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Confusion is one of the deadliest weapons to destabilise an institution or organisation. It operates on the principle of judoka martial arts, using the strength of the enemy against him. Whenever a person or organisation succeeds in creating confusion in the camp of the opponent or enemy, he or it simply sits by and watches with enthusiasm the destruction of the opponents by themselves, while coasting home to victory. Even God employs this strategy to deal with His enemies and the enemies of His children. Jehoshaphat was a King in Israel. Once upon a time, three countries of Moab, Ammon and Edom came to war against Israel, under the leadership of Jehoshaphat, their King. The Israelite King was sore afraid of these countries and cried out to God for help. God intervened and put confusion in the midst of those invaders which resulted in their turning against each other and eventually killing one another. Israel, without a fight, smiled home to victory.
Specifically, 2 Chronicles verses 1, 3, 22 – 23, put it succinctly. “It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. Confusion is one unclean spirit every sensible person or organisation should avoid.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) is a party formed on the basis of upholding the tenets of democracy, both internal and inter-party democracy. The transparent primary elections that preceded the 2015 general elections helped in no small measure to obtain victory for APC, just as the confusion in the then People’s Democratic Party (PDP) helped them lose the elections. PDP fought against each other and lost. Whoever was called by APC to make sacrifice for the sake of electoral victory of APC made the required sacrifice. Bisi Akande was the first interim National Chairman of APC. He handed over peacefully to John Oyegun. John Oyegun reluctantly handed over to Adams Oshiomhole, after the attempt to illegally extend his tenure, beyond the four-year tenure, by one year, to enable him organise the 2019 primary elections failed. Adams Oshiomhole, after about two years in office, was chequered with intractable legal and political crises that led to his doubly sacked by both the courts and APC. He did one last honourable thing to save the party from further degeneration and ridicule. He accepted his fate in good faith and according to him, “sat on his right” to ensure that the party survives. The National Executive Committee of the party, led by President Buhari, appointed the Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) led by a sitting Governor of Yobe, Mai Mala Buni, to conduct a National Convention within six months and handover to an elected National Working Committee officers of the Party.
Ordinarily, it is illegal for any sitting Governor to double as the National Chairman of a political party because State Chief Executives are precluded from holding any other executive or paid employment job during the pendency of their tenure. But in the light of the appointment of Mai Mala Buni to organise Convention within six months, we felt that his appointment was legal to the extent that he organises the Convention and returns to Damaturu in continuation of the administration of Yobe State. Early signs that APC has entered one chance emerged when Mai Mala Buni dissolved all the state elected officials of the party for no known reasons. When the illegality of his actions were made known to him, he hurriedly reversed himself and illegally converted them to state caretaker committees. This singular action brought internal democracy in APC to a rude halt. But more importantly, it showcased the mind of a man who is not in a haste to leave. When he refused to conduct Convention within six months and refused to vacate office having failed, but rather asked for extension for another six months, we knew that APC was in trouble.
For the avoidance of doubt, His Excellency, Badaru, of Jigawa State was given two weeks to organise a National Convention in APC and he clinically organised the best National Convention so far in APC. I was an eye witness to the manner this indefatigable personality worked for the Convention and how, despite the scepticism of many people about the possibility of pulling off a Convention within two weeks, he did it and did it well. When a man is given six months to do the same thing and he fails, wouldn’t it be fair game to endorse his regime in the light of Akeredolu’s outburst of “yahoo yahoo” Governors?
