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Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
For the All Progressives Congress (APC), the year 2019 was really a historic and remarkable one that should not be forgotten in any hurry. From the grassroots to the national level, year 2019 was really a combination of the good, the bad and the ugly for the ruling party. It was a year the APC came, saw, won some and lost some too.
It was a year of election fortune and misfortune for the party, a year of unending anxieties and uncertainties over its future, a year of ceaseless and endless attacks and crises, interminable hostile letters demanding the impeachment of the national chairman, and ultimately a year APC perfected its political strategy to win the presidency, and ensure its members control the National Assembly leadership.
Fortunes and misfortunes in the 2019 general elections
In the midst of multiple crises rocking the party, the chieftains and leadership of the APC seem to have concentrated almost all energies on the single mission of making a bold statement to record landmark successes in the 2019 general elections, especially the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari for the second term.
From the conduct of its primaries to select the party candidates, to the potent arsenal it deployed during the conduct of the main elections, it was a display of winner-takes-all attitude. As far as the 2019 general elections were concerned to the APC, “victory is victory” and it did not quite matter whether it is a pyrrhic one.
In its determination never to take chances against the opposition for the elections, APC had adopted the mentality of literally deploying everything to emerge the winner and to let the loser go to court to seek redress.
From the conduct of the primaries to the main elections, the leadership of the APC therefore did not leave anything to chance in their massive deployment of every election victory arsenal. In many instances, internal democracy was sacrificed as anointed aspirants were favoured against the aspiration of opponents.
One of the defining moments of the year 2019 for the ruling APC was the intrigues in resolving the confusion over the suitability of President Buhari as the sole presidential candidate of the party. Apart from the perfectly orchestrated plan adopting him, there were numerous instances of relegation of internal democracy to the background to the detriment of other candidates.
There were also claims and counter claims of deliberate schemes to favour certain anointed aspirants; there were also cases of fraudulent and questionable manipulation of the exercise to favour one aspirant against the other.
The conduct of the APC party primaries in many ways contributed in factionalising the party as many personal interests clashed. Certain cases in point especially were the ones involving the immediate past governors of Imo and Ogun states, Rochas Okorocha and Ibikunle Amosun. The crises did not only lead to their suspension over allegation of anti-party activities but also to the misfortune and fortune for the party.
There were other allegations both at the states and national levels to prove that the party deployed all manner of intimidations in its desperation to consolidate power, shooting itself on the foot in losing some state governorship seats, National and State Assembly tickets especially in Zamfara, Rivers, Oyo, Adamawa, Bauchi and few other states where the ruling party lost gallantly to the opposition.
But generally speaking, year 2019 was a huge electoral success for the APC, judging by its victory in the presidential election, National and State Assemblies polls and even the governorship elections. Ab initio, the party had braved all odds, including the apathy of some Nigerians against President Buhari’s administration across every part of the country, to deliver its mission of re-electing him.
In the consideration of many Nigerians and even some party members, delivering Buhari for reelection was not going to be an easy task. However, to many Buhari loyalists, despite the odds, it was one notable achievement the APC would cherish greatly and must work hard to accomplish.
In the cacophony of the confusion within the ranks and files of the party, it rather came to many as a surprise how the actions and inactions of the party’s national leadership did not result in the total humiliation of the APC at the state and National Assembly, state governorship elections. This is even as political pundits believe that the party is arguably a beneficiary of one of the most violent general elections it supervised.
The APC primaries ostensibly compounded the fragile graveyard peace within the party. There was clear demonstration of obvious lack of internal democracy within the party as connections, survival of the fittest and endless scheming were adequately deployed to ensure that anointed and preferred candidates emerged.
To crown the electoral successes in year 2019, winning the Bayelsa State governorship election was not only a deserving strategic victory considering the status of the state as an oil-producing state but also no mean feat that increased the number of APC states.
In summing APC’s outing in the 2019 general elections, the Director General, Voice of Nigeria, Osita Okechukwu, lamentably described it as a cash and carry exercise. “Some of us felt that the party primaries for the 2019 general elections, were kind of cash and carry. The truth is that Comrade Adams Oshiomhole mismanaged the primaries.
“We contributed billions of Naira during the primaries and if Oshiomhole was not on a mission to financially help his brothers, what he would have done was to mobilise the APC members across the country. He made us lose in some critical states like Bauchi, Adamawa, Zamfara, and Oyo among others. They were grievous loss very difficult to reclaim.
“After the primaries, no matter how rancorous, a good chairman who is not narcissistic, despotic or authoritarian would have known how to calm nerves by assembling respectable people around each precinct to spearhead the reconciliation. The grief and anger lingered too long because such was not done,” the chieftain of the party quipped.
The year was not all lamentations for the party, especially taking into consideration its efforts in enthroning the desired leadership at the National Assembly that will be loyal to the executive arm.
The uncertainty over the future of APC
Right from the alarms raised by the immediate past governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha to many other chieftains of the party, the anxiety over the future of the party beyond 2023 when President Buhari would have served out his second term was apparently palpable.
In fact, nothing would have been more remarkable for the APC in the year under review than the warning from President Buhari during the recent APC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on the ominous danger signal about the future and fortune of the party.
It underscores the fact that there is apprehension and anxiety across the land of what becomes the future of the party, APC after 2023. For the greater part of the year, the ruling party is not only a house divided against itself but also a party on the precipices of disintegration.
Although the signals are boldly written, the crack, which however widened during the last NEC meeting, confirmed that things are seriously falling apart and the centre becoming impossible to hold.
