ANPP

ANPP: The Tormented Hen That Sucks Its Finest Egg

Muktar Shehu Gwarzo

From the inception of this democratic dispensation to the present time, the leadership of the registered political parties became overdosed with different genres of characters ranging from traitors to hypocrites.

The leadership personalities are shamelessly parading themselves without integrity as mere rubber-stamp of the ruling party or as sell-outs in the opposition parties which made many of us to entertain doubt of a possible conspiracy of reducing the polity to a mere one party system.

The whole thing started with the military junta’s enforcement of PDP that dominated and marginalized the then other two political parties who were only able to contest election on the joint platform of AD/APP. While the planned victory was hatched in the 1999 election, the leaders of the two political parties were devastated and went on their knees lobbying for lucrative positions in Government. They compromised the ideals of opposition and were content with mere ministerial appointments. The Alliance for Democracy (AD) which was more of a tribal party became easily polarized and subsequently moribund. The All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) became very weak and at the mercy of its governors, who were busy flirting with the PDP government and are reluctant to pose opposition for their misdeeds to be covered. The party was at the verge of collapse, when appeared on the political scene the indefatigable General Muhammadu Buhari. This left many in a state of surprise, fear and or excitement. His integrity, competence sincerity and his statesman-like stature are his strongest virtues. This marks the beginning of seemingly strong opposition which the ANPP governors were not ready to support. Through, they were not against Buhari as a person, but they fear the ideals he represents. As Edmund Burke, has it “we must all obey the great law of change. It is most powerful law of nature”.

Barely some months to his entry the APP was renamed ANPP. The first hurdle Buhari crossed was the Tuesday night of January 2002, with resolution of electing a strong Presidential candidate who will lead the party to victory.

Even though they could not doubt Buhari’s confidence or integrity they started casting aspersion on his person. They started saying that he is dictatorial and authoritarian.

Amidst the euphoria that followed Buhari’s emergence as the flagbearer of ANPP, Chief Rochas Okorocha read a letter on behalf of the aspirants in which he based their protest on non transparent and manipulative approach with which the party leadership was adapting to choose General Buhari as the ANPP consensus Presidential aspirant. He led the team of aspirants to walk out of the scene with intention of destabilizing the party. Political strength and sellability of Buhari was largely responsible for his choice.

His ability to pull the crowds wherever he goes and the rays of his personality lighted the political scene with which the smart politicians rushed in to realize their political ambitions, by then all that was needed was to have your poster with his face and a symbol of maize. In addition, his usual campaign slogan, “vote ANPP SAK” baptized many names and illuminated clouds in many faces of politicians who were not even in the political limelight to even defeat the incumbent government in the populated state of Kano.

No sooner than General Buhari was denied victory in the 419 election of 2003 than he began to taste the pills of visible betrayals from those who rode on him to power. While he was lured in to seeking justice through the compromised judiciary by party leadership, the governors were busy one after the other wining and dining with the power that be to cover their misdeeds. With all the machineries of frustration and regardless of the length of time, Buhari stood for himself and fought alone. He once lamented that; “it doesn’t matter what the governors do as far as I am concern, as long as they continue to support the party outside their own states than supporting me as an individual. My main problem is to see that the system is honorable enough.”

Out of pretence, the ANPP set up a committee in September, 2003 to harmonize the activities of TBO and the party on the one hand and to finance Kano rally on the other. There was also a move put the bills of all legal expenses for the ongoing litigations against the result of the April 19 elections and to accompany Buhari to the court whenever the case comes up for hearing.

Instructively, none of these was up held, instead TBO was left to bear the financial burden to the tune of about N32 million. As for the Kano rally, five of the seven ANPP governors left the country leaving Buhari and his multitude supporters in limbo. Even the host governor really attempted to maneuver out but recanted following immense pressure and threats by Kano people.

As soon as the governor of Kano clinched the mantle of the authority, he started to redefine treachery by turning his back on the very people that introduced him to power. In the first place his axe fell on the independent committee for the entrenchment of Sharia which virtually sponsored his initial ambition, having acted like a true Islamic fundamentalist and was with them and a friend to most of the founding members of the group; who later relinquished the offer to serve in his government having found that the governor betrayed the core principles of perfect Sharia implementation. Some of these members include late Sheikh Ja’afar who was murdered in cold blood and whose death is yet to be proved and Malam Ado Mohammed a true friend of the late Sheik who had faced many tribulations and subsequently framed up with the murder of Sheik Jafar. To exercise his maximum weight in the party, the earlier party executives, who stood behind his candidature when he did not won his primary election, and faced the opposition of the past government for their rigorous campaign in the grassroots, were equally humiliated and frustrated out by chief technocrat who surrounded himself with crowned sycophants as the new party executives willing to oblige to his bid. Waxing stronger with the power of incumbency, the governor began to see TBO as No.1 enemy and its leading members who sponsored his candidature in the sense of influence, connection and finance were abused and or at best sidelined. Driven by temporary power and emboldened by accumulated wealth and influence, he went on air and showered all the degrading abusive words on the person of General Buhari towards the 2007 general election.

With machineries of propaganda firmly under his control he is now vying for the presidency not minding that last 2007 election result with all the incumbency factor at his disposal he could only garner 673,000 votes in which he defeated the opposition PDP with only 41,000 votes. That was no march to General Buhari’s 1.3million votes in the state.

Through the National Chairman Edwin Ume Ezeoke quickly preached his gospel having found in a new evangelist controlling complete resources of a wealthy state, or may had no option than to endorse him as a pay back deal for the governor who by proxy subverted the will of Kano delegates and installed the National Chairman. These are the type of the ANPP leaders – a bunch of ingrates and sycophants who want to score cheap political points through treachery. They fail to realize that if there were no limits to human ambitions, treachery also had no boundaries.

Those party leaders who conspired to thwart the hope of the Nigerian electorates in the judicial process, cajoled and reduced the Presidential candidate to a mere card carrying member and severally threatened to sack him from the party. Perhaps now they must have realized their mistakes and are bent on once more utilizing his immense followership. This led to the formation of reconciliation groups. The recent was led by the Yobe state governor, who either was not all that powerful or influential to intervene while the rift was on, or now being a governor had knocked and found it hard to open the door of PDP that may find him so cheap to buy in preference of its contenders in Yobe state. Whatever may be his stand and that of ANPP, general Buhari case is beyond himself alone. It is for the generality of the millions of Nigerians who in the process many were injured and some lost their lives. Being a democrat and a leader not the type to abandon the cause his people, he already addressed the issue by giving it to people as an open deliberations of the way forward for his supporters and his candidature, which the outcome is still on process. He once admitted that; “if you ever worked with me you will find that, am not a rigid man, if we are going to take decisions I like all the cards to be on table. And I always submit to superior argument”.

My humble self and the organization I represent opted to float a new party with Buhari political ideology, which we believe will serve as a powerful weapon for the enthronement of true democracy. A new party with revolutionary political ideology capable of taking over the present democracy with Buhari as torchbearer is very desirable. This is to squarely address the dysfunctional system in operation. May Allah guide and protect us.