ONWUASOANYA FCC JONES
The biting scarcity of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) cannot be denied by any reasonable person. This essential product is scarce across the nation, and where they are found, they are sold at very exorbitant rates. Nigerians are very worried, because the scarcity, hoarding and criminal manipulation in prices of this petroleum products were almost becoming a thing of the past, especially, from the time of Late President Umoru Yaradua. President Goodluck Jonathan also achieved relative success in making sure that these products are available and sold at government approved prices both within and off festive seasons. President Muhammadu Buhari improved on the successes recorded by past administrations, and this is about the first time we are experiencing such frustrating scarcity in the two years and more of this administration.
Commentators across conventional and the New Media have continued to raise questions as to why some known APC activists have kept quiet over this disturbing scarcity, even though they were the same people who carried it on their heads to ensure that protests were carried to the doors of the Federal government when PDP held sway and there was any kind of scarcity or attempt to raise the prizes of petroleum products. The truth is that most of these activists are either card carrying members of the APC or sympathizers of the APC. Some of them got reasonable patronage from APC politicians and were sure of the protection of the APC politicians if they got into trouble, opposing the government of the day. Today, their Party is in power, the job of opposing, protesting and even scandalizing the ruling Party is naturally transferred to the opposition Parties, especially, the PDP. Unfortunately, PDP and its leaders have failed both as a ruling Party and an opposition Party.
The APC showed that it understood what it meant to be an opposition Party. Their prolific opposition activities and support to formidable activism against the then ruling Party, the PDP, went a long way in making that Party succeed in areas where they did. Had the APC played the kind of weak, confused and selfish opposition politics being played by the PDP at present, Nigeria would have long become history, as the greedy and thieving lots who held sway for sixteen years would have simply put Nigeria up for sale and sold it off for a penny.
Opposition all over the world thrives on civil society support. Civil society support does not also come free. It is paid for and commitments are extracted from the Parties to ensure guarantee the interests of these civil societies. PDP and its leaders are the most selfish, greedy and I daresay useless bunch of politicians any country can have. Its leaders prefer to hide their loots inside forests and other places where they will be useless to the people than bringing out these loots to fund effective and aggressive opposition that will be favorable to the ordinary people of Nigeria.
One of the major reasons why the PDP cannot function effectively as an opposition Party is because majority of its leaders have breathing skeletons hidden in their cupboards. They parade some classical public thieves and schizophrenic underhand dealers, who ripped Nigeria apart wherever they were in charge in the heydays of the PDP. They will prefer to strike a deal with the APC to safeguard their loots, as much as possible instead of coming out to fight and stand the risk of having their files opened by anti-graft agencies. An opposition Party that cannot bite is simply a gang of criminals bargaining with the interest of the people to remain comfortable. Oh yes, every government has its failings, every government compromises, but it takes a patriotic opposition to kick that government in the ass and get it to sit up and work for the people.
The APC could organize the OCCUPY NIGERIA protests, Save Nigeria Group and other highly successful protests against the incompetence and controversies of the PDP because they valued the importance of the people in the business of getting political power. For the PDP, the people do not matter.
It is unfortunate that the only thing the PDP understands about opposition is electioneering campaigns. They only come out to talk about how they will form the next central government and take over States governed by the APC without as much thought as to how to fight for the people. The people are the major drivers of the opposition, but the people cannot align with a political group that has looked the other way, while they suffer.
The APC has done its beat well as an opposition Party, and today, it is in power. There are many distractions in power, and it can only take a vibrant opposition to keep it on its toes, in order to meet the yearnings of the people. Power corrupts, but a vibrant opposition reduces the power of the ruling class, so that it does not gain absolute power and gets corrupted, absolutely.
MAY NIGERIA PREVAIL!
