By Prince Azubuike Esq.
Prior to the 2015 general elections, APC was not just a political party, it was a movement. A movement that was too strong to be stopped. Just like the biblical stone, anyone who tried to rise against it was broken and on whomsoever it descended on, it grinded them to powder.
Truth be told, APC was never a political party in a classical sense of the word. It was and remains a fragile coalition of disparate groups and groupings, united by a common ambition: to defeat former President Jonathan and the PDP. It was to that extent merely a multi-purpose vehicle for capturing power. To put it succinctly, it is just a club of disparate people desperate for power.
With that objective achieved, it is normal for the secondary contradictions that were papered over during the struggle would come to the fore. Thus, the saying that every revolution, like Saturn, devours its children. History bears this out: the Cultural Revolution in China, the Knight of Long Knife in Nazi Germany, Stalin’s purge in Russia or the case of Imre Nagy, the highly revered former Hungarian Head of State, who was the symbol of the country’s uprising against Soviet rule in 1956 but was executed but was executed for treachery by his own country’s communist leaders.
Though the APC was more of a mass movements, parrarels can be drawn between it and revolutionary movements that often aggregates different tendencies to win power first before dealing with the contradictions within the movements. Today, APC is on the cusp of implosion. The crisis in the party has reached a frightening crescendo. It has been a gradual but steady plummet for the party and it is becoming obvious that the party is in a thrall of a curse – the success curse.
Barely one hour after the Court of Appeal affirmed the decision of the FCT High Court suspending Mr. Adams Oshiomole as the National Chairman of the party, three national chairmen emerged;
Prince Hilliard Eta
Chief Victor Giadom and
Abiola Ajimobi
All claiming to be the National Chairman of the ruling APC. While this crisis lingers, President Buhari has maintained an undignified silence as he has been doing with every issue bedeviling the country: from the problem in his home, to the shooting in Aso Rock, to the security crisis in the North, it appears nobody is in charge. Unfortunately, the seal holding the tatters of APC at the moment is Buhari.
APC can at present be likened to a renowned prostitute aged 89 who is still optimistic that a man will come into her damaged beyond repair life, marry her, have carnal knowledge with her and she still able to conceive and bear a baby of her kind.
The failure of APC is a failure all-round. Our political system needs re-borning. The more non-ideological and predatory political behemoths needs to collapse to create room for people interest ideals to flourish. Like the Third Reich collapsed for Germany to thrive, some political parties holding the fortunes of Nigeria needs to run out of oxygen for the country to breathe.
May Nigeria see the end of this current APC crisis.
Ise’
Prince Azubuike Esq.
Partner, West Law Solicitors
Port Harcourt
