any fear of contradiction that if the media had done a good job of investigating who is who in Adamawa politics, especially between 2011 and date, the 2015 SDP governorship candidate in Adamawa state can never be referred to as an underdog. This topic is for another day.
Going back to the issue of injustice in the political parties, closely contested races are projected for the governorship and national and state legislatures in the forthcoming elections. For instance, the danger inherent in the mindless imposition of Nuhu Ribadu on Adamawa people is that it is a throwback to the Nyako-era, where imposition was the order of the day with dire consequences on the fortunes of the party. It is also a sad reminder that nothing has been learnt from the era of impunity, which has virtually reduced PDP’s larger-than-life image in the state.
Access to public resources by government officials at the federal and state levels, and the abuse of same by some office holders intensify  competition for political power. The winner takes-all-syndrome in the country’s political system exacerbates exclusion and inequality, while ethnic, religious and regional identity is frequently manipulated by politicians for personal gain. The patronage-system starts with weak democratic norms and processes within political parties. Also, lack of transparency in candidate nomination or party leaders is given approval regardless of votes cast in the primaries.
The fact remains, therefore, that this development has brought to the fore the irritating issues of emasculation of several interest groups caused mainly by the two dominant political parties the APC/PDP, ahead of this year’s elections.
Nigerians are highly sensitive when it comes to the issue of ethnicity, religion and other pressure group interests blocked and hijacked by imposition of candidates by party chieftains. PDP, the ruling party for instance, is the major culprit. The party which has been painting the opposition APC with the brush of a religious (muslim) party has vehemently refused to be sensitive to religious and ethnic balancing in zoning elective offices in its controlled states. How sad!
Edward Wabundani is an Abuja based journalist and can be reached on: Email: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>;