Why PDP should not die, by Jacob Ogunseye

In every democracy, the opposition often has a difficult decision to make with regards to supporting the government on the issue of legislation or in reaching a consensus on a policy matter. A democracy operates on the basis that there is room for choice all the way up to the selection of the government. Ours cannot be an exception. After hours behind my computer, I asked rhetorically, how did we get into this deep mess? Being alone, I could not proffer an answer. The rate of election nullifications by the judiciary arm of the government due to fraud and irregularities is horrible and demeaning. The current revelations that have dominated the front pages of our national dailies over the past three weeks leave a sour taste in one’s mouth. They are demeaning and shameful for the giant of Africa. It becomes more worrisome when you discover that the main party at the receiving end of the probably choreographed events is the former ruling party, Peoples Democratic Party.
The fall out of these events have seen the Peoples Democratic Party making several statements to defuse the situation, but as the governors Forum of the main opposition party has said, these decimations will be injurious and will cause us a setback. Meanwhile, since I am not an advocate for PDP, it will be wrong for me to make any assumptions, though the assumptions might be true, submitting it may be dangerous and could draw the anger of party faithful. The unfortunate loss of power in the last election was the last straw that broke their camel’s jaw.
The party that once boasted that it will rule the country for the next sixty years has suddenly been kicked out of power and overnight condemned to opposition status within a quarter of their projection. The concern here is not only being in the opposition but going into extinction. The once “largest political party” in Africa is witnessing a very fast decimation. All attempts to quench the fire of decimation appear to have hit the rock. Urgent action is needed to save the party or else, it might end up becoming a part of history in the democratic governance of Nigeria.
To the ruling party, if the accusation against the presidency and his party regarding a grand plan to reduce their figure is true, then there is a need for caution. All Progressive Congress couldn’t have won without having a political party to contend with. Exterminating the contender is the worst form of repression. Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of taking increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear. The need for the APC to understand that power does not last forever is better now or never. A robust opposition will help shape their government and even put them on their toes and quicken the achievement of electoral promises.
Without being judgemental, going by the media outputs on the allegations of poor management of the country’s resources under the previous government, it appears Nigerians were taken for a ride, and I strongly believe that a lesson has been learnt. Power never last forever, it never corrupts people but people corrupt it. The former President Goodluck Jonathan built a bloated machinery of political power but forgot he won’t always be the one to run it.  The resultant effect is shattering the plans and aspiration of his great party. PDP must find strength once again, explain to Nigerians where things went wrong, jettison the unwarranted calls for a truth commission, the idea won’t fly, they should come with clean hands and drop their defensive position. The major way to have a better opposition in the country today is through the continuous existence of PDP. Obviously, the individuals in other political parties are too weak to constitute an opposition that can query the excesses of the ruling APC. If this advice is ignored, we might have deliberately consigned ourselves into a dictatorship.