THE FALL AND THE RISE AGAIN OF PDP IN NIGERIA, THE IMPACT OF THE CURRENT LEADERSHIP UNDER PRINCE UCHE SECONDUS.

by Umar Lawal

As a child of history, the return to democracy in 1999, that is barely 21 years now, cannot be divorced from the efforts of pro-democracy groups, that later metamorphosed to G34,and transformed to the People’s Democratic Party PDP, and other platforms that symbolised the true foundation to democratic government in Nigeria.

Since then, the Party’s leadership was characterised either through an interim leadership or elected ones that had successfully piloted the affairs of the then ruling Party for consecutive 16 years.

In the course of piloting the affairs of the PDP, regarded as the most popular and grass rooted political Party in Nigeria and Africa by implications. For 16 years in government, the Party had not witnessed such turbulent terrain compared to what it went through in the last three years,after the successful convention that produced Prince Uche Secondus,as the substantive National Chairman few years ago.

The once formidable ruling Party that was eventually taken over by fifth columnist, brought the popularity of the Party to a low ebb, not by the support of the majority of Nigerians, but conjectured by the privileged few Nigerians, that coincidentally imposed themselves on the Party leadership and on the corridor of power.

This ugly developement was the crux of the grand betrayal that saw the Party conceded defeat,not that it loosed the election, that was characterised by mass irregularities,but for peace to reign in Nigeria, in accordance with the popular saying of not ‘destroying the house it had already built’ for obvious reasons of the comity of political desperados and few opportunists, who have sold out the legacies of the Party.

Looking at the unity, peaceful co-existence and robust democratic practice founded by the PDP for 16 years, and since democratic practice is a game of numbers, the idea to concede defeat to the hurriedly arranged political strange bedfellows called APC, also demonstrated it’s leadership potentials through rulership in 2015, after it ascended government many years before the change of government.

Since the popular saying of ‘He who fights and run away, lives to fight another day’ is still in vogue, cum the local parlance of ‘Tasting the food of a second wife, will determine the one that is well prepared’ PDP had no choice than to start from the scratch, through who the cap fits, as only Prince Uche Secondus, the current National Chairman of the Party was tipped for the onerous assignment.

As a tested, trusted and acted leader in that capacity, the most populous Party came from a depressed and accepted defeat in 2015, faced with a lot of rejection, rebuked, renounced membership and mass defections, it is left with the uphill task for the Secondus led NWC to return it to it’s former fold, not only as the popular political Party in Africa, but the leadership of Nigeria.

Chief Secondus swung into action, matched words with his action and repositioned the Party through a most transparent processes, played a led opposition roles through constructive criticism, that saw Nigerians and the international communities the need to watch the back of the ruling Party.

It was his singualr efforts that led to the keenly contested 2019 general elections, that turned the ruling Party, APC, to an opposition Party, through many political manouvres and untowards electoral processes.

The first electoral blow that signalled against the ruling APC in the last general elections was the postponement of the elections, and the strong debate and manipulations at the National Assembly/the electoral umpire,INEC on which of the elections that was to come first in the schedule of elections,for fear of defeat.

This developement was largely occassioned by the grand home work carried out by the Uche Secondus led national leadership of PDP, that produced a generally acceptable candidates at all levels, through an inalienable , transparent processes of sane internal democracy.
This was in addition to the best and popular canadidates that was fielded at all levels,supervised directly and indirectly by the machinery set up by the Party leadership, that was devoid of nepotism, favouritism and other unbecome tendencies.

It was Uche Secondus PDP leadership that drew the attention of both neighbouring African countries and the international communities that picked interest in the transition program of 2019 general elections in Nigeria.

This was as a result of series of reassurance at every fora, before the local and the international medium of the readiness of the Party, PDP to wrestled power from APC, the ruling party, as a result of bad governance.

He pleaded with the local and foreign observers to plead with the current administration to create an enabled environment for democratic practices flourished ,as the bane of PDP as the main opposition Party to clinged back to power was a fair play.

Uche Secondus leadership held the ruling APC to the jugular, until mass electoral malpractices was adopted by the ruling Party through a massively rigged and maneuvered results that characterised the 2019 general elections.

Even at that, many states was lost to PDP ,some was forcefully reclaimed from PDP in states like Kano, Plateau, Nasarawa, Niger, Kwara, to mention but very few.

In the staggered elections in Nigeria, it saw the PDP won many of the states that was upturned especially in Ekiti, Osun, Kogi, Ondo as Bayelsa and Edo could not see the light of the day, as PDP won in Bayelsa and reclaimed Edo from the Shylock APC.

Day in day out, both in local and international fora ,the fearless PDP Chairman had exposed the mis-governanace and misrule of the APC led federal government and the need for Nigerians to retrace their steps in 2023.

This positive developement brought the main opposition Party into a more formidable fold,that is now given the APC as the ruling Party,sleepless nights in it’s efforts to reclaim power in 2023.

Having inculcated in Nigerians and exposed the leadership gap created by the current APC administration in Nigeria, coupled with the constant re-orientation of Nigerians and the international communities on the lapses of the present administration in the last five years, Uche Secondus has placed the PDP at a more vantage position, to return to the leadership of the country.

This is addition to the constant pleas before the international communities for electoral reforms in tandem with the current order, to discourage any form of rigging and manipulations from the ruling APC by 2023, as witnessed in the previous election in 2019.

With confidence, hardwork, determination and mass awareness of the general public as well as constant assessment and failure of the present administration in the area of economic,social,political, health, education and infrastructural developement, PDP under Prince Uche Secondus leadership is prepared to take the Party back to governance of Nigeria in 2023.

It is only in Secondus leadership we saw positive factors that had prepared the minds of Party loyalists, faithfuls and Nigerians into supporting PDP in the next dispensation.

The onus now lies in the Party membership at all levels, to allow who the cap fits, to continue to wear it, provided it will take us to the promise land.

Prince Uche Secondus had displayed the inability and capability to take PDP to the eldorado, and by extension salavaging many Nigerians from the current political logjam and doldrums.

PDP National Chairman is now the bride of Nigerians across Party lines,as the hope of bringing back the lost glory lies in the wisdom of the opposition Party led by this capable hand.

The die is cast for the stakeholders of the Party to rally round the most populous Chairman PDP has ever produced, irrespective of any unforeseen and personal ambition of all and sundry.

Nigeria is greater than all its actors, it is high time to salvage this country from the hands of self centered leaders, by not allowing personal ambition to becloud the interest of Nigerians, as doing that will not augur well for the political, economic and social development of the country.

Since leadership is divine, this is high time to extend more supports, so as to allow Prince Uche Secondus, conclude what he started by leading the PDP back to victory in 2023.

Nigeria shall rise again, as PDP is ready to reverse the ugly trend and restore the dignity of Nigeria as a continent.