When I warned the Nigerian
people about what the APC represented and that, if given power, they would be
the most reactionary, repressive, vindictive, insensitive, vicious,
thin-skinned, paranoid, divisive and, worse of all, incompetent government in
the history of Nigeria no-one listened.
When I told the people that
the leaders of the APC were not only unfit to hold power but that they were
also Nigeria’s local equivalent to Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood no-one listened.
When I warned the people
that their initial plan was to field a Muslim/Muslim ticket for the 2015
presidential election (until public outrage killed the idea) no-one listened.
When I warned our people
about the limitations of President Muhammadu Buhari and what he would do if
trusted with power no-one listened.
When I warned the PDP
leadership and particularly our PDP governors and Board of Trustee members
about the dangers of making Ali Modu Sheriff National Chairman of our party
they would not listen.
When I warned them to
remove him immediately and not to let him stay as National Chairman for the
three months that he asked for they would not listen.
When I told them that the
government would NOT allow the National Convention of the party to hold on 17th
August or indeed at any other time, no matter what, because Sheriff is working
for them they would not listen.
Now I have been proved
right and vindicated on all fronts. Let us consider what took place in Port
Harcourt on the day of the convention. Armed with a questionable court ruling
the Buhari administration set out to destabilise, destroy and silence the
opposition. It was well planned, well-orchestrated and well-executed.
Governors were temporarily
barred from movong around freely and were essentially put under house arrest.
The convention venue was sealed off and delegates were prevented from entering
the stadium by gun-wielding mobile police men and soldiers. It was not only a
show of shameful, naked brute force but it was also thoroughly evil.
Let me make another
prediction: this is just the beginning of their tyranny. It will get far worse.
That is “mai chanji” for you!
The sooner the leaders of
the PDP wake up, smell the coffee and appreciate the kind of monster they are
dealing with and the sooner they elect and select leaders that are prepared to
risk their lives and liberty to confront this government the better.
If you want democracy and
freedom you must be prepared to confront the dictator and fight for it. Where
there is no justice, there can be no peace. Where there is no freedom, there
can be no development. Where there is no equity, there can be no progress.
Our land has been turned
into a barren and poverty-striken shell of its former-self by President
Buhari’s administration.
They have stripped away the
glory of our nation, ruined the economy, created ethnic and religious
divisions, impoverished the people, brought tears to the eyes of the
down-trodden, dashed the hopes and dreams of the young and destroyed the
destiny of millions.
The only thing that is left
for them to do is to crush the leading opposition party and to attempt to
silence, humiliate, discredit, destroy, jail and break every single opposition
leader that remains vocal.
That is where Senator Ali
Modu Sheriff comes in and that is why his disruptive role and questionable
mission in the PDP is of so much interest and so useful to the government.
That Sheriff has turned
into the proverbial stubborn bone that is stuck in the throat of the PDP is no
longer news .
The role and noble efforts
of the Senator Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee have been exemplary and
commendable and, in my view, they have earned the support and affection of
every loyal party leader and member.
I am not surprised by that
because I happen to have known Senator Makarfi, Senator Ben Obi (the Secretary
of the Committee) and Hon. Minister Dayo Adeyeye (the Publicity Secretary) for
many years and I can attest to the fact that they are all profoundly good men who
are very restrained in their manner and approach to complicated issues and who
are not only experienced but also rational, reasonable and balanced.
Yet despite their efforts
the question that still needs to be answered is how best to handle Ali Modu Sheriff.
Dr. Doyin Okupe, a man for
whom I have the greatest respect and affection and one of the most formidable
and credible leaders in our party, suggested on his Facebook wall that we
should “negotiate” with Sheriff with a view to settling this issue.
He has also said that we
should “not blame Buhari and the APC for our woes” but rather we should blame
ourselves.
He may be right on the
latter point but I beg to respectfully and humbly differ with him on the
former. There can be no question of any further negotiation with Sheriff. My
response to him, which was posted on his Facebook page and on twitter, reads as
follows:
“My dearest brother, I beg
to differ with you on your suggestion that we must negotiate with the former
National Chairman of our party Ali Modu Sheriff. If you remember I warned the
governors about Shetiff when they imposed him on us.
The PDP Ministers Forum
rejected him as did the PDP Board of Trustees did at the initial stage but the
governors would not listen. Now we have been vindicated because everything that
we said would happen has come to pass.
The imposition of Sheriff
by the Governors Forum was the biggest mistake that we have made since
President Goodluck Jonathan and the then leadership of our party conceded the
election to Buhari without at least contesting the matter in court.
Frankly, as I wrote at the
time, I believe that Sheriff bewitched the governors that brought him to us and
indeed those in our party that accepted him and agreed to work with him.
Now the power of the spell
has worn off and their eyes have opened. Sadly though things will get worse because
Sheriff is under orders, he is working a script and that script was crafted by
those who commissioned him to divide, weaken and kill our party.
When you open your doors to
a snake what do you expect? I am not surprised by all that he is doing because
he is acting true to type: he is a green snake who has dipped his fangs deeply
into our flesh and whose poison is kiling us slowly.
The truth is that there can
never be any compromise with Sheriff. You cannot compromise with the devil or a
snake.
You cannot wine and dine or
attempt to cohabit with a creature that the great writer and teacher, Mr. David
Icke, describes as a “shape-shifting sociopath and reptilian”.
There can be no fellowship
between light and darkness even in politics. You cannot negotiate with a
narcicistic megalomaniac who wants your head to be cut off and served to him on
a silver platter. Sheriff is working for Buhari to destroy the PDP and he has
almost succeeded in his mission.
The only solution to this
intractable and difficult problem is for us to continue to fight him in the
courts and elsewhere and, if push comes to shove, form another political party,
get our members and supporters to join that party and leave the desperate old
scavenger to feed on the carcass of the old PDP.
Very few people will stay
with him because, after some time, carcasses tend to stink and because he is
the quintessential plague. After some time even his most diehard supporters
will get sick of him, run away and abandon him.
Permit me to conclude with
the following counsel. We must never attempt to appease a bully and a tyrant:
it encourages him in his tyranny and it gives him pleasure. To the bully,
compromise is seen as nothing more than weakness.
We must be prepared to
stand up, stand firm and speak out against the evil that has gripped our land
till the very end knowing that the Lord is with us and that He will never
forsake us.
If necessary, we must also
be prepared to pay the price for doing so because the future of our nation and
our children depends on it.
We must not waiver. We must
hold the line, firm in the knowledge that no matter how dark the night, joy
comes in the morning. Fondest thoughts egbon. Shalom”.
No comments:
Post a Comment