2007 Polls: The Babangida Factor in Obasanjo's PDP
By

Senior Fyneface

senior_fyneface@yahoo.com

 

 

The worst thing to happen to a group of persons especially matured elders is to deceive themselves and it is even more serious when the target audience of the deceit understands that the more the group thinks they are wise, the more obvious their foolishness becomes.

 

To say that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has concluded plans to disqualify former military president, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, from running the presidential race on the platform of the party is as interesting as it is foolish. What big huddle does Babangida has ahead of him to clear that was not created and also conveniently positioned for him by the ruling junta Gen Olusegun Obasanjo and his group called PDP stalwarts?


When Gen Babangida through his spokesperson declared that “nobody could stop him from presenting himself to Nigerians ahead of the 2007 presidential election,” he meant exactly what he said. "We have just picked the PDP form. Head or tail, Babangida will run for presidency in 2007 and Nigerians will decide his fate not any group of people," this was a frank statement from someone who is cork sure of the arrangement or rather agreement in place.

 

Did Babangida’s decision to pick a presidential nomination form last Wednesday 8 November 2006 come as a surprise to President Obasanjo and the PDP inner circle members? The answer is a big No. So the claim that the party hierarchy was jolted and forced to return to the drawing board to re-strategize on the options of eliminating the Minna-born skimmer is all part of the grand deceit and the usual opaque manner of doing things by the party called PDP.

 

The most interesting aspect of the entire PDP foolery is the declaration that the PDP Candidate which would finally lead the party into the 2007 general election must conform to the party’s “Desirable Qualities and Code of Conduct,” stipulations as outlined by a gang that practically lacks any form of “acceptable” qualities not to talk of “desirable” ones.

 

It is an outright pretence for the PDP to state that its screening test will require that candidates are “clearly judged not just by their size of the wallet of their campaign organization but also by clearly measurable qualities.’’ The issue is: who is going to be the assessor? The onus will obviously fall back to the same gang that has neither the desirable nor acceptable qualities to even make desirable screening and selection.  

 

The general qualities as outlined in the 15-page PDP code of conduct document could not only be described as lacking in the party since inception but could be rightly said to have never existed anywhere in the party structure nor in the party inner circle members. A close look at the PDP’s dream qualities which include: “patriotism; integrity; ethno-neutral; rule-driven; tolerance; transparency-driven; knowledge-driven; community/constituency service; and, leadership”, would clearly show that the party is just deceiving itself but thinks it is deceiving Nigerians.

 

The height of PDP’s foolery is in the party’s position that “It is the party leadership that will define what these qualities mean, and that is where Babangida will meet his political waterloo.

 

“Under integrity, the party itemized qualities expected of its candidates as being of good character; having verifiable means of livelihood; does not waiver on principles of accountability and the Nigeria Project; and must not have been indicted for corruption or corrupt practices and other economic crimes.”

 

The questions for the crafty or rather not- too -smart PDP leadership include: The man Babangida, does he not have a good character? Does he not have a verifiable means of livelihood even with his pension as a retired army general and former head of state? Has it been proven that he waivers on principles of accountability and Nigeria project? Has he ever been indicted for corruption or any economic crime?

 

When you weigh Gen Babangida on the scale of these parameters, obviously he would not be found wanting. So invariably he has already passed the screening examine even before being screened and so he qualifies and he is highly favoured to pick the PDP ticket as the party’s flag bearer for the 2007 presidential election. How else can anybody describe this unintelligent strategy of the PDP if not to say that it represents the height of foolery?

 

Before this era of collection of nomination forms by aspirants, Gen Babangida has been dined and wined with not only President Obasanjo and Ahmadu Ali as PDP helmsmen but with all the members of the party’s Board of Trustees. The ex-military junta had been an assert to them both in terms of packaging and execution of all their mischievous plans and programmes, so why do they want to pretend or rather deceive Nigerians to believe now that Babangida is a pariah to the PDP.

 

Truth be told, President Obasanjo seems still bent on not vacating power at the constitutional expiration of his second and final tenure by May 2007. There has been a very strong allegation that the PDP leadership has been encouraging “presidential aspirants” from technically all the local government areas of the country even those who in their wildest dreams know that they can never win election even as local government chairpersons of their respective areas. The agenda is to cause confusion which may degenerate into full blown crisis to create the opportunity or justification for a “state of emergency or slight tenure elongation.” What is happening in some states is all part of the PDP conspiracy in trying out experimental state of emergency at smaller scale before the mega project. To Gen Obasanjo and Gen Babangida, I would say: espirit d'corps. Nigerians know where you are heading to. 

 

SENIOR FYNEFACE ELELEWON STREET GRA II PORT HARCOURT, RIVERS STATE