Osato Edokpayi: This APC union shall surely stand (Y! Politico)

by Osato Edokpayi

APC-Governors-in-Maiduguri

As the ACN has demonstrated in the South-West and in Edo state; the PDP is not invincible. This union shall indeed stand tall to defeat the PDP and satisfy the yearnings of millions of Nigerians…

I welcomed the news of the formation of Nigeria’s new formidable opposition party, the All Progressives Congress with mixed feelings. As news of the merger filtered onto my twitter timeline, I heaved a sigh of relief. I felt it was about time. Indeed it was about time Nigeria’s leading opposition parties put their ideological differences aside to form a party big enough to take on the might of the ruling People’s Democratic Party and defeat it. I was, however, sceptical of how exactly the merger would work given that it previous attempts had failed, most recently just before the 2011 general elections.

After the failed merger between the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in 2011, I must commend the leadership of both parties and the other members who make up the APC for not giving up on the idea of a merger. I and indeed many astute political observers have always been of the opinion that only a coalition of the leading opposition parties in the country could successfully wrestle Nigeria’s destiny from the hands of the rudderless ruling party.

Ancient and modern history is littered with instances where the people, sick and tired of tyranny and a dearth of true leadership decided to take the bull by the horns and stand up to their oppressors. This must have led John Ruskin to remark that; “you may either win your peace or buy it: win it by resistance to evil; buy it, by compromise with evil.” I believe this merger, when the fine details are eventually straightened out would provide a formidable opposition to the propaganda machinery of the PDP-led federal government.

The recent visit of ten governors of the APC to Maiduguri, where they walked the streets in plain light without the arrogance of power, defying security report from the government’s security agencies has put the Jonathan administration and indeed the PDP to shame. These governors showed a side of them many Nigerians don’t associate with men in power. They exhibited uncommon bravery just to show compassion to the inhabitants of a city ravaged by terror – a city that the president until recently after the governors’ visit has refused to set foot in.

This action of the APC has clearly rattled the presidency and the PDP which is clearly vulnerable at the moment. The internal wrangling in the ruling party and of course a lack of true leadership is aptly demonstrated in the way the party has gone about demonising the outspoken Governor of Rivers State and chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, Rotimi Amaechi for his seeming opposition to another term of the Jonathan presidency in 2015. That is not all. The PDP also have to deal with an unhappy Northern Governors Forum led by Niger State Governor, Babaginda Aliyu which is not completely sold on a Jonathan candidature for the 2015 general elections.

This union we now know as the APC must forge ahead. In the coming weeks, we expect to see a proper outline of the APC’s aims and policies for the Nigerian project. A remarkable presidential candidate with an impeccable track record in public service who would appeal to majority of Nigerians regardless of ethnicity or ethnic affiliations would be the icing on the cake.

All over the South-West, and in Edo state, we can see the true dividends of true democracy and a commitment of the government of these states to sustainable human and infrastructural development. As the ACN has demonstrated in the South-West and in Edo state; the PDP is not invincible. This union shall indeed stand tall to defeat the PDP and satisfy the yearnings of millions of Nigerians for a true government of the people, by the people and for the people.

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Osato Edokpayi is an ardent believer in the Nigerian state that serves only the interest of its citizens. He is a keen observer of Edo State politics with particular interest in the political activities of the Action Congress of Nigeria in Edo State.

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

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