History was made in December 2014 when the mega opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) held its presidential convention in Lagos State. The event was real political history because for the fact that the convention was held in the full glare of the public and television cameras. The APC primary election was action-packed, exciting and entertaining while it lasted and proved wrong those who felt that the APC would do a coronation or consensus primary like the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Secondly, it was democratic and transparent making it difficult for any of its very qualified presidential aspirants and their ardent supporters to fault the result or engage in any form of protest. Rather, as the convention ended and the winners emerged and the congratulations flowed, the party reaped crucial political capital interns of becoming stronger, more united and the reference point for the average Nigerian, many of whom asked the question, “is this kind of process possible in today’s Nigeria?”
Those Nigerians who watched with disbelief at the civilised and democratic behaviour of the APC and the maturity of its presidential aspirants wished that the presidential aspirants of the party were scattered in more political parties to give the Nigerian voter the rare chance of varied choices in the 2015 presidential polls. This is so because the APC line up was star-studded with each of the five aspirants very qualified to lead the country. The situation in the APC stood in agonising contrast to the situation in the ruling party which aside becoming less democratic since it debuted in 1999, has progressively been rid of men of quality and courage who can contest for the presidency. For this reason, to avoid embarrassing itself, the PDP declared its incumbent President Jonathan as the sole candidate and closed the door against anyone who nursed any ambition, though there were no serious contenders.
Following the above, while the APC entertained Nigerians and kept them glued to television sets and the world watched with bathed breath as to who would emerge to challenge the old and tired PDP in the 2015 polls, the old lady, PDP held a half-heated gathering in Abuja in the name of a convention, to ratify its consensus candidate. Nigerians especially the young and the cynical adult population who has lost interest in politics because of PDP’s strange ways of doing things, had their political interest rekindled courtesy of the APC convention.
The founders of the APC namely, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Gen Mohammadu Buhari, Chief Ogbonnaya Onu of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party and Governor Rochas Okorocha of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, deserve commendation. In view of the chequered history of opposition politics in Nigeria over the years, few gave them a chance. Today however, they have through perseverance and strategic focus and patriotism given the Nigerian voter something to look forward to. Likewise, the APC will not have become the household name it is today without the contribution and determination of the five PDP governors and the former PDP vice president, Atiku Abubakar, who, unable to cure the PDP of its ills and slide towards undemocratic tendencies, decided to leave the party and work for the emergence of a truly democratic party for Nigerians.
The experience of the five governors and for Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the PDP and the determination of the latter not to be party to any political party that does not uphold internal democracy and transparent politics was one reason why it was difficult for the presidential candidate of the APC to emerge through consensus or sole candidacy like the PDP. The APC is now the better for it as it has become a reference point for Nigerians and people in Africa as to how democracy can thrive on the continent to ensure that good and reliable leaders emerge.
The APC leadership, its national convention committee and the governors of the party, also deserve commendation for the way and manner they managed their quality aspirants before and after the primaries with the result that none of them has started any problem or case with the party, rather all of them without exception is joining forces with the winner of the primaries, retired Major-General Mohammadu Buhari to work for victory for the Nigerian people come 2015.
The APC primaries, the organisation, outcome and the conduct of the aspirants has made history and would remain a point of reference for years to come.
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