“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.”
—Martin Luther King, Jr.
By Omoniyi Salaudeen
By deliberate mischief-making or perhaps, want of what to do, the factional Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, plunged the troubling opposition party into uncharted waters on Tuesday.
Nature, they say, abhors idleness. If you fail to do something, something will do you. But for whatever action you take, rightly or wrongly, posterity will judge you. No matter how hard you try to ignore history, history in all its alienating necessities will not forget you. It will judge you and place you where you belong. Sometimes, you can be right but decide to be on the wrong side of history. For the role he’s been playing in the ongoing crisis with the Labour Party, Abure’s place in history is settled.
It is unknown whether the implacable factional chairman had made any significant political adventurism before the 2023 general elections that brought him to national relevance using the Labour Party as a vehicle. However, his seemingly uninspiring leadership disposition, which has made it impossible for the party to get itself out of the doldrums, says it all. Since after the last general elections, he has been acting strangely, behaving like a bull in a China shop.
By Tuesday’s statement announcing the suspension of prominent figures in the party, including the Abia State governor, Alex Otti, and Senator Ireti Kingibe, citing anti-party activities, the Abure-led faction has added another befuddling dimension to the confusing Supreme Court ruling on the prolonged leadership squabbles.
With the latest development, the party’s ability to pull itself back from the brink of collapse appears to be at play once again. In the circumstances, political observers can only sit back and watch the stakeholders navigate the complex issue of authentic leadership.
On one hand, a faction led by Peter Obi and Otti maintains that Nenadi Usman has been recognized as the Labour Party’s national chairperson.
The group recently visited the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters in Abuja, urging the electoral umpire to officially acknowledge Usman as the legitimate chairman. Usman chairs the LP Caretaker Committee, constituted by Peter Obi, Alex Otti, and other elected representatives.
On the other hand, Abure’s faction has continued to dispute the legitimacy of Usman’s leadership. The dispute is further complicated by the ruling of the Supreme Court, which allowed the appeal filed by Usman and dismissed the cross-appeal by Abure’s faction. The judgment has been interpreted differently by both factions. While one side of the divide sees it as reaffirmation of Abure’s position as authentic chairman, the other argues that it invalidates his leadership. With these conflicting interpretations and raging disputes, the exact status of the party’s leadership remains uncertain.
For now, the Labour Party is at a critical juncture in its search for elusive peace. On its Website, INEC currently lists Abure as the National Chairman of the party and Alhaji Umar Farouk Ibrahim as National Secretary. In another breath, the same umpire recently clarified that it had not taken a final decision on the leadership crisis and was still studying the Supreme Court judgment regarding the matter.
In a statement by its spokesperson, Rotimi Oyekanmi, INEC clarified that it had not officially recognized either Julius Abure or Nenadi Usman as the legitimate chairman of the Labour Party despite the listings on its website.
The commission emphasizes that it is carefully reviewing the Supreme Court’s judgment on the leadership tussle and will communicate its decision to the public in due course.
By his decision to beat the gun, while the public awaits proper clarification, Abure has made a bold statement that he has something up his sleeve. Something sinister that can significantly affect the future survival of the Labour Party as a virile opposition.
And it has the potential to sway public support because a party that cannot resolve its internal crisis cannot be trusted with power. Already, its relevance in the new alliance has been perceived with skepticism. At present, the party’s stakeholders have no clear-cut position on whether to be a part of the merger arrangement with PDP and NNPP. This could be partly due to the cautious disposition of its presidential candidate in the last election, Peter Obi, and presumably because of Atiku’s inordinate ambition to run again.
Obi is watching the trend with a calm disposition. Going by his body language, he is very unlikely to join a coalition that benefits Atiku. He would rather prioritize his presidential ambitions than play a second fiddle. This is more so that his supporters believe that he has a strong chance of winning the presidency in 2027 based on his performance in the 2023 elections.
In this scenario, there are plausible reasons to believe the insinuation that Abure’s faction might be working in concert with some interests to thwart Obi’s next presidential ambition.
The purported suspension of key figures in the party further lends credence to this speculation, especially considering the strategic importance of Governor Otti to any critical decision-making process at this crucial time, where there is a growing concern about the gradual drifting of the country towards a one-party state.
Specifically, the rash decision to impose a suspension order on critical stakeholders of the party suggests that the group might be overtly or covertly working for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
In a feeble defence of the action, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, described such claims as “misleading, mischievous, and a calculated attempt to fuel the ongoing leadership crisis,” emphasizing that the party had been critical of the APC government, citing the Labour Party’s significant electoral achievements and its role as a strong opposition party, charging anyone with evidence of collusion to make it open.
What further evidence does anyone need to know that the drama of suspension is a clear indication of a sinister purpose? You cannot build something on nothing. By instigating another round of crisis, the Abure-led faction has cast a shadow of doubt on its sincerity and commitment to achieving the desired peace within the party.
It has severely diminished public confidence and trust in the party to lead the country. For so long as the group continues in this trajectory, the ruling party will continue to bolster. With the current trend, including the wave of defections in the PDP, Nigeria is only a step away from becoming a one-party state.
And posterity will judge Abure for being a part of the process threatening the growth of multiparty democracy that Nigerians desire so much.