A bridge-builder for PDP or its undertaker?

Tukur was bad news. All those who want to deepen democracy and improve governance in Nigeria reviled him. And in a rendition which is characteristic of the bombast that made him infamous, the disgraced PDP chairman espoused a view of politics that had the unintended consequence of bringing an already bad situation into further disrepute. […]

Tukur was bad news. All those who want to deepen democracy and improve governance in Nigeria reviled him. And in a rendition which is characteristic of the bombast that made him infamous, the disgraced PDP chairman espoused a view of politics that had the unintended consequence of bringing an already bad situation into further disrepute. I have no difficulty with Tukur’s manner of speech or his choice of indecorous words. On the contrary, I applaud his forthrightness and willingness to speak for Jonathan no matter whose ox is gored. However, I disagree with the things he says.
Bamanga Tukur is a self-absorbed individual. He took the same decisions in the PDP as he did in the defunct Gongola state when he became its governor in 1983. Back then, Tukur created and maintained garrisons of political exclusion. Those who worked for Tukur’s success at the polls were suddenly found themselves in the cold; and those who hardly knew Yola before became Tukur’s preferred flock. Tukur held meetings in his garden and brought his personal staff to run running rough-shod over the state’s workforce. At such meetings, Tukur dissolved ministries and suspended secretaries. At the end, Tukur killed the Gongola spirit just as he did PDP. However, Tukur killed PDP because he loved Jonathan more than he loved Nigeria.
Adamu Mu’azu, former governor of Bauchi, now 9th chairman of PDP, may not be as diabolical as Tukur, but many doubt if he will be different. He served as a PDP governor for eight years. His tenure gave much to Bauchi in education, infrastructure development and the transformation of Bauchi town. One project I visited and will never forget is the Jubril Aminu Secondary School, Bauchi. It was a sight to behold.
But each time Mu’azu’s name came up during the search for Tukur’s successor, the morality thermometer boils up too. Mu’azu is widely believed to have made away with N19.8bn Bauchi state money that he is yet to explain. That amount is equivalent to Bauchi state’s statutory allocation from the federation account for six months (Bauchi receives about N3bn monthly). Interestingly Mu’azu was a fugitive from the law until Jonathan came to power. And with or without shoes Jonathan likes disadvantaged people.
That is where Adamu Mu’azu’s problems begin. Jonathan himself unwittingly reasoned that he discarded Bamanga Tukur because the PDP needs a bridge builder and not a chairman who would “fight, fight, fight!”  This indicates that Jonathan is ready for peace with his adversaries that Bamanga drove out of the party. But a whole year of fighting cannot be wiped away by a few weeks of horse trading. The scars are deep and peace is almost a mirage.
Adamu Mu’azu is indeed a social butterfly. But he must have known that making peace with Jonathan’s political opponents will never be achieved in a hurry. He may solicit the support of the governors of the party by promising not to interfere with state executives, but he knows that free and fair primaries, the one thing that everyone desires, is the last thing on Jonathan’s mind. But then again, there is the problem of regaining public trust, lost by years of inaction, which Adamu Mu’azu can only further compound.
If anyone had thought that Jonathan will offload the corrupt cookies in his cabinet that dream is dead. As Adamu Mu’azu joins the rank of Jonathan’s key-holders, what right has anyone to demand the sacking of Oduah, Alison-Madueke or Okonjo Iweala?  It means that rather than rise from the ashes, the party is ready to sink six even further, effectively making the new PDP chairman something of an undertaker, not a redeemer.
There is hardship in the land. Experience has shown that in any organisation, party or country, the most probable cause of backwardness is always the lack of leadership, or the lack of confidence in it, by the citizenry. The role of political leaders in development, contrary to whatever leadership apologists say in Nigeria, is very crucial. That is why some countries achieve development and others remain in the “persistent poverty” bracket.
Whether a country is poor or prosperous depends on its politicians. It can be argued that politicians determine economic decisions. Economic success has occurred, and will continue to occur, in countries where the political leadership is trusted and trustworthy. And there are trustworthy and credible people in Nigeria. There are also people with excellent leadership qualities and, I believe, Adamu Mu’azu himself is one of them; but this moral burden of honesty and transparency makes his mission a hard sell. In Nigeria, the political culture has been contaminated by those who aspire to the benefits of political positions more than those who want to serve. Nigeria needs its leaders to go into public service with the “JFK groove”, but it is caught in a crisis of leadership just because of Jonathan’s 2015.
I have not written off the PDP as many would have wished. But the party needs to refresh and screen its candidates sincerely and in the interest of the country before contemplating any building of bridges.