“Ethics and equity and the principles of justice do not change with the calendar.”
—D. H. Lawrence
By Omoniyi Salaudeen
The ongoing tirade between the former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bode George, and the party’s presidential candidate in the last general elections, Atiku Abubakar, has been quite engaging and entertaining.
Lately, George has developed a penchant for scathing criticism of virtually everything in the polity. For so doing, he has been very conspicuous in the public space, always in the media to ventilate his caustic comments.
In his latest outburst, George unequivocally told Atiku to bury his overt or covert ambition to contest the next presidential election on the platform of the PDP.
To be sure, Nigeria is just barely a year into the tenure of the present administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. All things being equal, political players have three more years to prepare for the next round of elections scheduled for 2027. This is still quite a distance into the future. As a British statesman, Joseph Chamberlain, rightly quipped: “In politics, there is no use looking beyond the next fortnight.”
By sublime irony, however, George recently beat the gun, pontificating what was right or wrong about the last presidential election and why Akiku should quit the stage to give the PDP a new lease of life.
He blamed everything that went wrong in the party on the willful violation of the rotational arrangement enshrined in the party’s constitution. Coincidentally, the two oldies are both founding members of the party and they knew the internal dynamics that informed the inclusion of the power shift clause in its constitution.
By engaging in a blame game, technically they are already serving the public with what would be the issue in the next general election.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, George said that since former President Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner from Katsina State, had just left office after ruling for eight years, power at the federal level could not go to the North in 2027 because “that is the reality of our country and our party’s constitution”.
Citing Section 7, Sub-section 3 (C) of the PDP Constitution, he stated that zoning and rotation must be maintained for justice, fairness and equity.
His words: “The principles explicitly stipulate that, at the end of every eight years, all elective and party offices should change from the northern divide to the southern divide and vice versa.
“As loyal party members, we must continue to respect the PDP Constitution. Fair is fair. I joined the PDP in 1998 and I have remained in this party since.
“That is the position which I will continue to champion till thy kingdom come!
“In our party, this is the right and logical thing to do in the present political circumstances.”
He, therefore, urged Atiku to emulate the President of the United States of America, Joe Bidden, and take an hnourable bow out of the presidential race, adding: “That is the hallmark of a statesman. Alhaji Abubakar Atiku should do same so that in 2027, PDP will field a southerner as a presidential candidate.”
For quite a while, the health of the PDP as an opposition party has greatly nosedived. Part of the dilemma the party has had to contend with since its defeat by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last general elections is how to heal the wounds of the past.
In a move to reunite all aggrieved supporters, on August 8, a 25-member National Reconciliation Committee headed by former Osun State governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, was constituted to look into the issues of concern to move the party forward.
The initiative followed the meeting of the National Working Committee of the party consequent to the approval of the National Executive Committee (NEC) constitution.
According to its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, the inauguration of the committee will take place at a later date.
To achieve the elusive peace in the party, the committee has an uphill task ahead. First, there is the challenge of striking a delicate balance between the pro and Atiku supporters. By insisting on a southern candidate in 2027, George was merely speaking the minds of those who feel strongly about the seeming desperation Atiku has brought into his presidential ambition.
Past and present, he remains the single serial hardy perennial contender even known to history in Nigeria. He has been around the political arena fighting tooth and nail to become the President since the era of the defunct Third Republic. For the sixth time, he lost the 2023 election to the candidate of the APC-Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Most intriguingly, at every turn of the elections, he dumps and rejoins the PDP at will, making him look like a political prostitute. A lot of party supporters are not at home with his perceived infidelity.
George re-echoed the sentiment in his tirade of words, saying: “I have not defected to any other party. While I was in Wadata Plaza, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was in the Villa as Vice President. So, we know ourselves and the two of us know the principles guiding this party.
“We should not do anything that will destroy our party and the country. In 2027, the concept of Turn-by-turn Nigeria Limited must be strictly followed by our party.”
On the other hand, the declaration that a Southerner must be in power till 2031 has already cast a shadow of doubt on George’s intention to raise the red flag against Atiku’s ambition. As a Yoruba man and Tinubu from the Southwest as the President, it is like putting the cart before the horse. He has wittingly or wittingly raised suspicions about the motive for his scathing criticisms.
A statement issued by Atiku’s media adviser, Paul Ibe, described George as a tribal bigot. It reads in part: “In contrast, we see Bode George, who once threatened exile, should Tinubu ascend to power, now oddly silent about the present administration. Is Bode’s reticence because Atiku is not from his region? It is prudent to consider Bode’s opinions with caution.
“Furthermore, Bode’s conduct is a disservice to the military, an institution esteemed for its unity. Here is a Commodore who, paradoxically, embraces tribalism and undermines the very principles of the military. It is a source of shame for the armed forces to have such a figure in their ranks.”
These are snippets of what to expect as the country progresses toward the 2027 general elections. With or without his involvement in the next presidential race, Atiku remains a formidable force that cannot be easily dispensed off if the PDP is desirous of enduring peace and stability.
It doesn’t matter how many times he has contested, it is still within his constitutional rights to take as many shots as possible at the exalted position. It is the exclusive right of the electorate to decide on what is best for the country.
For George, events ahead will be a litmus test for his toga of a detribalized Nigerian and an elder statesman. In politics, there is nothing under the sun that cannot happen.