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The intrigues and internal wrangling in
the party has for long been a source of concern to all members of the
party. This been the case ever since the ending of tenure of Alhaji
Attahiru Bafarawa, the Executive Governor of Sokoto State, who once
served as its Caretaker Chairman. Bafarawa had made a record for
uplifting the ANPP as a party to reckon with. He successfully organized
the convention that not only produced the tentative Exco of the party
but also its presidential flag bearer for the 2003 election.
However, no sooner had he laid the solid
foundation on which the incoming ought to build upon, the party began to
disintegrate. Today, the party is only a shadow of what it was before
2003. The problems, we all believe, lie in the inability of the current
leadership of the party to provide a focused direction towards making
the party achieve greater heights. Most disturbing is the way and manner
the party leadership is caught by the presidency.
The privatization of the party under Chief
Don Etiebet has manifested itself in different forms. The inability of
the party to provide coherent opposition to, and thereby check the
excessive abuse of power and executive recklessness by the ruling PDP,
is undermined by the hidden agenda and contract Etibiet entered into
with Obasanjo’s PDP (we all know that PDP too has similar factions if
not more).
This informed why, in spite of blunder,
non implementation of budget, executive corruption, disregard for rule
of law by the present administration, rising level of poverty,
insecurity and assassinations, the leadership of ANPP is but insisting
that all is ok in the polity and that Obasanjo is making some remarkable
achievements.
The worst Etiebet could do to all members
of the party is to drag them into endorsing the monster called Third
Term. That Obasanjo should be given additional tenure to enable him
consolidate the reform programmes he has started. This shows the extent
to which the party has been politically murdered and buried.
In this regard, the announcement that the
party NEC is meeting to elect officers to run its affairs is surely a
relief to us members. We hope the two factions would agree to meet
together and chase out the incompetent ones among themselves. Let
Etiebet and his cohort surrender the party to its rightful owners and
join Obasanjo’s PDP and thereby add to Kayodes and Mantus.
The presidency must be wary of Jeremiah
Husseni and Bafarawa’s take over of ANPP. They know that with people
like Bafarawa directing the affairs of the party, it would no longer be
business as usual. They fear the stiff opposition the party would
provide and how skilful Bafarawas would murder the obnoxious Third Term
treachery.
It is against this background that we pity
the stance of some of the ANPP governors who back the Third Term plan
and succumb to Aso Rock pressure in seeing everything good about
Obasanjo’s style of governance and its so-called reform programmes. Any
way, the common factor between them and Obasanjo is the executive
financial recklessness which each of them doesn’t want to account either
before EFCC or when they vacate office. That’s why they want to
perpetuate themselves to life rulers.
Finally, the new ANPP NEC must comprise of
people of integrity who are bold enough to lead the party well. We yarn
for a party that can now truly be opposition party and one that can
dislodge the present ruling party; a party that is daily militarizing
our democracy and whose style of governance is embarrassing our nation.
To do this, we need a leadership that
could restore back the lost glory of the great party. Part of the things
to consider is how to strategise mobilizing new membership, reconcile th
e different factions of the party and create a common platform for all
democrats and patriotic citizens to feel free to join and help
popularize the party.
The NEC should also start deliberating on
such vital issues as sourcing a credible candidate for 2007 presidential
election. No doubt, the party’s presidential candidate during the 2003
presidential election, Gen. Muhammdu Buhari (rtd.), has greatly helped
popularize the party. Many a governor took shelter under his banner to
secure reelection. To date, he remains one of the few tough men and
women whose mere mentioning of their names terrifies Obasanjo and his
sycophants.
Where the party could source for more
popular and acceptable candidate, Buhari should be given fatherly role
in its affairs. Where not, current members and certainly those to join
the party later would be most comfortable with Buhari taking over from
the man called Obasanjo on 29th May 2007. With Bafarawa,
Husseini, distinguished senators (not Mantuwa type), Rep. Members,
patriots and nationalists all over the county, the transition from
Obasanjo to Buhari is as simple as abc.
As ANPP NEC meets, we expect a better
leadership of that great party to emerge. Our hop e will surely be
fulfilled.
Teke Dangawo,Koramar Ballazu,
Sokoto State
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