By Harry Awurumibe
More than any time in the chequered history of Nigeria’s Constitutional Democracy, a group of people called Party Delegates will on behalf of the millions of members of the county’s main opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gather in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital choose the man who will contest the 2019 Presidential Election with the incumbent President, Mohammadu Buhari.
Ordinarily, the PDP Presidential Primary Election would not have generated a lot of heat but the large number of the aspirants and the quality of the candidates has called for a big attention of PDP members, Nigerians of different political affiliations and the international community.
No fewer than 12 heavyweight political gladiators have thrown their hats into the ring and each is not thinking of the option of a withdrawal as we approach the Zero Hour of Saturday, October 6, 2019 PDP Presidential Primary Election in Port Harcourt. As at the time of writing this report all the 12 aspirants are still directly or indirectly canvassing for votes from delegates.
Among the candidates are former Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar; Serving Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki; former Senate President, David Mark; Serving Governors, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal and Ibrahim Dankwabo. Also in the race are ex- Governors- Rabiu Kwankwaso; Atahiru Bafarawa; Sule Lamido; Ahmed Makarfi and David Jonah Jang. Others are Barrister Tanimu Turaki and Ditti- Ahmed.
This is by all standards PDP’s First Eleven (11) against any other opposition team if these men will bury their bloated ego to work for the success of the party against the common political enemy called All Progressive Congress (APC) in 2019.
lndeed, these men of Timber and Calibre, apologies to late political enigma- Dr. Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe, are ablely qualified to be the PDP flagbearer in the Presidential Election. But only one man can be the chosen candidate at this time while the other 11 people will have to wait for another election year to try their luck.
However, the tragedy of the type of Democracy practiced in Nigeria is that of Winner Takes All (WTA), the fear of losing out then forces Nigerian politicians to now play the politics of “If I can’t get it, let him not get it too”.
By playing this type of destructive politics, every Nigerian politician is a victim while the citizens are the worst hit. Also, losers in the shadow election contests are known to have worked hard to destroy their party during the General Elections or jump ship to pitch tents with other parties to undermine their party.
Will PDP Port Harcourt Convention change the narrative this time around. Yes, it can, if the 11 candidates who will not get the PDP Presidential Ticket can resolve amongst themselves to work for the common goal of ensuring that PDP wins the 2019 Presidential Election at the expense of the ruling APC. The unlucky aspirants can show their detractors and the whole world that they mean well for their party, Nigerians and Democracy.
A closer look at the pedigree of each of the 12 PDP Presidential Aspirants showed that none of them is a poor man by every barometer used to measure their wealth and experience. They are all successful men and patriots too. For this reason it will be strange to see any among them who will lose on Saturday and decides to decamp to APC or any another party in other to still run for the Presidency.
Finally, the PDP heavyweights especially those who decamped from the APC should know that they have been declared “political black legs and Paperweights” who have no more political value. For this reason they must remain with PDP to fight for their ‘political survival”. If PDP wins the Presidential Election then they will not be victimised but if by any chance APC retains the Presidency, well, these Political Juggernauts will go into political oblivion, at least for four years.
This is why PDP BOT and it’s aspirants should lock themselves in one room to brainstorm in Port Harcourt, take a bitter but necessary decision on who will become PDP Presidential Candidate to confront President Buhari. This man must possess among other qualities Capacity to lead the divided nation in all spheres including job creation, fighting insurgents, obedience to Rule of Law, promote national cohesion and Equity.
The PDP Presidential Candidate must have a track record of good governance and the ability to turn the economy around within the shortest possible time.
All eyes are on Port Harcourt. All eyes are on PDP and All eyes are on Nigeria.
We don’t want to hear that gunmen invaded the Port Harcourt Convention ground to break peoples head or ballot boxes were snatched. No.
I rest my case.
HARRY Chidozie Awurumibe is Social Commentator and Public Affairs Analyst
