Wike Expulsion triggers fresh PDP turmoil as leaders clash over legitimacy, raising fears of deeper splits ahead of the 2027 race
“Finally, finally, PDP has held Wike’s bull by the horns…”
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“You mean with his expulsion from the PDP by the factional PDP convention held in Ibadan?“
“You are partisan! The way you couched your question shows very clearly that you are on Wike’s side”
“I don’t have to before asking questions! It is as clear as daylight that PDP has broken into factions. If it was doubtful before, the expulsion of Wike and some other PDP leaders has let the cat out of the bag. PDP has broken into factions…”
“Not factions, but tendencies! Every political party has tendencies. Differences usually arise among members of the same political party…”
“We are still saying the same thing, but in different languages. Whether you call it tendencies, differences or factions, it means there were disagreements that could not be amicably resolved, thereby splitting the party down the middle…”
“Now the party has decided to mend the split by expelling the crooked firewoods in PDP’s fire-place…”
“It will have consequences…”
“Not doing so also has its consequences…”
“I hope PDP had considered the pros and cons before launching into the deep…”
“Wike left them with no other option. Someone sitting inside and pissing inside, behaving like an untouchable, a sacred Fulani maalu, is inimical to the future of the party”
“Has the expulsion cured the party of its sickness or has it worsened matters? Already, more PDP governors are threatening to quit. Some state chapters of the party are also kicking against the Ibadan convention and its resolutions…”
“You think Wike and a few others that were expelled were the only problems of the party?”
“Now, how does this party hope to make a good showing in 2027? With ADC floundering, the Labour Party in disarray and NNPP factionalised, which opposition will tackle the APC in the next election?”
“Politicians are incurable optimists! Even when everyone sees that something is black, politicians will convince you it is snow white. Ask them now, and all of them will tell you they are the party to beat in 2027!”
“Foolish pride, said Jimmy Cliff, the Jamaican reggae superstar! It is sad that we don’t have political parties anymore; we only have political platforms…”
“And what is the difference between both? “
“A political party is a group of people of like minds, with the same ideology, coming together to contest for power with a view to forming a government to implement programmes and policies that they and the people voting them into power believe will serve the best interest of the people…”
“And political platforms?“
“The most opportune party that can help a politician achieve his goal of cornering power for self aggrandisement. That is why you see them in this party today and in another tomorrow…”
“I see! But why are the parties allowing the defectors to come in? Can’t the door be shut against them?”
“They are birds of a feather! They are all members of the same decadent political class who see nothing wrong in the political prostitution that has made politicians a laughing stock here. I pity the few decent ones among them…”
“It must mean, then, that the decadent politicians you are referring to have the same mentality as the ‘agberos’ or motor park touts who see nothing wrong in touting because they are all beneficiaries of the system one way or another”
“Exactly! Tell me, will Wike and the others accept their expulsion with equanimity and move on?“
“Which side? They have denounced it! I am sure they will head to the law court…”
“That, again, is job for the boys. Some fat-cat lawyers will land the briefs that will arise from all sides. And judges who will be assigned the cases will also not regret their efforts at the end of the day!”
“I agree! Public funds will be diverted to prosecute this case on all fronts. In other words, the people’s interest is what will suffer in the final analysis…”
“Of course! Politics is a game of selfish interest. The people and their interests do not feature in the equation…”
“But what actually do we practise here? Democracy or demon-go-crazy?“
“In all fairness, we ourselves are still trying to figure out what! Like IBB said of our economy – that it defied logic – our system of government also defies logic. All motion, but little or no movement. All we know is that we are rolling; where to, we cannot tell!”
“That is why PDP’s expulsion of Wike is a right step in the right direction. The PDP had become rudderless because of the antics of Wike et al”
“A ship lost at sea is not easy to recover and redirect, especially if the ship has no compass…”
“Are you saying PDP’s lost ship has no compass?”
“Tell me, who is their compass? Atiku abandoned the floundering ship a while ago. A lost Obi is yet to find himself, talk less of finding a lost political party. Who is left in the party that would pull it out of its quagmire?”
