Kicking Out The Republicans

Kicking Out The Republicans (PDP) In Our Midst

Prince Charles Dickson

Jos, Plateau Nigeria

The big crocodile we see today originated from a small egg and it is a big folly to estimate the temper of a chicken still in the egg...a strong purposeful opposition can propel a revolution and a new dawn...we can disgrace the PDP led dance out of governance. Events in Mother Nigeria in the last few days are one that makes one wonder like Femi Anikulapo Kuti would say, it strikes very strange cords in the polity, it plays discordant tunes to the ears more so with an electorate that is being disenfranchised even before the elections due to an "idiotic inefficient" method of voters' registration. Well I do not intend to stray from the few points that I would make in the next lines of this essay.

It is no longer news that the Republicans in the United States of America, home of modern day democracy have tasted the bitter pills of electoral defeat from a dissatisfied electorate, a disillusioned citizenry that through the ballot box has expressed its need for change. The Republican Party often referred to as the Grand Old Party, the GOP is one of the two major political party organizations in the United States two party system; The Democratic Party is the other. Since 1856, the Republicans have won 26 of the 38 Presidential elections which have contested, including 7 of the last ten; eighteen of twenty-eight U.S. Presidents since 1857 have been Republicans.

In Nigeria the equivalent is the Peoples' Deceptive Party, that is little below 10 years of age but has in its barely a decade of existence through its misrule broken every record of sanity in our national polity. The PDP is our own nation's Grand Old Party...maybe I should add of corruption. The party started out with dreams, visions on how Nigerians were supposed to sheltered from the rains and sunshine of hardship, poverty, economic depression and all her sufferings. The Umbrella it's emblem was supposed to bring succor to years of military and dictatorial aberration. Yet to the Old men that much was expected from by Nigerians very little was offered which is why the likes of IBB have the onions of contemplating coming back to rule his house.

In addition to controlling the Executive Branch since 2001, the Republicans held Majorities in the United States Senate almost continuously since the 1994 election. They won the United States House of Representatives from the 1994 to 2004 elections. But as Almighty Allah has answered Americans, at the 110th congress, the Republican Party will hold minority status in both houses of Congress.

Despite the argument of whether the last Presidential elections were "Florida rigged" or not the fact as it stands today is that the Republicans have been told to go and seat down. The stats are there to see, the Republicans were rated as being 42% corrupt, this was no longer acceptable and Americans had their say, the economy was an issue for 39% of the citizenry, while terrorism was a matter to 40% of Americans, another 37% expressed disgust at the entire Iraqi war. This was enough and change was just at the corner so when the elections finally held it was all but obvious.

Today in PDP's Nigeria unemployment is up more 60%, inflation on ground keeps increasing while government figures keeps reducing giving credence to the fact that there are two Nigeria, one for the poor, the other for the rich. Crime is a 110% as both the rich and poor are victims. The economic reform must of us see are on Television. Now whether for lack of nomenclature or misnomer we have "terrorists, kidnappers, militias" in the Niger Delta. And the PDP still sees itself as fit for the cap of governance.

Only days back Andy Uba was seen in company of Etiaba Nigeria's First Female Governor at the Villa where she had gone to pay loyalty visit on Mr. President...this is the same Andy Uba that was fingered in a money laundering incident that led to his resignation. In Nigeria our Republicans the PDP have no shame. From Plateau to Ekiti, down to Bayelsa the story is much the same, the recent ward congresses of the party revealed the norm of the nature of the party with some states submitting as much as three lists emanating from three parallel congresses. The party has been operating two factions, the President's boys based in Abuja and the Governor's men.

The PDP is what it is today largely because we have no Democrats, we have no progressives, the rank of the masses have been broken by the hydra-headed evil of corruption, ethnicity, nepotism and religious sentiments. The PDP as a party has exploited the weakness of the Nigerian society, it knows us more than we know ourselves. Yes, the Republicans have been flogged in the U.S. but not because they did not in their own wisdom try to give Americans what they perceived to be the best, but the case in Nigeria and the error called PDP is that we have a story of 'living in bondage', the bondage of few dirty men that refuse to acknowledge that they have failed.

