Is ACD Our Own Kadina Party?

By

Washington Ebong Amos

The events leading to and following the Israeli general elections have restored the hope of disillusioned democrats that a way out could be found through the labyrinth of Africa’s tormented transitional politics. Until the victory of ailing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s newly-formed Kadina Party in the March 28 elections, many had pondered how conscientious new breed politicians could manage to break the imperious hegemony and anti-democratic posturing of entrenched ruling parties, like Mugabe’s ZANU-PF or our own PDP.

The Israeli political scene was analogous to Nigeria’s; dominated by the Likud and Labour parties around which real power had rotated (with alliances of convenience formed periodically with splinter parties) since the country’s independence in 1948. In the build up to the last election, progressive politicians were faced with an autocratic, old-fashioned, predictable and prostrate Labour party and a vindictive, undemocratic, reactionary Likud, none of which was seen as capable of transporting the popular vision and aggregate aspiration of a younger, moderate, more dynamic and politically sophisticated generation impatient with old paternalistic traditions.

Mr Sharon’s desire to reshape Likud into a dynamic, less dogmatic and efficient mass movement was resisted by old-fashioned opportunists like former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who saw in continuity of the anachronistic ideology safety for their own careers not minding the fate of the people or the country.

Breaking out to form Kadina seemed quixotic, as some analysts have said of the formation of the Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD) by progressive elements that broke away from PDP.

Like Kadina, ACD seems to represent not rebellion but astute political manoeuvring by true democrats and political young Turks with a blazing sense of mission, men who seem impatient with intrigues, lawlessness, cheating, undemocratic and anti-people stage management inflicted on members by the PDP. When veteran politician and former Prime Minister Shimon Perez was ousted as Labour party leader, in favour of Amir Peretz he too felt short-changed by the same undemocratic forces wrenching the moral underbelly of the party and immediately joined forces with Sharon, Olmert and company in Kadina. In Nigeria, founding members of PDP, schemed out by desperate anti-democratic forces, even original members of the G-34 eminent Nigerians who stood up to military dictatorship in the darkest hours of despotic past, have since abandoned PDP and either joined forces with ACD or simply are waiting in the wings for the right moment to join. Such notable personalities as former Vice President Dr Alex Ekwueme, former PDP national chairmen Chief Solomon Dashup Lar and Chief Audu Ogbeh, former Governors Abubakar Rimi and Lawan Kaita, former Speakers of the House of Representatives, Hon Edwin Ume-Ezeoke and Hon Ghali Umar Na’aba, former ministers, governors, senators, elected and appointed cadres, professionals, intellectuals, local politicians and their supporters, have deserted the PDP ship, many have joined ACD, others waiting to see the party launched and its vision and mission made manifest.

The Institute of International Finance Incorporated, world body of bankers and financiers described the PDP, in recent media report, as “a loose patronage network designed for contesting elections”, an elegant description of “Come-and-Chopism”. As a political platform, PDP has become a moral embarrassment, a symbol of desperation, despoliation and despoilment. It has since surrendered its soul and substance to political marauders with scant interest for decorum and decency. PDP has become a national byword for compulsive election rigging and distaste for the constitutionalism, a platform for pernicious backbiters, avaricious godfathers, constituency representatives without electoral mandate, felons hiding from justice and a nest for anti-democracy practitioners. The recent revalidation of party membership through re-registration and issuance of new identity card turned out the a devilish stratagem to weed out the forces of democracy and change within the party and turn the party over for effective manipulation for the notorious third-term agenda. Even Founding members of the party were systematically deregistered and in one celebrated instance, the Vice President of the Republic, Atiku Abubakar, the man seen as having the most realistic chance of succeeding President Obasanjo’s, was denied registration at his home constituency in Jada, Adamawa state because Senator Jubril Aminu, a man Atiku built into a political entity out of nothing, assigned to supervise the re-registration exercise, saw a chance to humiliate the Veep, his erstwhile mentor. Here was a party actually showing the credible half of its strength the exit door because its leaders could no longer face the rigours of competitive elections but preferred appointments to offices in clear constitutional and ideological breach. As the IIFI conservatively noted, “the PDP is not a true political party based on shared ideology” except of course the ideology of patronage.

Faced with similar circumstances, Israel’s Sharon and company opted for a fresh start, to build a new party from the scratch based on true democratic principles. Kadina represented more than the dynamism of a trusted and tested statesman, it was a moderate centrist, accommodating movement of realists, ready to jettison the practices of the past and chart a new future for their country. Kadina represented the birth of tolerance and practice of genuine democracy. It required the force and vision of an individual but it represented a broad based idea whose idea had come and for which the people were prepared to throw away all the vestiges of the past.

Even with Ariel Sharon in terminal coma and the untested Ehud Olmert placed in temporary charge, Kadina won the elections with 28 seats or 21.8%, Labour 20 seats or 15.1% while the once omnipotent Likud gathered 11 seats, down from 38 in the 2003 elections. Lesson Number One – You take the people for granted only until they gather the courage to challenge your impunity.

Analysts are agreed that were Sharon well and campaigning, Kadina’s fortunes would have been brighter.

What makes Kadina’s victory momentous is that since independence in 1948, govt has alternated only between Labour and Likud but when Likud began to grow beyond the reach and aspirations of the ordinary members, something had to give. Thanks to expansion of democratic space, Kadina broke away and because of the conviction of purpose, experience, trust, and goodwill built up by the statesmen behind it, the electorate invested leadership in Kadina. Likud leaders, cured of their arrogance, admitted the defeat inflicted a blow on their reputation and vowed to rebuild for the future.

While political watchers eagerly await the launching of ACD, the party is already manifesting Kadina-like tendencies. Like Kadina, ACD began as a rumour until INEC accorded it recognition. Then speculations started as to the brains and powers behind it. Up stood the conscientious Audu Ogbeh, the venerated Lawan Kaita and other tested political fighters and gradually the mysterious fog of anonymity began to give way for credible identification. Reports from several states of the Federation indicate that th next election would be a straight fight between PDP and ACD, with the latter gaining the upper hand as more and more Nigerians turn to it out of frustration and rejection of deceitful, boastful and undemocratic politics fostered by the ruling party, PDP. Maybe what he ACD needs urgently to pull the rug from the feet of the PDP is an Ariel Sharon, a dogged fighter of national repute with a reservoir of political capital and charisma to forge a new winning national coalition. In this regard, the bet is on Vice President Atiku Abubakar to jettison the PDP and lead the ACD. This writer cannot imagine whom the caps fits better than the Turaki Adamawa.

Some analysts have however cautioned that ACD face many more hurdles before fulfilling its mission of supplanting the decadent PDP. The old order will not fold roll over and play dead, it would fight back cunningly and viciously, indeed the battle has already began. A new party African Democratic Congress (ADC) has just been registered soon after ACD. The fear is that illiterate voters may be tricked into thumbing the space for ADC (an unknown entity fronted by shadowy persons) on the ballot paper when they actually meant to vote the popular ACD. Memories of the 2000 US election debacle in Florida flood back menacingly. Are the promoters of ACD capable of surviving old school intrigues?

And what about rigging? Analysts also contend that if the massive rigging that characterised the 2003 elections were anything to go by then the hopes of the younger generation realising the transition to a true democratic Nigeria would remain a mirage. Could ACD survive another massive PDP rigging? Here lies the ultimate departure from the Israeli analogy, and possibly any historic equivalence of Kadina and ACD.