Battle for the soul of APC
Simbo Olorunfemi
09-04-2018
In my siddon-look corner, I see a lot of amusing stuff. One being the abiding interest in the battle for the soul of the APC by the same people who have turned their backs on President Buhari and the APC and have been vociferous with their supposition that the man cannot win the next elections.
The emptiness of their rhetoric about the dead-on-arrival 3rd Force now stares them in the face. The 3rd Force keeps transmuting in form and substance like amoeba, no-one remembers what it is about again, as the arrowhead changes on weekly basis. Once, it was Atiku. Soon, Duke. Who is it today?
Some might know, but the only hope in all of the smoke puffed into the air by these people is a severance in the tie between MaiGaskiya and Jagaban. When they are not stoking up mischief and hate on the wings of a conspiracy theory wrapped around the Fulani cabal, appealing to ethnic sentiment to no end, they let their wish, half-truths and other things get in the way of their analyses, messing their elaborate premise and far-flung conclusions up.
As MaiGaskiya moved to re-position Jagaban by his side, many misread what was afoot.They made themselves Lead Strategists to Jagaban. They misread what the assignment was about, even when we told them – it was a coronation, as I put it then, not what they made it out to be. They saw it as a set-up to disgrace or demystify the man? How? Why? To what purpose or end for the one who made the appointment?
It could not have been so and even the top dogs of a different tendency within the party knew what it was about, hence the resistance from within. Reconciliation was only secondary, the primary mission was well-understood by those within, hence the renewed battle for the soul of the party.
The Chairman, enjoying the attention and perks of office, especially with the President largely uninterested in party politics, was quick to align himself with other tendencies, eventually resting his head on the shoulders of the Governors, once he gave them the leeway in their states. His and their interests coincided, hence the ease with which the tenure elongation move sailed through.
From the days of the PDP, the Governors have always been in control of party structure. But in the present case, there is a President whose base, strength and influence surpasses that of the party. As a matter of fact, the Governors need him more than he needs them. Hence, their cautious move. Hence, their engagement of the reverse gear.
The President might have been unmoved by the shenanigans at play until he saw that the Governors, in the pursuit of their interest might have left other flanks open. The Governors are only interested in themselves. They need the President, for 2019. Anyone, anything that might make them fall on his other side, they are willing to sacrifice.That might just play into the hands of the President’s man who himself is a master-strategist.
But then, there is no certainty. Nothing is sure. Especially with those who are on their way out but are only hanging around for now to plant moles inside, weaken the structure they are leaving behind. Compromises would have to be made. One head that might have to go is that of the one thinking he can play all sides in the game, having forgotten his yesterday.
The battle will not end today. It will be fought in different forms and fronts, over the next few months. Today will only give a clearer picture of what tomorrow has in stock.
Those who have placed the future of their 3rd Force on a much hoped-for severance between the President and his man are on their own. They misread the men. The President and his man are largely on the same page.
-Simbo Olorunfemi
