cacophony

The Cacophony Of Sentiments

The Cacophony Of Sentiments: It is a pity that this country throws up chalatan and idiots as its leaders. When a person who lacks credibility start to run from one party to the other because he wants to become the president, the outcome of such presidency is easy to imagine.

The Cacophony Of Sentiments:

People’s Democratic Party is no doubt one of the most difficult decisions he has ever faced. And predictably, his decision to rejoin his original political family of choice (PDP) has evoked outrage and disbelief among many Nigerians, including of course some of our newspaper columnists. Such sentiments are understandable in the context of what the former Vice President went through politically, especially following his open confrontation with his former boss, General Olusegun Obasanjo.

He was loyal to a fault to the former President until the Third Term Agenda controversy tore them apart. The fact that the tenure extension was widely unpopular its collapse was just a matter of time. On May 16th 2006, the attempt to change the Constitution to extend Obasanjo’s tenure kissed the dust and the former President never forgave Atiku for joining the national opposition to the third term project.

As part of the strategy to achieve a third term ambition, former President Obasanjo moved so fast to destroy all the sources of Atiku’s political strength and influence. Elected officialsof the People’s Democratic Party, including the National Chairman were removed arbitrarily by Obasanjo and installed his ‘yes’ men as new leaders.  The former president carried out the policy of re-validation of party membership cards and de-registration of Atiku’s followers throughout the country, including his home state of Adamawa.

With Atiku and his followers deliberately frustrated and ostracized, they were constructively expelled from the party against their will. Since Obasanjo could not get a third term, despite installing Col. Ahmadu Ali (retd) as the  People’s Democratic Party National Chairman who officially endorsed tenure extension, his next game plan was to ensure Atiku did not get the party’s presidential ticket.

Despite the frustration of de-registration, Atiku still remained in the party. But it was clear the new leadership imposed by Obasanjo did not want Atiku as its presidential candidate because of his hostility to the third term game plan. As expected, the party revealed its cover and finally suspended Atiku for three months, though the party’s constitution allows for one month suspension. Despite a court order that the suspension breached the party’s constitution, Obasanjo’s men still went ahead to follow up the suspension with outright expulsion.

Thoroughly frustrated and with his options unmercifully limited, because the 2007 presidential election was fast approaching, Atiku Abubakar reluctantly left the  People’s Democratic Party and embraced the Action Congress (AC). He became its presidential candidate in the face of all hurdles from INEC, EFCC and Obasanjo’s men. Given his belated entry into the race and obstacles raised against him, the fact that he participated in the election at all was a miracle!

Atiku Abubakar was a founding member of the  People’s Democratic Party and he remains sentimentally attached to the party. Despite his reluctant exit, the party remains close to his heart and mind because nobody would want to destroy what he contributed to build. He enjoys tremendous goodwill from party leaders, despite the fact many of them kept a discreet distance from him to avoid Obasanjo’s anger or EFCC’s blackmail.

It is an indisputable fact that Atiku is a mainstream politician who does not want to be a peripheral player. All the existing opposition parties have failed to rise to the challenges of mainstream national politics. Despite all the criticisms against the People’s Democratic Party, no sincere person would deny that it is more firmly and widely established across the country than the opposition parties.

No one should uncharitably blame Atiku for his pragmatic approach to the current realities of Nigerian politics.If Atiku is sentimentally attached to the PDP, that is largely because he was partof the effort to build the party into a formidable political force. He did not seek to destroy the  People’s Democratic Party in the first place; he was instead, forced to leave because the then new PDP was structured in Obasanjo’s image. Regardless of his best efforts to remain a loyal party man, the PDP was packed with Obasanjo’s men and their undisguised mission was to force Atiku outof the party. Deliberate obstacles were created to ensure he was ultimately expelled from the party because he refused to support the party’s official policy of endorsing the third term agenda.

Atiku’s reluctant exit from the party in the first place must be understood within the context of this grim scenario. The deliberate policy of exclusion and discrimination against Atiku and his supporters was such that he must quit to pursue his ambition elsewhere, despite the limited time available to him. The PDP was personalized by Obasanjo and his private vengeance against the former Vice President becamethe party’s official policy.

Humiliated and discriminated against, Atiku was politically at the end of the tether within the People’s Democratic Party. Should we sincerely ignore these cruel realities in understanding the circumstances that forced Atiku to leave? Should a man confronted with this unpleasant choice be honestly accused of lacking consistency and principle? Given the energy and resources he devoted to the birth and growthof the PDP, should Atiku be blamed if he rationally comes to the conclusion that he must return to the fold?

The deliberate destruction of internal democracy by Obasanjo’s PDP forced Atiku out of the party. But now that the PDP has been involved in national reconciliation and the re-union of former members, no fair-minded person should blame Atiku if he chooses to re-join a family of which he was a prominent member. Politics is not rigid science in which you stick to the so-called consistency for its own sake! No matter the distance a bird travels, it may eventually return to its nest, which is its natural habitat.

If we take a ringside view of politics, we may overlook the complex realities that usually force leaders to re-assess their positions on issues. Despite his exit from the PDP, Atiku enjoys tremendous sympathy among many party leaders who regretted the circumstances of his reluctant exit. These party leaders were helpless becauseof the personalization and regimentation of the party under former President Obasanjo. But these circumstances have changed ever since and if Atiku returns to the PDP, it should not cause much brouhaha because it is close to his heart. He did not leave the PDP because he was opposed to the party per se; he did because the party’s original democratic face was contorted and freedom of choice eviscerated, to achieve personal objective. And since the PDP no longer belongs to a single individual, the man is simply following his conviction