Can Seyi Makinde Revive PDP?

In July this year, when Atiku Abubakar, a two-time presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), officially resigned from the party, I was one of those who thought the former ruling party had officially collapsed.

Atiku, we thought, was an unstoppable force; a juggernaut who came every year like the Hindu deity Jagannath, bestriding the political landscape of the country. We thought the PDP belonged to him and was at the service of his presidential ambition.

But when he quit and announced his defection to the ADC, citing “irreconcilable differences that have emerged “in the party, many thought it was the death knell for the PDP.

But now, Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, is showing how to lead an opposition party. The governor is showing leadership qualities that have been hidden in his closet. Makinde is flourishing in the absence
of people like Atiku, David Mark, and others who left the party.

Atiku did not allow the PDP to breathe while inside the party, and several noble tendencies must have been emasculated due to the larger-than-life persona of the former vice president, who is determined to keep running for president until God calls him home.

What Atiku could not offer the party is what Makinde is now offering. Atiku wants to be president of Nigeria, but could not reconcile a party in crisis, and had to quit! True leaders emerged during crisis and
stormy times. They arrive to calm the waters and bring everyone to the table. Atiku spectacularly failed to show leadership in a party he helped founded; instead, he blamed the ruling party.

Such shocking abdication of stewardship shown by Atiku must never be rewarded by a higher office. Anyone who cannot steer a political party out of crisis cannot lead a complex country like Nigeria. It is
vaulting ambition for someone who could not fix a political party to seek to fix Nigeria.

Makinde is showing that no matter how formidable a ruling party is, true leaders can hold up opposition parties and present the people with viable alternatives. Strong opposition leaders hold the ruling party
accountable, not wail that it is not allowing them to function as
opposition.

On a day news broke that two PDP governors were defecting to the ruling All Progressive Party (APC), a few weeks before the PDP national convention, Makinde inspired members and supporters of the party by downplaying the impact. He said the gale of defections would not stand in the way
of the party’s elective national convention scheduled to be held in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on November 15-16.

The Oyo State governor was quoted to have said: “The train has moved, and whoever is trying to stand in the way of a moving train is probably also trying to commit suicide.

“So, my advice is, please, no matter how highly placed, no matter what has transpired in the past, we don’t want to see anyone dead. So, please don’t commit suicide.”

These are the words of a confident and committed leader determined to change the course of the trajectory of the party. He said the dwindling fortunes of the party in recent times would not be its fate for long, noting that leaders of the party have the experience to turn the tide.

“So, challenges will come and go, but for us as leaders, no matter what situation we find ourselves in, we will organise the party. It’s not the end in itself.

“The end is for Nigerians to have democracy, and for Nigerians to have a party that they can relate to. So, if you are saying somebody is defecting, so our house is not in order, democracy is about conflict,
conflict resolution, and also resilience,” he added.

He said, unlike in the past, the PDP will no longer be distracted but stay focused on what it can offer the Nigerian people. He stressed that the Nigerian people want multi-party democracy and leaders with ideas, as the PDP now has. As Chairman of the Transportation Committee of the Convention, the governor assured that the November convention would throw up committed and accountable party leaders.

If Makinde succeeds in sanitising the PDP and helps in putting it back on track as a formidable opposition party, he would become a bona fide national leader and a presidential candidate to be taken seriously.

While I’m not utterly optimistic that he has the capacity to do the impossible and immediately turn the PDP into a winning machine again, he would earn the respect of many if he can at least save the party
from sinking deeper into the political quicksand it has found itself in. He has been saying the right things and taking the right steps to rally members of the party and resurrect the allure of the PDP.

For a party that has been declared dead by several of its stalwarts, the courage and confidence demonstrated by Makinde in the possibility of its resurrection is admirable. He must continue to walk the talk and prove that chieftains and governors leaving the party are no leaders, but self-seeking egotists.

Perhaps, Makinde will emerge as the leader the PDP has been waiting for; a leader forged in the furnace of crisis. He must hold up as he’s been doing. And if the rumour that he nurses a presidential ambition is true, this is the time to convince the world that he’s an authentic leader and not a rookie politician. If he can turn the PDP into a party that can challenge the ruling party in the 2027 election, he would have proved himself, regardless of whether he wins or not.

I’m not so naive to believe Makinde will run for president or win if he runs in 2027. The odds are huge, not least the fact that the incumbent is also from the same geo-political zone with him. But at least, he would have sent a message that will be difficult to forget: that he saved a dying party and brought it back from the brink! And the world would take notice.

We’re already catching glimpses of what a new PDP may look like. Earlier in the week, the forum of state chairmen of the PDP suspended two members over alleged anti-party activities and attempts to sabotage the party’s forthcoming national convention.

The suspended officials are Austine Nwachukwu, chairman of Imo PDP, and Amah Abraham Nnana, chairman of Abia PDP. The forum accused the duo of colluding with “external forces” allegedly linked to the APC to disrupt preparations for the national convention.

A party that is ready to enforce discipline and demands loyalty from members is a party that is ready to take power. Not a party that wrings its hands in frustration at every anti-party activity of its
members.

Tajudeen Suleiman is an Abuja-based journalist. (Email: [email protected])

Disclaimer: This article is entirely the opinion of the writer and does not represent the views of The Whistler.