Sule Lamido Versus PDP Governors -By Abdu Abdullahi

‘The problem is that people are being hated when they are real, and are being loved when they are fake’. The Legendary Bob Marley

In the aftermath of the annulment of the June 12 presidential election, there was a special salute to Alhaji Sule Lamido, one of the finest brains behind the conceptualisation and actualisation of the Peoples Democratic Party( PDP) for national reconciliation.

A highly revered politician who had displayed an unwavering passion as a matter of political survival of Nigeria without nurturing any ambition of being elected into a political office, he and other civilian soldiers captured the essence of the trying moments, defying repeated threats and persecutions by the Khaki boys. He was even imprisoned for persistently raising his dissent voice against the forces of dictatorship. Having fought with their strong heart using the tools of jingoism, and their gallant struggles considered a big felony by the then established order, they ignited a new light and a fresh beginning for Nigeria in the long run.

Deploying their strong political will, they challenged the fearful military despotism as having a questionable purpose of subverting the popular rule of governance, deeply engraved in the heart of the military elements while the nation was bleeding badly but slowly. Consequently, two conflicting phenomena surfaced and defined those years of political turmoil: the fear of the military and the love for democracy. Interestingly, Lamido was among those who chose the latter and swung into full action.

Eventually in 1999, the lofty dreams of Lamido and the other quintessential compatriots came into pragmatic fruitation. Already, they had established the sterling record of a fierce battle of uplifting the country to the level of a universal scheme of governance in the fashion of democracy. Drawing resounding victory reflected in the significant boosting of Nigeria’s global image, we started enjoying the dividends of the high intentions of practical politicians.

Since then, Lamido’s unflinching loyalty to the PDP has remained firm and steady, discarding any iota of political prejudice and betrayal. In the years that followed when many had suffered political dislocation and pauperization, it had been the same essential Lamido that mattered in the elevation of his developmental politics. This explains why the PDP needs him more than he needs it! It is the PDP in him that fits him well in all ramifications.

As fate would have it, the PDP project has been engulfed with the virus of disunity. While history teaches us the past, reveals the present and creates the future, the influencers of utter civilian dictatorship are not taking these vital lessons into accurate consideration. The past PDP was nationally articulated and oriented by the first generation of the party. At that time, none of the current PDP governors was duely a member. They got political admission into the party when its structural systems were fully functional.

In the end, it served them as a cheap but profitable ladder to get power. In revealing to us the present by history, the governors are now desperately highjacking the party to their own narrow political location. But to create a befitting future for the party and revamp its lost glory, Lamido’s overwhelming dream is to see the PDP in peace with itself and as a function of national development. In fulfilling this political obligation for the sake of prosperity, he volunteered for the position of the party’s national chairman.

Amazingly, the disgruntled PDP governors who were supposed to facilitate his immeasurable efforts in strengthening the party opted for acting the scripts of the fifth columnists and traded in political shenanigans. Sadly, Lamido’s indefatigable goodwill for the party was not recognized and, therefore, obstructed by the governors’ opportunistic will and force. While celebrating the power of incumbency as having worked for them against Lamido, the greatest emotional achievement aligns with Lamido, who feels the real pain of the party where the governors cannot feel it.

In any case, different politicians have multiple political expressions and identities. Lamido’s political expressions go beyond personal ambition. He is compelled by the chaotic happenings bedeviling the party and therefore wants to rescue it from imminent collapse. However, the governors may have their own political expressions and identities with an ambiguous difference. Are they redeeming or smearing the image of the party? For now, an enslaved PDP is the new vision of the governors. A redeemed PDP is the achievable goal of Lamido.

With the recently interior balkanization of the PDP orchestrated by the governors’ spirit of self-indulgence, they have failed to enhance the foundational wisdoms and national aspirations for which the party was built.They have succeeded in diminishing the party from a viable national reconstruction platform to a self-aggrandizement construction.

Those who can ignore reality must get prepared not to ignore the consequences of reality. The PDP governors have abandoned the historical reality surrounding the real PDP. Consequently, the glaring consequences of ignoring reality is their manifest error of creating a sleepy PDP. Of course, a sleepy PDP tends to lose all its philosophical values of unity, equity, justice and internal democracy free from political corruption and they are the prime culprits.

The PDP governors may think that they have won the battle of political manipulation of eliminating Lamido. But it is a waiting and unstoppable reality that they will become the first victims of their political vendetta.