With the successful registration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by
the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the 31st of July
2013, there was no doubt that a new of vista of political discuss as we
are presently witnessing was opened in the country! Though, the tortuous
and tumultuous move by the promoters of the new party was not an easy one
at all, looking at some of the encumbrances they had faced and have been
able to overcome from the onset! Hence, commendation must go to the
leaders of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for
Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and some
factions of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) for closing ranks
among themselves at that stage to form the All Progressives Congress
(APC). But, the question is how long is the union going to last, looking
at how it has become an all comer’s affairs?
Before now, many political analyst and commentators had foreclosed the
possibility of any workable political alliance in the country, especially
when looking at how previous attempts have failed to yield the desired
results. Understanding this reality, the leaders of the new party made it
abundantly clear from the onset that, since political alliances have
failed in the past, what they needed at that moment was the merging of
existing political parties in the country, which was a novel idea. A novel
idea in the sense that what we have had in the past was alliances which
never worked.
However, prelude to the conduct of the 2011 Presidential Election in the
country, several meetings were held between the leaders of the defunct CPC
and ACN on how to merge ahead of the general election. During that period,
there were suggestions on the new name the party would bear. Some even
suggested that it should bear Action Congress for Progressive Change
(ACPC), but, along the line, what some cynics would call ‘The Nigerian
factor ‘ creped in and then scuttled the whole idea! For example, there
was this debate over who will fly the party’s flag. While the then
Action Congress of Nigeria was banking on its success in the past
elections and the fact that they control some states and have produced
members in the States and the National Assemblies, they derided the
Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) which was formed and registered
lately, saying the new party was still an untested and unproved one. But
then, the CPC negotiators were
capitalizing on the mass appeal their party enjoyed in the press and
among Nigerians who had little or no electoral value! Hence, the merger
talks between the two parties’ broke down and they went in the election
separately. After the elections, the reality downed on both; while the
ACN captured the entire South West Geo-Political zone except Ondo State,
the much hyped CPC under-performed as it only laid its cold hand on
Nassarawa State.
So, when the discussion on the merging of the political parties was
reopened in 2012, many Nigerian analysts and commentators never took the
promoters of such idea serious, but, while trying to effuse confidence on
the minds of skeptical Nigerians about the workability of the new
merger’s talks, the former governor of Kano State, Mallam Ibrahim
Shekarau explained to Nigerians on why the previous merger’s talks
failed. He said it was simply because; the participating parties had
conducted their conventions and primary elections, which had produced
their respective presidential candidates. So, it was not possible for them
to abandon their various flag bearers some weeks to the election. Another
question I must ask is, looking at the APC’s modus operandi, what can we
say is their guiding philosophy and motivation? Are they temporarily
united for the sole aim of dislodging the ruling People’s Democratic
Party or are they united for the sake of our
democracy and strengthening its flabby institutions which some of them
are guilty of weakening? Whatever intension is behind the sudden unity
among them, the fact remains that PDP has over the years built and oiled
a formidable structure across the length and breadth of the country, so
undermining this reality for media propaganda is like a soldier going to
war under-estimating his enemy instead of over-estimating! PDP has
structures in all the 8,812 Electoral Wards, 774 Local Government
Councils, 360 Federal Constituencies, 109 Senatorial Districts and the 36
states plus the Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria. Apart from this,
most voters are familiar with the umbrella logo of the PDP on the ballot
papers; so this is not something anybody can substitute with propaganda!
Similarly, even if APC should spread its tentacles across the country, it
will still take some voters time to be acclimatized to their logos and
symbols because there is high rate of illiteracy in the country and those
in the urban areas alone cannot make anybody president, but, the combined
votes of the urban and the rural dwellers respectively. So, with this
analysis, I think APC does not pose any threat to PDP and President Good
Luck Jonathan in the 2015 Presidential Election coming up soon!
Comrade Edwin Uhara, an Activist and a Public Affairs Commentator.
He is also the National President of Young Nigerians for Change, and
writes from No. 9 Imgbi Road, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
He can be reached on 07065862479 or 08076134054
edwinuhara@rocketmail.com