Miffed by the fact that APC has not only become a house divided against itself but also a party on the verge of fragmentation, Buhari had warned members to be conscious of what history will record as their contribution to the party’s progress, emphasising that history will not forgive them if the party crumbles or fails to get a reliable replacement for him beyond his tenure in 2023.
“At the meeting of the Caucus, I made some comments which are still relevant here; the most important thing for me is that every member of NEC should reposition him/herself to ensure that you have dominated your constituencies politically. The aim is that history will not be fair to us outrightly if the APC collapses at the end of this term.
“History will be fair to us if the APC remained strong and not only holds the centre but make gains. People will reflect with nostalgia that once upon a time, the builders of APC made a lot of sacrifices, worked very hard. The sacrifices are physical, material and moral to make sure that we maintain the leadership, politically of this system. This is what we should all aim at and ensure that our constituencies understand and follow us to this great objective. As for our performance during the last series of elections, what happened to APC in Imo, Bauchi, Sokoto, Zamfara states are really unfortunate.
“In your constituencies, I will like you to ensure that you read the Constitution of the party, understand and stick to it. What we did for you at the executive, NWC is bottom to top. You must ensure that people elected to be responsible for polling units to the wards, local governments, states to here are respected in their respective constituencies.
“This is the only way we can make this party survive, this is the only way history will be kind to us that we have led with absolute concern for the country and for the people.
“If for any other reason, you divide the party, at any constituency and it causes failure, then be prepared that history will not recognize you as a leader at any level at any time,” Buhari had warned the NEC members.
Endless crises rocking the party
Considering the spate of crises rocking the ruling party from the grassroots to the national level, it is obvious that the advice from President Buhari was taken with a pinch of salt.
From the national leadership where the centre could no longer hold even among the National Working Committee (NWC) members considering the letter written by the Deputy National chairman, North, Senator Lawal Shaibu, urging Oshiomhole to resign, to the APC Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) pulling the string for Oshiomhole’s downfall, APC is obviously a party on the cross.
In year 2019, the ruling party witnessed more crises than any other year. Apart from Senator Shaibu’s letters calling for Oshiomhole’s resignation, APC’s immediate past National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, several other party chieftains were also at daggers-drawn with Oshiomhole, including the former APC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, who also threw his glove into the ring against Oshiomhole.
From almost every part of the country, the string holding the APC has continued to weaken, climaxing to the sharp division in the Forum of the APC state chairmen, the Edo state crisis of confidence and the shameful incident that forcefully ended the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting even with President Buhari in attendance recently.
In fact, the year will go down as one which the national leadership of the ruling party spent so much resources, productive hours and dissipated much energy in managing crises than strategizing on bringing the democratic dividend to the people that voted for the party.
Lamentably, with the difficulties in replacing the vacant positions at the NWC, like the National Auditor, National Secretary, among others, the face-off between Oshiomhole and the Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki and by extension, the PGF, the interest for the 2023 presidential ticket, the signals and indicators that it might worsen in the year 2020, are very visible.
Hostile letters
In a bid to express discomfort and disappointment over the questionable approaches and what many party chieftains described as highhandedness of the party’s national leadership on many issues, some of the party stalwarts had resorted to writing hostile letters, levelling all manner of allegations, including fraud, ineptitude and incompetence on the leadership. Such letters with strong indictment on the leadership came from the Director General, PGF, Alhaji Salihu Moh Lukman, Senator Shaibu among others. The letters and verbal attacks on the party’s national leadership have been very ferocious enough to disunite the party.
Financial crisis
The financial disposition of the party also constituted some challenges in the year under review. It was so excruciating that the staff at the national secretariat resorted to begging to survive; the drummers that were hitherto a permanent feature at the national secretariat abandoned their position at the entrance gate in search of places with better prospects.
The crises between the national leadership and the governors, the allegations of lack of accountability on the leadership, the lack of interest by the presidency, government appointees and the party members at the National Assembly contributed in compounding the financial situation of the party.
Although Oshiomhole complained formally to President Buhari during NEC meeting, many critics within the party blamed the situation on the prodigal nature of the party leadership, arguing that the funds realised from the aspirants into various positions from the sale of expression of interests forms, totaling over N2 billion, would have been enough to sustain the party.
Summarising the party for the year, the incoming National Secretary of the party, Waziri Bulama, argued that though the party experienced negative media reports, it however deserves commendations in terms of strategic improvements and achievements.
“Sincerely speaking, the APC experienced and is still experiencing bad publicity nationwide. It is true that there have been attacks on the party from within and outside, but looking at things strategically, I am very happy with the achievements and attainment of the party especially this year.
What the APC is today in terms of size, spread, purpose, substance and meaning, no party has been able to achieve that in the history of Nigeria since independence. The APC is today a party that has transformed from regional party to a national party.
“We won the Presidential election with an unprecedented number of votes. Our victory in 2019 is bigger and sweeter that what it was in the 2015 general elections especially when you take into consideration the spread. What it means is that the party has conquered the fault lines like religion, zonal and ethnic.
“Don’t also forget that APC won majority in the National Assembly with also total control of the leadership of both chambers unlike what happened in 2015. All the politicians of significance in every state in the country are now with the APC. The party is comfortably in control of 19 states currently with an additional one by February next year to make it 20.
“No party has ever achieved this spread and size in the history of Nigeria. I am very happy with the situation of the APC in terms of spread, acceptability and mileage. Even the states where there were strong divisions among stakeholders, the gladiators are still strong members of this party,” he argued.
With the governorship elections coming up in Ondo and Edo states, the year 2020 seems to be another critical one for the party especially taking into consideration the magnitude of crises, scheming and shenanigans engulfing the party at both states. The interest for the 2023 presidential election is another time bomb that may consume APC if not managed with maturity and sagacity it deserves.
