[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he failed People’s Democratic Party, PDP, convention cannot and should not be blamed on our political adversaries.
Rather, the blame should rest squarely on the failure of internal conflict resolution machinery of the PDP. The surprising naivety and desperation of many to seize power and control the party, and the gullibility of majority of the followership, which has become entrenched in the cesspool of pervasive impunity of our leadership over the years.
However, it is commendable that the National Executive Committee of the PDP threw sentiments aside and extended the tenure of the controversial caretaker commuter by one year and allowed for future expansion of the membership of the committee.
The importance of this is that the party has now officially jettisoned the “Microwave” strategy, hitherto, employed by the leadership, and allowed for ample time to address all issues.
By allowing for new inclusions into the members of the caretaker committee, the leadership of the party, obviously, has made room for possible reasonable negotiation with the Senator Modu Sheriff, which is inevitable and a political imperative, if the party must remain United.
Again, this is neither the time for victory songs nor a season for political vendetta. This is time for seeking lasting and honest peace, time to rebuild from current ashes of flames of the inferno, of political opportunism, greed, selfishness and blatant brigandry, and impunity.
There may just be another chance to do it again especially now that our adversaries are burning their political access card.
Long live the PDP.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Dr. Doyin Okupe is a chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party. He has served as a senior advisor under two Nigerian presidents, Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan. Connect with him on Facebook.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
