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Nigeria’s opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is laying in ruins from its just concluded primaries into various elective positions. A political party that was described as the largest in Africa when it ruled Nigeria for 16 years between 1999 and 2015 and later as the leading opposition in the last seven years may be heading towards oblivion as a result of worsening rot in the bowels of the leadership at its Wadata Plaza headquarters in Abuja. Acting in cahoots with the powerful governors, party leaders that are low on integrity and fidelity to the rules of their own party have reduced the internal democratic processes of the PDP to a criminal enterprise of power purchase by the highest bidders for self-service. The hawks have killed democracy in PDP, and with the vultures already hovering over the carcass of the dying party, now is the time for the eagle to fly away. And that eagle is Senator Ike Ekweremadu.
A lawyer, statesman, politician and one of Nigeria’s most iconic legislators of the Fourth Republic, Ekweremadu, who has been described as the father of Nigeria’s constitutionalism, was one of the leading lights of the PDP that have fallen casualty to the buccaneers in the party. In his bid to answer the call of his people of Enugu State to serve them as governor, Ekweremadu was harassed, humiliated and scorned by a party he served loyally and faithfully, especially in the last seven years the PDP has been in opposition. The most painful part of the whole saga was the unleashing of violence against his supports, which caused harm to their lives and properties, by forces that were against his ambition to serve the entire in the good way he has served his Enugu West district since 2003. These forces enjoy the full backing of the top PDP leadership in Wadata Plaza.
To the leaders in Wadata Plaza, it did not matter to them that it was Ekweremadu, who, as Deputy Senate President between 2015 and 2019, began the process of rebuilding a thoroughly diminished PDP after its loss of presidential power. At a great risk to his personal safety, political and economic interest, Ekweremadu, as the highest political office holder in the party, provided leadership and direction to the PDP when it was almost consumed by the excessive triumphalism of the wave of the All Progressives Comgress (APC). In the aftermath of PDP’s loss, many of its leading members moved out into the ruling APC to avoid persecution and make personal gains but Ekweremadu stood firm in opposition. Despite the many offers from the ruling party, Ekweremadu maintained a principled stand as a dedicated partyman and resisted the temptation to take the easy way out. And in choosing the difficult way, in the interest of the PDP, Ekweremadu not only remained in the party but worked towards bringing back members of the ruling party into the opposition. One of them was former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
The PDP governors have arrogated to themselves and not the people the responsibility of selecting their successors. In the case of Enugu State, the governor, who is from the northern part, has decreed that his successor must come from eastern flank, a permutation that automatically shuts out Ekweremadu who is from the western part of the state. According to the powers that be in the state, the rotation of the governorship of Enugu among the three senatorial districts is cast in iron even after all three parts would have occupied the office by 2023.
Without doubt, the principles of rotation and zoning of political leadership of any geographic entity are essential for inclusion, justice and fairness as well as unity and peace of its various peoples. However, the principle of ration was never intended to be a permanent feature in the election of political leadership. Rather, it is a trust and confidence-building measure that allows each component part to demonstrate inclusive leadership by not elevating their own section over others. It is also expected that, while its lasts, the principles of rotation and zoning would have advanced the cause of integration by cementing the bond of the constituent peoples concerned. By 2023, this would have been the case of Enugu State after 24 years of power rotation among the three districts of the state. And this is especially so when Enugu is largely a mono-ethnic and mono-religious state, where a common language is spoken by all.
By its very nature, identity politics in whatever form has its drawbacks. It is principally an enabler of indolence, corruption and underdevelopment; and these drawbacks appear to have stagnated the integrated development of Enugu State in the last couple of years. And for many Enugu people, particularly the younger generation, the system is no longer working for the state. Indeed, for a mono-ethnic state like Enugu, there should be a limit to identity politics, hence the clamour for a paradigm shift in the political leadership of the state.
Considering his progressive kind of politics, quality representation and the unprecedented level of infrastructural and human development he has attracted to his senatorial district, Ekweremadu seems to be inspiring a political renaissance in Enugu, with many people clamouring for an extension of his giant developmental strides across the state as governor. It is his answer to this call that has seen a Communist-style cultural revolution unleashed on him and his supporters.
To realise his vision for a new Enugu State, Ekweremadu will do well to move on with courage to pursue his political aspiration to lead the state on another platform. The demise of PDP is imminent, as the party has failed more in opposition than it did power.
The obscenely monetized internal processes of the PDP cannot throw up a responsible leadership that can be trusted to rescue and rebuild Nigeria, including Enugu State.
