It is amazing that the camps, or is it factions, of Ali Modu Sheriff and Ahmed Makarfi are bent on squeezing life out of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in a gladiatorial conflict that has, at the moment, no winner in sight. In its 16 years of control of the government at the centre, the party appeared to many as invincible. That was why it began to dream of perpetuating itself in power by making claims that were perceptibly the aftermath of over-confidence. The same proclivities that hurt its aspirationimpunity and excess ambition are still very much within its fold almost two years after the electorate showed it the exit door. In that power drunk state, it took the source of political power, the electorate, for granted, abused their sensibilities and paid the price. PDP, even with that defeat, has still not learnt the lessons it ought to imbibe in the course of rebuilding itself. The courts are egging it on to the chosen path of ultimate self-annihilation.As it is, some of its prominent members are jumping ship and proclaiming it dead. In our opinion, part of the reason the party is in utter disarray is that it never anticipated failure and did not make any effort at putting in place a plan B just in case the inevitable happened. That explains why it has been unable, so far, to cope with the implications of unpreparedness. Suddenly, it has lost not only its voice at a time that it should be providing alternative view points in the public space and giving out counter measures that are capable of enriching the democratic process, but also is proving to be directionless. Nigerians are embarrassed that the party decided to trail the path of self-destruction when it was expected to subject itself to introspection. But it can still redeem itself, scratch and start the rebuilding of its fallen political structure if only the characters that lay claim to its l eadership will perceive the near desperation of the moment and subsume personal ambition in the interest of the common good.That, in our view, does not seem to be on the table as the factions rather mobilise to fight to finish. The party is tearing itself to shreds in the courts and justifying the decision by Nigerian voters to show them the exit door. The curious aspect of the handling of the crisis within its fold is that some of the founding fathers, those still around, are indulging in niceties that are unhelpful. At a time the party requires a hard-headed decision that will show it the way forward, its key players are busy engaging themselves in modalities that are, in fact, further fanning the embers of crisis and disunity.If the party is going to survive, it has become pertinent to call a spade a spade and take those hard decisions that are needed to salvage the chestnut from the fire. We had argued on this page recently that part of PDPs problem is that it had had enough of gentlemen and nice guys as leaders; those who are reluctant, if not unwilling, to ruffle feathers. They had a grandfather as leader and later a game changer. Where did it leave the fortunes of the party' In the abyss of recrimination and shadow boxing. If PDP is serious about continuing to exist as a party, it must end the ongoing legal battle; the personalities involved must swallow their ego and pride and make up their mind to chart a course of sustained recovery. The party has lost the opportunity to dwell on issues that give its leadership or what is left of it the impression that its comfort zone is intact. It is not. Its structures as they are now have lost the right to pick and choose. The same arrogance, inordinate ambition, unrestrained bickering, greed and offensive acts of impunity that deprived it of political power are still limiting its options till date. The party is not yet aware that the people are not going to wait for it forever and that the earlier the founding fathers intervened and stopped this macabre dance, the better for the democratic process.
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