The Stark Truth for G7 Governors By Tahir Talba
For most Nigerians and definitely for all political observers, the formation of APC has been a major landmark in our political history and clamour for change; even more outstanding is the revolt and resolution by the G7 state governors to break away as the new PDP. We have never witnessed such a monumental crack where sitting governors of the ruling party broke away as a faction or perhaps even as a new party, defying the party and the Presidency. It reeks of courage and audacity and can only serve as the much needed elixir to bring about change in the struggle for the reconstruction and rebuilding of Nigeria.
Not necessarily just going up against the presidency and trying to bring an end to a fruitless run of its five-year tenure, but underlining the undemocratic tendencies and practices of the ruling party and its leadership has been the main score of the G7 governors’ arguments which surprisingly have not been answered and clarified by the PDP leadership. The dissent expressed by the G7 is also amplified by elders of the party in the likes of previous heads of state such as former President Olusegun Obasanjo, which consolidates the authenticity of their claims. The party’s performance in the last 14 years has been abysmal and Nigeria has continued to crumble under the weight of corruption and waste. The dictatorial modus operandi of the leadership of the PDP compounds the PDP’s problem and hardly does it give any room for improvement or fresh ideas for any common good.
Most Nigerians are jubilant and amused by the G7 break-away and that feeds enthusiasm into the vessels of the opposition as the ruling party is somewhat dissolving into a discordant and rudderless craft. The travails of Governor Rotimi Amaechi speaks volumes of the way this government handles its affairs and it is clear that the same fate will be meted out on any governor who dares to act or speak in any manner found to be contrary to the government’s position on matters. Amaechi has so far weathered the storm and has perhaps waxed stronger in his struggle against the federal government, cornering public sympathy. Should he get additional one or two governors from the South-south to join his bandwagon and G7 fray, it will be a very big gash in the PDP’s strength in the region.
When the G7 governors, along with a large number of PDP officials and lawmakers in the National Assembly, staged a walkout from the party’s convention and declared a war against the party’s leadership, the party was left flabbergasted and short of words. The breakaway governors should know that the party was going to come after them with an endless war of attrition that would stop at nothing to rubbish them and make them powerless, motionless even. The G7 move was definitely going to provoke ire too venomous to imagine. Once they publicly defied the party, they had lit the embers of war and PDP was sure to come after them with a vengeance.
Of note is the clampdown on the activities of the G7 as they face police intimidation and hostilities from the FCT Administration. These do not serve as incentives to goarding them back into the PDP, but more like invectives to the faces of the aggrieved governors. Committees of reconciliation and other peace talks are going to be kangaroo committees that will merely study the G7 and find more ways to clip their egos and bruise their courage. A reconciliation is far- fetched and hard to imagine.The G7 are left with the ideas that fed their walk-out in the first instance. The courage and resolution they mustered must have come from somewhere, somewhere inspiring enough to advise such a move. They are left with the option to solemnly declare that they are in this till the finish. It is going to be tedious, they should ask Amaechi. The security apparatchiks will hound them and government will come after them from all directions with all of its agencies that can give a good and loyal fight. This is certain, especially with the overzealous actions we have seen from some officials.
Again, the best option and ready succor for the G7 is the formidable and beckoning arm of the APC. To start with, they share a common cause and the reformist agenda that the G7 are brandishing can be better housed in the APC. There are at least 11 governors in the APC structure and they can serve as morale boosters and consolidation for the G7 who boast of having more than seven in their fold. A marriage of the APC with the G7 plus would even be a much bigger and potent congress that will definitely end PDP’s run.The tricky and dicey affair will be how to align and merge the G7 structures with the APC’s, but if there is a will, then there is a way and concessions must be made by both sides. A harmonisation of affairs, offices and activities is attainable in as much as they share that common objective and are focused enough to accommodate the give and take solution. Underlining the imperative of this marriage, it is relevant to remind the G7 that the PDP will never trust them even if they remain in the PDP and will always be taking actions to safeguard their own interest while countering all the moves of the G7 in their respective states. It will be frustrating and humiliating and their structures will be wiped out and replaced without any second thought.
Having come this far, Nigerians are optimistic and prayerful that the G7 struggle continues. The struggle started, among others, with the rifts over the federation account and how it is being managed and the public is aware of the implications of such anomalies to continue unfettered. A fusion of the G7 and the APC is definitely an explosion of the PDP.
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