Kano PDP: The rigging has just begun!

Election rigging manifests itself in many subtle forms and the denial of delegate accreditation forms to members of the other PDP faction in Kano State is the major first sign that the election of the party’s governorship candidate may not be transparent. Professor Attahiru Jega of INEC has promised the country that his commission would […]

Election rigging manifests itself in many subtle forms and the denial of delegate accreditation forms to members of the other PDP faction in Kano State is the major first sign that the election of the party’s governorship candidate may not be transparent. Professor Attahiru Jega of INEC has promised the country that his commission would monitor the conduct of parties closely to ensure that they adhere to internal democratic practices. Unfortunately, the commitment of INEC and President Goodluck Jonathan to credible elections would be defeated by enemies of democracy within the PDP.
In fact, there is no justification whatsoever why the national headquarters of the PDP should engage in an unholy alliance with the Kwankwaso faction of the party in Kano State by handing over the delegate forms to the group led by the former Kano State governor. Signs of insidious rebellion against the party are unmistakably evident in Kano State. The level of resentment as a result of this injustice by the Kwankwaso faction is so deep that in matters of days, thousands of party members will desert it and join the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) or ANPP.
As a ruling party, the PDP should set standard for the right democratic culture of a level playing field. How can you achieve credible election when certain members of the party are deliberately denied the forms that will enable them participate as delegates for the conduct of primaries? The PDP chairman in Kano State, Alhaji Faruk Iya, is in Kwankwaso’s pocket; he has no mind of his own and, therefore, he is always ready to obsequiously bend to the wishes of Kwankwaso. As the American Journalist, Brian Browne observed, “when you bend to injustice, you will be broken by it.” Faruk Iya may be carried away by short-term rewards from Kwankwaso, but ultimately the PDP would pay a heavy price for abandoning transparency to please the ambition of one man, perpetually obsessed with power. With his open bias in favour of the Kwankwaso faction, the Kano State PDP chairman has lost the moral authority to command the respect of every member of the party.
For the last one week, members of the other PDP faction in Kano State have been facing frustrations in their efforts to collect the delegate forms. They are frequently told that the forms are no longer available while, at the same time, members of the Kwankwaso faction are being issued the forms under the table. The former Defence Minister is a die-hard student of Obasanjo’s do-or-die politics. During Obasanjo’s bid to take over the PDP in 2005 by undemocratic means, he introduced the policy of membership re-validation and re-registration. Part of that undemocratic agenda was to ensure that the fresh membership cards were never issued to those whose loyalty to his future third term ambition could not be guaranteed.
What we are witnessing today in the Kano State PDP chapter is a re-enactment of former President Obasanjo’s “garrison” politics where freedom of choice was brutally suppressed. Kwankwaso has proved himself a good student of that primitive political culture in the 21st century democratic order. Let the former Defence Minister be warned, however, that he is playing a Russian roulette with the political future of the PDP in Kano State. He is pushing his luck too far; he is being emboldened by a coterie of flatterers like party chairman, Alhaji Faruk Iya. As he laps up faint praises, Kwankwaso should not forget, however, that the louder the flattery, the harder the fall!
When he emerged as the new PDP chairman, Chief Okwesilieze Nwodo pledged to pursue reforms in the party, including the restoration of internal democracy. Professor Jega’s commitment to credible election is not enough unless politicians like Kwankwaso are ready to purge themselves of do-or-die mentality and accommodate other shades of opinion. Can chief Nwodo achieve the broad objectives of reforming the PDP when politicians like Kwankwaso are not ready to yield grounds to transparent democratic practices? It is incomprehensible why delegate forms are exclusively made available to the Kwankwaso faction of the PDP, which now gives him an unfair advantage over those loyal to the other faction. It remains to be seen whether Chief Nwodo has the courage to check the anti-democratic excesses of Kwankwaso and other students of Obasanjo’s do-or-die politics. The PDP should forget about retaking Kano State in 2011 because Kwankwaso has destroyed the much needed unity to make the party strong enough to win the election.
Bichi wrote from 138, Ali Akilu Road, Kaduna.E-mail: [email protected]