Are we heading to a one-party state?

So, it seems. If the deep-seated acrimony in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the public hurling of bricks among its top-notchers is anything to go by. I have had one or two occasions on this page in the recent past to call attention to the rancour that had besotted the PDP in the aftermath of their presidential primary election. Then the main issue was the tantrums exhibited by Governor Wike of Rivers State who felt bitter for losing both the presidential primaries and the vice-presidential ticket nomination as well. Weeks after, the issue is the same. And now matters have gotten worse by the day, posing an immediate danger to derail their presidential campaign and probably fatally wound the party.

But looking across to the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s camp, there is calm pervading the atmosphere. This is despite the equally rancorous debacle they experienced, particularly over the issue of the same faith ticket that trailed the presidential primary election and the naming of its vice-president nominee. The unending fight in the PDP must be debilitating to the psyche of the party faithful. And it should be of concern to all democrats because it is the only party of worth, with the broad national spread and pedigree, that could give the voters an alternative to the ruling APC.

At present, the PDP controls about one-third of the Government Houses in the country as well as about the same proportion of seats in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. None of the other parties has demonstrated the capacity to match even this lowly representation of PDP in comparison to the behemoth APC. Now, if this quarrel goes on and proves fatal, the party will be whittled down to nothing. The country would then head willy-nilly to one-party domination with all the attendant consequences to democratic plurality.

In any case, many saw this coming when Governor Wike was studiedly ignored in the giddy days following the primaries and he disappeared overseas to sulk in the privacy of his hotel room. The fact is that Governor Wike knows his worth to the party and his capacity to be a spoiler when the need arises. He is disgruntled and is spoiling for a fight. He has the necessary arsenal in his war chest, which is admittedly vast and intimidating. For the past seven or so years he has been atop, arguably, the richest state treasury in the country and if you add that to the cauldron of the voting power of the state that could compare to the highest voting states of Kano, Lagos, and Kaduna, you have a stewing brew that could be quite intoxicating. Besides, Wike has been known to be generous to party faithful across the country over the years, giving support to many going for elections, in their hours of dire need. Through that, he has gathered a group of acolytes who are indebted to him. He is, also, manifestly in control of the party structure in much of the entire southern states as well as in the north-central. Quite clearly, many governors are passionately aligned with him.

It has been reported that many meetings have been held to find the solution to the Wike problem, to no avail. At every turn, the Governor Wike group would turn up with a flurry of demands that would send the party leadership to days of inconclusive retrospection. One of their final demands was to ask for the readjustment of the party leadership to reflect federal character. Presently, all three top positions in the party are held by northerners; Walid Jibrin is the chairman board of trustees, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, the chairman of the party, and Atiku Abubakar, the party’s flag bearer. The Wike group’s minimal demand is the replacement of the party chairman, Ayu, with a southerner.

The difficulty with this demand is that Ayu was elected, albeit by affirmation, for a term of office and from his body language, is not in the mood to resign. From my perspective, the demands from Governor Wike’s group have been rather churlish as they were profoundly inconsiderate. Which party would consider replacing the chairman of the party on the eve of the campaigns?

No doubt, Governor Wike has become the party’s proverbial kadangaren bakin tulu, the lizard basking on the earthen pot. Throwing a stone at it would scare away the lizard but it might also destroy the pot and spill the content. It is less than four weeks from the start of the campaigns. The PDP would have to conjure a solution fast or they will be goners.

The Shuwa Arabs in Borno

In my last week’s piece on Mohammed Adam’s book titled above, I listed some of the Shuwa Arabs that shone on the national horizon. Mention was made of Air Marshal Al-Amin Daggash, Commandant of the Nigerian Defence Academy, but missed out to add that he was later the Chief of Defence Staff from 1998-99. Also, from the same stock is Senator Sanusi Daggash, who served both the administration of Presidents Yar’adua and Jonathan as minister. There is also Baba Ahmad Jidda, Nigeria’s Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China and many times Secretary to Borno State Government. Also, the serving Borno State SSG, Jidda Shuwa served in the State House as Principal Secretary to the President from 1997-98.