The much awaited PDP convention has come and gone, and winners have emerged but the struggle for the soul of the party saw the various geo-political zones lobbying to get the most powerful and lucrative office of the Chairman, again we saw how the North became the invisible umpire and the South left to fight amongst themselves and create more divisions.
The South West arguably the second strongest zone in the politics of Nigeria was betrayed by Governor Ayodele Fayose for his own selfish interest just to pave the way for him to become Vice Presidential Candidate of the party, this is so because he is the only PDP Governor from the South West.
I pity my Brother, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi, he was the most travelled of all the aspirants, he visited every state and every notable member of the PDP and they all assured him, even former President HE. Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR gave him hope, but at end he got only 66 votes, what a shame.
The man that won the position of Chairman, Uche Secondus did not even travel to as many state because he had the support and backing of Governors Nyesom Wike and Ayodele Fayose who now are arguably the new power block of the PDP.
What is now very clear to some of us who sees beyond our nose is that the coast has been cleared for HE. Alh. Atiku Abubakar, GCON to take the Presidential ticket of the PDP and HE. Governor Ayodele Fayose as his running mate.
The greatest losers of this power play again are the South East, who has been promised the position of the Senate President come 2019. I think the South East must wake up from their long slumber and hallucination and now come to the reality that the PDP does not mean well for them.
What this has also shown is that the PDP can never make a South Easterner their Presidential candidate because they know that the South East do not have the votes to guarantee them a win, otherwise the much propagated solidarity allegedly shown to the South East by the PDP should have been demonstrated by zoning either the President or Vice President to the zone, but this is not the case. The PDP as far as we know is only using the South East to get sympathy from Nigerians and will continue to deceive them to believing that the Party loves them, the reverse is always the case, afterall, the new National Chairman is an Igbo man from River State, but truth be told, in the political mapping of Nigeria, River State is South South not South East.
The calculation of Governor Wike and Fayose is that the party must produce a Chairman that will be loyal to Former President HE. Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR who is now the Leader of the Party.
Let me remind the South East that democracy is about majority and they lack the numbers that can pose a threat to any of the other zones, so at every point of political calculation, the South East are less considered. The only way out for the zone is to form formidable and long lasting alliances with the North and the South West.
The chance the South East have now is to support President Muhammadu Buhariโs 2nd term in 2019, so that in 2023 the South East can produce a Presidential candidate with a Northern Vice Presidential candidate, this is the only sure way for the South East to be at the fore front of Nigerians political arrangement.
The time for the South East to start building alliances with the North and South West is now and with the APC.
Written by:
Comrade Abdulwahab Ekekhide
Public Affairs Analyst.