The PDP as a party can boast foreign investment that services only their pocket, like the unexplainable lease of the Abuja airport, the magic of NITEL from IIL to Pentascope, now to a Transcorp that exists only on newspapers, I asked some friends the other day "have you seen a transcorp staff anywhere, what expertise do they have, for which they have been given NITEL on a platter of gold. The Ajaokuta Steel has been subject to all kinds of scandals...then in my calling I weep when I recall the good old Daily Times that was not only sold but ridiculed by the buyers.

The Republicans in Nigeria, like their American counterparts have it all, they have been custodian of the Presidency, they have majority of Governors, Councillors, Senators, Chairmen, political appointees and choppers, yet they have not been cohesive at anything, in-fighting because of the sharing of loot. In Ibadan, Adedibu wants a share of the action, in Plateau, it is Mr. President, the Senate Deputy President and erstwhile Governor Dariye, everywhere there is PDP, tongue in cheek but a safe conclusion it has been one week one trouble and the masses suffer for these acts of selfishness.

I am not a motor park critic or a newspaper vendor discussant, the PDP government has scored a record success in its battle against corruption but cases abound that pinches hole into the exercise, true as it is that you do not let a thief to "go and sin no more" because there are other thieves but can someone explain why Bode George, Andy Uba, Chris Uba, Adedibu and co. are the President's best friends. Only God knows why the President months back was entrusting Fayose with the task of screening Governors that 'wanna be' President and then now calls the same Fayose a mistake of the PDP.

Why did Ngozi Wahala leave the PDP led contraction, why did the PDP need a sleaze account when it believed that the opposition were made up of paper tigers, why is that only PDP Governors have stolen massively, and are impeached anyhow, and anyway, why has the PDP found it difficult to solve ordinary 'family affairs'. Is it because the leader of the nation, leader of modern Nigeria, father of PDP is the great artist of such affairs?

Why has PDP's Borishade found it hard to say "I am sorry I failed...I am not directly responsible but it happened under my stewardship...Nigerians forgive me"? The Republicans of the Nigerian polity has painted a disgruntled picture of our nation. It is a statement that needs little proof that the party has failed the nation. Roads are in a bad state, and the President that has barely six months buys an Helicopter..."who wan die", the roads are bad, there potholes on air, and flying caskets everywhere.

Apart from the embassies where you meet the most humble Nigerians, another port of call where you are sure that you can march a Nigerian on the feet and not expect to be abused in typical Yoruba fashion is inside a Nigerian aircraft, maybe the PDP deserves the kudos for this. Generations that h ave lost otherwise lives that could have been saved, would they forgive PDP. Let me ask, even the Nigerian democrats, have they helped the situation, are they not part of the problem?

The PDP must go, and interestingly I believe that it may yet well be the best thing that would happen if the PDP was made to be in the opposition, to be the minority, the advantage being that, they have been there, done that, they will know when theft is about to occur, when it has occured and how to stop it from occurring. Whether by e-voting, f-voting or PDP-voting we as a people can collectively start a dirge in celebration of the funeral service of the PDP- led government.

If the Republicans can be halted who thinks or argues that we cannot stop PDP, it is a shame that very few amongst the already declared Presidential hopefuls can damn the PDP and fly with another party. If IBB thinks all we are saying give us a gap tooth smile for 2007, he should join ANNP and fight Buhari, Yerima and co. for a ticket, let Odili go to AD and see how much the Yorubas love him, let Abdullahi Adamu join the Labour Party and see how workers will haul stones at him. Where there is a will there is a way...the candle never lost anything by lighting another, democrats need to re-align, join forces to send PDP the Republican way...Almighty Allah, we put our trust in you.