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 Published
January 24th, 2011
It did not come as a surprise that the presidential primaries of the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) attracted so much attention
across the country. As the ruling party, this was normal.
However, the decision by former vice president Atiku
Abubakar not to accept the wishes of party delegates at the
special convention that held at the Eagle Square in Abuja on
the 13th of January, 2011 has only helped to turn some minds
into arid fields. Democracy will for sure not geminate in
such minds. This is a big minus for a nation that is in a
hurry to reap the many benefits of democracy. What is
perhaps even more worrisome is the fact that who are
supposed to promote the culture of democracy are the same
people assembling wood to prepare its coffin.
By all standards, democracy thrives on the wishes of the
majority. In the case of the 2011 presidential elections,
the PDP family openly and overwhelmingly picked President
Goodluck Jonathan as its flag bearer. The delegates, for
sure have their various reasons for this choice. Following
the announcement of the results, many Nigerians; some of
whom were strongly opposed to Jonathan’s candidature did
congratulate the winner. This is a true example of the fair
spirit of democracy. Everybody cannot win.
It would be recalled that Atiku Abubakar hurriedly left the PDP in 2007
when his presidential ambition could not see the light of
the day owing to some personal problems he had with his
boss- Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. He did not even come out
second behind Yar’Adua. This was enough to warn him of what
Nigerians think about him. Not minding all the insults he
heaped on the party, Atiku Abubakar returned to his own
vomit- the PDP in 2010 so as to enable him have a shot at
the presidency once more. He again failed. This time around,
the message was very clear: no more business as usual! The
days have gone when people held onto shallow and narrow
ideologies to dislodge voters. It was for this simple reason
that PDP delegates drowned religion and ethnicity in the
pool of national unity. The choice of northern voters have
clearly shown that the idea of a consensus aspirant for the
North only exist in the heart of a few political elites from
the region.
There is no doubt that Atiku Abubakar was very popular
during the last days of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo
administration. This popularity was merely tied to his
opposition of the third term ambition of Obasanjo- nothing
more. Unfortunately, many did not know this. Even the few
that are aware of it refused to tell him the truth just to
make the cheap rain continue “falling” into their deep
pockets. You can trust some politrickcians!
While not completely ignoring the said zoning arrangement of
the PDP, one is forced to opine that it was the selfish
decision by the nation’s major tribes not to give enough
political space to the minorities in the past that gave rise
to strong calls for sharing of political power among the six
geo-political units. Ordinarily, this is not necessary. It
is believed that the president must have to come from a
particular geo-political zone for it to attract human and
infrastructural development. The issue of zoning is
undemocratic. To kill it, our present crop of political
leaders must ensure that development is spread evenly among
the six geo-political units.
More than that, it was wrong for the PDP to have promoted an
idea or agreement that was in collision with the laws of the
land. Clearly, the constitution of the federal republic of
Nigeria is very explicit about whom and what qualifies one
to contest the Nigerian presidency. It only shows how weak
our constitution is. Efforts should be made to force all
political parties to amend their various constitutions to
fall in line with laws of the federation. It is very
cheering that Nigerians have chosen national unity far above
parochial sentiments.
Kali Gwegwe
2, Greenvilla-Customs Link Road
Biogbolo-Epie
Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
0806 407 4810
http://kali-gwegwe.blogspot.com
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