By Comrade Onwe Ogezi
The seeming schism in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which has put the party in the news lately is not real.
All the accompanying intrigues and subterfuges also fall in the same category in the sense that they were only contrived or conjured to paint a totally different picture from reality just to make the PDP appear disorganised and in need of salvation.
But those engineering the crisis from behind the scenes, have forgotten that redemption is only needed in times of despondency not when an entity is doing well and is at peace with itself as is the case with the Prince Uche Secondus-led National Working Committee (NWC).
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Since the election of Prince Uche Secondus as the national chairman of the PDP, the party has had its fair share of challenges, but it will amount to lying for anyone to suggest that the Secondus led NWC has not done much to add value to the party.
Secondus, people should be reminded, succeeded Adamu Ahmadu Muazu as national chairman of the PDP at a time the office held not much attraction for many due to its loss of the presidential elections.
Coming at such a time when the morale was low with the loss of the Presidency and the mass defections that followed, it required a courageous and spunky leader to hold the party together, stem the tide defections, rekindle confidence in the party and keep the party going.
All these, Secondus was able to achieve with his experience and tact, and within a short period, the party began to show signs of recovery.
Soon enough, Nigerians began to express nostalgia towards having the PDP back at the helm of affairs as they were not pleased with what the new party was offering them.
For a party that was thought to be defeated and subdued, the PDP was able to put its house in order and began to regain its strength such that in less than four years, it became hard to believe it was the party that suffered terrible losses in 2015.
The party put up a good fight in the 2019 elections that it took severe manipulations for the ruling party to manage a marginal win in the presidential elections.
The party however proved its popularity at the governorship and National Assembly elections as the PDP was able to recapture states like Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue and Zamfara, hitherto under the APC, and retained Sokoto while adding Edo to its fold in subsequent elections.
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All these could not have been possible if the leadership of the party has been anything but effective.
It is, therefore, disheartening that few months to the national convention of the party and barely a year to party primaries, few persons within the party due to their inordinate ambitions, are trying to fritter all these away by painting a picture of a house of commotion by creating an atmosphere of chaos.
This, the PDP cannot allow as the party was not established to cater for the interest of few individuals but to provide a credible platform for leadership in Nigeria.
At this point, one must not fail to mention the governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, who seems to be behind all the brouhaha.
Governor Wike must be reminded that in spite of his self acclaimed contribution to the PDP, he does not possess the right to do as he wishes with the party.
He is like every other member of the party and as a democrat, must submit to the principle of party supremacy.
Governor Wike must understand that before he became governor, others also contributed to making the party what it was and built it to the level that it became viable for him to use it as a platform to win elections.
It may interest Wike to know that it was a former governor that paid the first rent at Wadata Plaza which till date is the national secretariat of the party.
Many others made ample contributions to party as well, but they submitted to the authority of the party and did not demand that the party be made their lap dogs as Governor Wike is insisting.
Wike should not allow his ambition of picking another Ikwere man to be governor of Rivers State, destroy the party that gave him the platform to be governor.
Destroying the PDP at this time when Nigerians are yearning for an alternative party at the centre due to the failures of the APC to live to its promise of providing better leadership, would be a most unpatriotic and insensitive to the collective wishes of Nigerians.
Leaders of the party like Ndudi Elumelu, Seriake Dickson and others who have intervened and called for caution have done the right thing as wisdom is needed at this time to keep the PDP flag flying for the sake of all Nigerians.
One must also commend the Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom for his principled stance on the matter which goes to show that, he is a leader on the side of truth.
Former Senate President David Mark also deserves some accolade on account of how he has stood on the side of the party and did not join the forces that want to destroy the party. Posterity will be kind to these leaders on how they stood for fairness and justice.
Comr. Onwe Ogezi, writes from Abuja and can be reached via onweogezi@yahoo.com
