On February 6, 2013, four pharmaceutical firms converged on Lagos and reintroduced into the Nigerian drug market a one-time popular and potent painkiller known as APC. APC, an amalgam of Aspirin, Paludrin and Codeine, was the number one choice for the treatment of all manner of pains, fever and cold. As kids, my parents were always quick to administer the drug to us at the slightest complaint of headache and allied symptoms, without a recourse to the doctor. The painkilling allies parted ways several years ago with the coming of other pain relievers like Panadol, Paracetamol, Novalgin, Analgin and Ibex.
Actually, the four political parties referred to above have nothing to do with drug production. I was just being figurative. The foursome are political platforms, namely Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) that came together, traded their identities and floated a new party that is now known as All Progressives Congress (APC).
This new APC is also intended to address the socio-economic and political headaches and other pains currently plaguing the nation. However, headache is believed to be a symptom of some more serious ailments lurking around in the body system. And the ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), that has been in power since the nation returned to full blown democracy in 1999, is held responsible for the nagging political headache, fever and cold afflicting the hapless masses.
In other words, no amount of APC administration would send the headache packing unless the cause itself is sent packing. But how would they achieve that? The ruling party is firmly entrenched in 26 states of the federation, whereas the four parties are holding sway only in 10. Ten over 26 is not an impressive mark for now. Governor Peter Obi of Anambra, one of those in opposition, does not seem to breathe the same APGA air with his colleague, Owelle Rochas Okorocha of Imo state. That would have made 11 over 26. The Democratic People’s Party (DPP) is said to be eying the merger. It is hoped that Dr. Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo, the only governor on the platform of the Labour Party, would see reasons to mimic the APC ideologues as time goes on. Then, it would be 13 over 26 which should be an improvement on the grade.
The PDP still remains a moving train in the nation’s political terrain, driven by 26 horse-power engine as opposed to 10. However, the good thing about the APC arrival on the political scene is that it will provide an alternative and, hopefully, a credible platform for those asphyxiated in the ruling party. We need a strong and credible opposition to curb the excesses of the hawks in the PDP and keep them on their toes. They have taken us for a ride for too long. In any case, unfolding events in the coming months would give curious observers an insight into whether or not these juggernauts from different political persuasions can spring any surprises as 2015 beckons. Methinks they can if they sacrifice their differences and work together with dogged determination to achieve their purpose.
Already, there seems to be distant shivers and jitters in the ruling party because of the spontaneous ecstasy welcoming the merger among the distressed populace.
Be that as it may, the APC folks must be on their guard for moles and devil’s advocates who would want to infiltrate their ranks with one singular objective … to see to the disintegration of the new arrangement in the manner that Aspirin, Paludrin and Codeine went their separate ways and lost their collective potency. A previous move by both ACN and CPC collapsed at the feet of Bola Tinubu and Muhammadu Buhari. Let us hope that spirit would not haunt the APC.
The preceding paragraphs were penned down in this column 12 years ago. Today, history is repeating itself. Some political heavyweights are joining forces to challenge the ruling party, the APC, with the hope of throwing it out of power in the manner that the PDP government headed by Dr. Goodluck Jonathan was “demarched” in 2015.
As you are reading me now, many of the political engineers that assembled the deadly machine in 2013 are today working tooth and nail to give the APC a dose of its own medicine, using the ADC. Here, the ADC should not be confused with Aide de Camp. The alphabetism stands for African Democratic Congress. Initially, they chose the SDP or Social Democratic Party, weakened after Abiola’s passing. But when it was discovered that the SDP could possibly be Tinubu’s spare vehicle, they settled for the ADC. Two notable figures stand out in the struggle to hurl Tinubu and his APC regime out of power, come 2027. They are former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who was a dyed-in-the-wool Tinubu’s political ally and Malam Nasiru el Rufa’I, the immediate past APC Governor of Kaduna state, who stuck out his neck ahead of the 2023 polls that power must shift to the south.
There are several other PDP/APC apostates who are leaping into the ADC bandwagon. They include former two-time Senate President David Mark, who is the interim chairman. Anytime I see David Mark, I cringe. Here is a man who, along with other military officers, swore that Abiola would become Nigeria’s president over their dead bodies. But he is now wallowing in democratic affluence actualised over Abiola’s dead body! Barr. Rotimi Amaechi, who was the Minister of Transportation in the Buhari APC government for eight years and contested for the 2023 presidential ticket, is among those leading the charge to chase his former party out of power.
Other apostates include the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir Lawal, who has an axe to grind with his former party because he mimicked the grasscutter (bushmeat) but the mimicry blew in his face, causing him to tumble from grace to grass over a grass-cutting scandal! There are other heavyweights like Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Tinubu’s former hunchman. He was BAT’s commissioner for Works between 1999 and 2007 in Lagos state, and used him as the magic carpet to fly to the Government House, Osogbo. The Jagaban also piggybacked him to the ministerial seat during Buhari’s tenure. Aregbesola’s dismount from Tinubu’s back is a case study in the fragile political chains that hold associates together. Today, the schism between Rauf and his former political godfather is so wide that a trailer would easily pass between them. The split was created following the succession battle at the twilight of Aregbesola’s tenure in Osun that eventually threw up Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola, the current Minister of Marine and Blue Economy instead of Rauf’s preferred choice.
The list of these apostates is endless; it is there in the public space, so it is pointless trying to fully reel them out here. The main problem will be how these political juggernauts will gel to forge a formidable opposition to unseat this hurricane called Jagaban, who I once described as the proverbial bat. It is not easy to deal with the animal because of its guile. In the animal kingdom, a bat would argue it is not a bird when asked to pay tax and bare its teeth, asking “Do birds have teeth?” Or pigeonhole itself as a rodent when it is approached to pay tax and flutter its wings, asking “Do rodents fly?” The bats are tax collectors’ nightmares!
The opposition may have enough war chest such as the current economic hardships and other challenges plaguing the country to deploy against the Jagaban. However, being in his first term with an eye on the second stanza come 2027, Tinubu would not deliberately be shooting himself in the foot. Methinks the master strategist must have his eye on the APC medication at his disposal to soothe the pains Nigerians have been passing through as a result of the policies he has introduced. The second half of his first term, if I can read his mind correctly, may be devoted to administering the painkiller.
Someone who is fiercely loyal to Tinubu would liken the current socio-economic challenges the country is limping through to a woman in labour during which she would swear never to conceive again and even hate the mere sight of her husband who authored her ordeal. But the moment the baby is born and the pain vanishes, she would be the one making passes at the author for the creation of another baby after a year or so, forgetting that there cannot be a baby without the labour pain.
Nigerians have their fingers and legs crossed to see how the Tokunbo political vehicle under hire would perform, hoping that carrying such behemoths like the Peter Obis, the Abubakar Malamis, the John Oyeguns, the Tom Ikimis, the Uche Secondus, the Dino Melayes, the Sule Lamidos, the Waziri Tambuwals, the Aisha Yesufus, the Kenneth Okonkwos, just to mouth a few, which is chauffeured by Atiku Abubakar with Nasiru el-Rufa’i as the motor mate or kare mota in Hausa, would not be grounded before reaching its destination in 2027. All these strange bedfellows are coming along with their excess baggage even though there appears to be a unity of purpose among them at the moment… to unseat the Villa occupier in 2027.
Folks, this life is an enigma! Today’s friends can morph to potential enemies tomorrow. Those who were screaming hosanna yesterday, driven by circumstances, can spring up to call for your crucifixion today as Tinubu has found out lately.