The crises and confusion that have generally trailed the congresses of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) across the country must not be an indication of what to expect from the party's forth coming presidential primary.
This is because the stakes will be high at the Thursday, January 13 presidential primary from which the flag bearer of the party will emerge and unless all the aspirants are sure that there would be a level playing field for them to contest on, some who fear they may be short-changed, could become desperate enough to see the exercise as a life and death issue.
The congresses have generally been marred by violence, confusion and allegations of irregularities, resulting in some high ranking members of the party, including past president and current chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT), Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, storming the party's Abuja national headquarters to protest officially.
Admitted that in every such exercise, there are bound to be disagreements and even some conflicts, the fact remains that Nigeria's democracy is still in its fragile formative years and everything must be done to prevent its destruction.
The most fundamental antidote to the type of crisis that could destabilize the party and the polity, in our view, is the guarantee of a level playing field for all presidential contestants to the extent that whoever wins the party's ticket would be seen by all to have won fairly and squarely while whoever loses would be convinced beyond all reasonable doubts, that he or she has lost.
Of all the other political parties, the eyes of the world would be on the PDP's presidential primary because, apart from being the ruling party, it claims to be the largest party in Africa, and whatever happens, especially at this level of its practice of internal democracy would have the capacity of affecting, positively or otherwise, the fortunes of democracy in the country, the sub-region, and indeed, the African continent.
The current attempt at transition from one presidential office holder to another is being sign-posted by some unforseen circumstances. For example, this is the first time that an elected President could not serve out his term of office as a result of illness leading to death.
This is also the first time that an election is being dogged by serious contention as to which part of the country should be eligible to produce a candidate to contest the presidency on the platform of the ruling party, courtesy of the now controversial agreement on the zoning of the number one position in the country.
We support respect for agreements entered into by mutually consenting adults but we also appreciate the fact that in the instant case, circumstances have altered the essence of whatever agreement members of the PDP may have endorsed at a given time in the party's life.
Also, between any such agreements and the election of a Nigerian who will take the country to the next level of attainment, we will readily align with the later.
This is because the country is passing through a challenging period in its history, marked by general insecurity, a measure of uncertainty in the economy, the creeping in of acts of terrorism and sundry other major challenges.
The country will, indeed, be in dire straits and the whole of the West African sub-region could actually be threatened if the PDP fails to put its house in order and ensure that all its presidential aspirants have a level playing field for the primaries.
Besides, the party must ensure that all the aspirants realize, even before the contest, that the winner must be magnanimous in victory while the losers must, in the spirit of sportsmanship, be ready to accept the verdict of the delegates.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has a major role to play in the primaries, especially as it concerns performing its monitoring function properly. It must insist that the party abides by its own rules and regulations and respects the provisions of its own constitution regarding its presidential primary.
All well meaning stakeholders must also counsel against a repeat of the arbitrary disqualification of aspirants that have in the past not stood the PDP in good stead and that have, indeed, threatened the smooth sailing of the ship of democracy.
It is clear that how well the PDP handles its presidential primary will be an indication of how successful the April general elections will be, and it is, from the pronouncements of majority of people in the country and beyond, the earnest desire of all that Nigeria's general election should be successful to serve as a good example for other countries in the sub region and the continent as a whole.
PDP Presidential Primary Update
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks