Prior to the postponement of the elections that should have held almost a fortnight ago now, there was a palpable sense of fear in the mien of party members that they could relinquish power to the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, on May 29. Even the blind could see it, especially given the uncoordinated, disjointed and ad hominem comments that party functionaries resorted to as their campaign strategy in the face of an articulate opposition.

So, following comments by Sambo Dasuki, the National Security Adviser, in London, England, PDP apparatchiks dug deep, and found reasons to put pressure on the Independent National Electoral Commission to postpone the elections, even when a lot of Nigerians felt that there were no valid reasons for such a postponement. They got what they wanted just at the nick of time, shaded under the need to have a secure country for the elections to hold which Nigerians eventually accepted. One week into the period, with scores of insurgents now dead, and hundreds more fleeing towns they held hostage since August of 2014, the PDP is now showing glimpses of its old self. The arrogant, boastful, in-your-face party, not the picture of a sinking ship that the party portrayed prior to the elections postponement.Party members have now gotten the needed relief from the seemingly result-yielding campaigns of the APC, which has seen quite a number of the PDP’s members jump ship with the loyalty of some of its remaining members being suspect.

However, there is still some way to go, and it will be interesting to see how the PDP will attempt to turn the tide, win the elections fair and square, and continue running the county.

First the PDP and its handlers still have the uphill task of  purging the minds of Nigerians who still believe that it took the stark reality of an imminent defeat at the polls to get the president and his team to perform.

How else would one explain the government’s failure to battle the insurgents decisively over the past six years thereby fuelling the growth of the terrorist group and its brazenness in attacking various towns, especially in Borno state, and seemingly at will.

To think that the same government that received help from the international community in the wake of the kidnap of the Chibok girls but displayed a disinterested attitude was quick to accuse the US of failing to support it in the war against the insurgents, is almost laughable. The same government, which had for months procrastinated on going full frontal against the insurgents has suddenly started winning victories against same insurgents.

Asides insecurity, the present government like previous PDP governments, has the heavy baggage of corruption to carry along on this long, tortuous walk to the polls. This government has received some of its most scathing remarks from the public in this area as most of its officials have handled the issue of corruption with kid gloves.

Truthfully, many Nigerians have now chosen to accept that this present government has no plans to tackle corruption and therefore will not tackle it even in the face of glaring corrupt practices by its officials and agents. To many, the fact that the President has been unable to clearly define corruption even after five odd years in office as President in addition to his several years in public service.

The President and his party still have five weeks to create a new impression in the minds of Nigerians and perhaps win their much coveted votes.

It remains to be seen if the government will ride on the waves of its present successes in the battle against the insurgents in the North East to propel the actualisation of its much proclaimed Transformation Agenda.

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