APC had a golden opportunity to compel Mai Mala Buni to step aside after the Supreme Court narrowly annulled the gubernatorial election of Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State on the premise that Mai Mala Buni signed his nomination form and was unqualified to so do by Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution, being a sitting Governor. This column, in the August 8th edition titled, “APC JOURNEY TO PERDITION” noted thus, “Democracy ensures rule of law not individuals. The cardinal question is really not whether his (Buni’s) actions may come to nought or not but whether a ruling party should subject its destiny to uncertainties when it has a lot of alternatives. What if APC takes the risk of allowing the CECPC to perform the functions of a governing organ under the leadership of a serving governor only to find out that his actions were null and void after all its primaries, meaning that the Zamfara fate will befall the entire party. Isn’t this going into perdition? I even shudder at the prospects”. Today, it seems the President agrees with us on the party’s situation going by his letter to the party. Listen to the President, “No doubt, these controversies and uncertainties, as enumerated above, pose a real threat to the party; and may lead to a possible non-recognition of its activities, elections and the probable invalidation of all its other actions by INEC. This may ultimately even lead its implosion and non-existence”. The President, by the tone of the letter, accepted the March 26th “yahoo yahoo” convention in order to save the party from collapse. It is unfortunate that these same Governors who are running helter-skelter today continued to throw their weight behind Mai Mala Buni in his journey to no where. He asked for second term and the abominable third term, they supported him. The Youths kicked and Legal experts warned, they supported him. The whole idea was for the CECPC to organise the party primary elections and install their preferred candidates or themselves into the executive positions of their choice come 2023 from the Presidency down to the state level.
Buni, having exhausted his tricks, promised the Governors and the President to conduct the National Convention on many occasions and failed. Their eyes started opening gradually. February 26th was sacrosanct, even by the words of Mr President. It came to pass, nothing happened. It became March 26th. There was already a hidden court injunction stopping APC from organising any Convention except the case was determined. The CECPC was officially aware and did nothing, indeed, according to El-Rufai, they supported it. The President and the Governors have been conned. They entered one chance, with yahoo yahoo occupants driven by Buni. They came together and threw Buni away in order to secure the March 26th “sacrosanct” day of the Convention. El- Rufai announced it that Governor Sani Bello has taken over with the endorsement of Mr President. CECPC National Secretary, Akpanudoedehe, was to be sanctioned. Yahoo yahoo boys don’t give up easily? They fought back. They understand how exactly to corner the President. They remembered that when President Buhari initially supported the extension of John Oyegun’s tenure in good faith, he was made to understand the constitutional implications of allowing the extension. He back-pedalled. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had given them the arsenal of non-recognition of the leadership of APC under Sani Bello. The President was confronted with the choice of allowing Buni to continue or risk the Party going into perdition. He acquiesced. Buni should continue to save the party. It is unfortunate. Nobody reminded the President that the courts can still set aside the convention because Buni’s tenure has expired by effluxion of time and has not been renewed by NEC. The President has no power by law to single handedly renew the tenure of Buni.
How are the mighty fallen! A look at the gradual liquidation of APC suggests that every succeeding National Chairman of APC proved worse than his predecessor. Oshiomhole is better than Buni because when Oshiomhole was sacked by the NEC of APC he accepted it in good faith. When Buni was sacked by the President, he blackmailed the party into submission. The NEC meeting that was scheduled to take place on Thursday, 17th March, 2022 has been aborted because the yahoo Governors succeeded. Why couldn’t Buni resign for the interest of the party? This automatically would have solved these problems and saved the President from the unfortunate situation of eating back his words. Power grabbers don’t care about the embarrassment they pose to others. They want power and want it more abundantly. Unfortunately, APC has come to a cross road and only prayers can save it. The yahoo yahoo Governors have compelled the President to govern the Party with military style decrees, unknown to the Constitution or any other law, and this portends great danger to the party. Listen to the President in his letter, “In view of the foregoing, therefore, I would like now to direct as follows”. Party administration decries the word “I”, it always prefers the word “we”.
As we observed in the August 8th edition, “When a person is on the road to perdition, it simply alludes to the fact that the person’s behaviour is likely to lead the person to failure and punishment. When a person is still on his way to perdition, he may be rescued, but once he reaches the height of being a Son of perdition, his destruction becomes inevitable, because he has lost his soul to Satan”. Before APC loses its soul to Satan in perdition, let it rethink its ways and pray to God to deliver it. As it stands now, only God can save the Party.
