Katsina: PDP leadership struggle in perspective
This is not about cataloguing the series of crises that had dogged the path of the ruling party, though where ever there is struggle for power, and in the case of Nigeria in recent time of which Katsina State cannot be an exception, this is a normal occurrence. Of course, where there are contending interests, […]
This is not about cataloguing the series of crises that had dogged the path of the ruling party, though where ever there is struggle for power, and in the case of Nigeria in recent time of which Katsina State cannot be an exception, this is a normal occurrence. Of course, where there are contending interests, no matter what is at the crux of it all, there are bound to be conflict. What, however matters most under such scenario is the need to allow sense of purpose, maturity, compromise and above all, the general welfare and development of the people to be the fulcrum for taking not just the right decision, they should be the domain for whatever action that should be taken.
It is necessary to put the latest dispute and misunderstanding in perspective so that certain misconceptions being peddled about would better be understood. It is nothing other than the recent dissolution and the subsequent emergence of a new set of leaders who replaced their predecessors.
By section 40 of the Party’s constitution, leadership for the party exists for four years. This is renewable for an incumbent leadership if the party members so wish. What happened in Katsina State regarding the tenureship of the last PDP leadership was more than that. The last leadership enjoyed two additional years on top of the two terms of four years each they had.
That that kind of long tenure existed was because the exigencies of that time allowed for it to take place under a separate political arrangement in an administration quite different from the present one in place, for according to the Hausa adage, sarki goma, zamani goma. If the late Yar’adua fully knowledgeable of the PDP rules on leadership secession decided that that is what he wants and the party members duly stamped that, it was because the political arrangement that time suited the PDP and the state government at that time. Today, it is Governor Ibrahim Shema who is in charge. As the bulk stops at his table, it is all the more necessary for him to act rightly in the general wellbeing of the state and Katsinawas. If he feels the old order of seat- tight party leaders doesn’t favour the philosophy of his style of administration and the interest of the party, it is incumbent upon him to do a realignment of the party machinery.
As we all know, democracy suffered seriously as a result of that old order, if the truth is to be told. That arrangement did not allow for internal democracy to thrive and be consolidated so that no one individual become unnecessary powerful and subsequently hold the PDP to ransom. Now the vexed conflict of internal party democracy is indeed a major issue at the PDP’s national level that has become a Herculean task to deal with. So, the current effort is really meant to address that cancerous crisis for the interest of the party at the state and national levels as well as its members including those who are trying to vilify Governor Ibrahim Shema for doing the right thing.
The old order of seat-tight party leaders in the state also prevented for the injection of fresh hands in leadership positions in the party in the state, because some people have become power drunk and saw it as a birth right to allow the status quo ante to remain. If two heads are better than one – which is really true – that arrangement was really counter-productive for the state that has millions of educated people who are ready to offer selfless service to accelerate the current pace of development at party level. The world is not static but dynamic, and dynamism is about change- change for the better. That is exactly what the leadership change in the party is all about. No more no less.
It is unfortunate that the fifth columnists in the state PDP are losing sight of Shema’s effort at creating a conducive future political atmosphere for them to realise their governorship ambition, because at this moment it does not look like they would achieve their diabolical intention to unseat Shema in 2011. Shema’s power is massively rooted in the entire people and traditional institutions who are the custodians as was recently demonstrated when the endorsed him for second term. So, it would be in the interest of these people who lack goodwill to turn a good leaf. They don’t even need to support the governor in his current effort at repositioning, let them seat back, remain loyal party members, enjoy a robust PDP that Shema is building and consolidating preparatory to 2011 general elections, while they take their turn in 2015.
Salihu writes from Kaduna