“Read the lips of the party! Where the party held its convention is its new leadership”
“I seeee! So Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo state is the new PDP leader? Can he also be their next presidential flagbearer?”
“It is possible.”
“Then, he will have the Bauchi state Gov. Bala Mohammed to contend with. I understand that one, too, is interested in the job.”
“The Fulani/Muslim/North politicians are cleverer than that. They know that 2027 is a mission impossible for PDP. So they will release a southerner to go on that wild goose chase, clearing the way for the North to produce the presidential flagbearer of both the PDP and APC in 2031…”
“I see! So Bala Mohammed will position himself for 2031 while allowing Makinde to chase the goose in 2027…”
“Exactly! Since he is a second-term governor, Makinde has nothing to lose. After all, he is not going to spend his own money. Owo ilu l’a fi n s’oselu”
“What is the meaning of that?”
“It is public funds that we use to run for public office…”
“It is ridiculous that the saying of our own people supports the shenanigans of the politicians!“
“Not necessarily! It only means that our elders are realists, they say it as it is…”
“Meaning, then, that what we complain about today did not start today?“
“Exactly! Only that it gets worse by the day. Scripture says that there are no new occurrences under the heavens…”
“Expulsion of party leaders as well?”
“Yes! The likes of Olu Onaguruwa, Ebenezer Babatope and Lateej Jakande who went to participate in the Sani Abacha ignoble government were expelled by their party when they rejected party directives to return…”
“I see! I also understand that Chief Bola Ige of the Alliance for Democracy also served in the PDP government of President Olusegun Obasanjo. So Wike’s case is not an exception…
“It is, and it is not! In Ige’s case, opinion is divided on whether his party gave him the nod to go or not to go. But his party decided not to aggravate the matter by keeping quiet on it. Ige himself at a point reportedly decided to return to his party before he met his untimely death”
”I see! Ige didn’t do to his party what Wike did to PDP…”
“Ige’s party had elders and seasoned politicians who managed the Ige matter with more maturity and with less self-centredness. PDP lost every opportunity it had to avoid what eventually became its fate. How come former allies became inveterate foes?”
“You mean…”
“Makinde and Wike no longer see eye-to-eye! How come the party failed to take advantage of Atiku’s exit from the party to reconcile with one another and put their house in order?”
“Wike’s ministerial appointment was a cog in the wheel of PDP’s progress. His overbearing posturing was also a pain in the neck for many PDP leaders…”
”Grandma taught me how to share the same bunker with a mad man without anyone settling quarrels for us. It demands astute diplomacy, patience, perseverance, and experience. Overall, the objectives to be achieved must capture the interest of all. But where everyone pursues his or her own selfish interest, arriving at a consensus will be a herculean task…”
“We are back to where we started – the politics of selfishness or self-interest…”
“APC, too, should watch it! PDP that boasted it would be in power for 60 years floundered after 16 years. APC that looks like a behemoth today, if it does not avoid PDP’s mistakes, will also unravel, sooner or later, on the altar of the selfish interest of its members.”
“When contending forces match force against force…”
“The aftermath will become like that of Ozymandias!”
“What is the fate of Wike and the others now they have been expelled from PDP?”
“The court will pronounce.”
“Has Wike outlived his usefulness to Mr. President?”
“Everyone has their relevance when an election cycle is around the corner!”
“You do not think the president will throw Wike under the bus, especially after the controversy involving him and the Naval officer?”
“How many votes will that earn or cost Mr. President?“
“You are talking about votes when we are concerned with important matters of state?”
“To politicians, everything is reduced to votes. Why are Atiku and Obi not the ones calling the shots today?”
“Votes!”
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“You are a fast learner! Think and talk of everything in terms of votes – what it brings in and what it takes away!”
Former editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-chief, BOLAWOLE was also the Managing Director/Editor-in-chief of The Westerner news magazine. He writes the ON THE LORD'S DAY column in the Sunday Tribune and TREASURES column in New Telegraph newspaper on Wednesdays. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television.
