Sequel to the official start of the 2023 elections campaign, there have been indications that the PDP wouldn't fare too well in the 2023 elections. Despite all the hullabaloo, a set of people have maintained that the 2023 presidential elections would be dominated by Bola Tinubu of the ruling APC and Peter Obi of the Labour Party.
The PDP has established itself as one of the two major political parties in Nigeria, having won and retained presidential power since the inception of the fourth republic in 1999, up until 2015 when it lost to the ruling APC. Till date, power has been shared only between the PDP and the ruling APC. The PDP has also won and retained executive and legislative positions at various levels of government in many states, since 1999. And between 1999 and 2015, when it was defeated at the presidential polls, the PDP maintained control of the National Assembly. This makes the PDP a colossus in the Nigerian political sector.
In light of all these, following the disasterclass rule of the APC, Nigerians naturally felt the PDP would be the antithesis of the APC. The PDP itself must have felt so too, and must have thought it was Aso Rock bound. They must have thought that, they taking over Aso Rock again was set in stone and as such, began to overestimate themselves to the point of taking the country's fragile ethno-religious balance for granted.
This was the first mistake. The fact that Nigerians are fed up with the APC's terrible stint at power and Nigerians would most likely not be favoring the APC in the forthcoming elections, made the PDP think it was them or nothing.
The prevailing sentiment favored the South for the presidency being that the North is currently wielding power. It would have made perfect sense for the PDP to field a Southern candidate for the top job but the Northern elite, believing that the North is destined to rule made sure the PDP produced a Northern Fulani candidate to take over from another Northern Fulani candidate, deliberately spiting the South. This became the genesis of all the PDP's woes.
They didn't factor in the South's reaction in their political equation or just totally undermined the South to come up with a coordinated response to this insult.
The attendant internal crisis caused by the response from Governor Wike of Rivers state, together with his G5 group as a bloc has massively destabilised the PDP. The choice of candidate in the person of the former Vice President, Mr. Atiku Abubakar who was in the center of the privatisation of the country's assets which was marred by irregularities and clear cases of corruption which were never investigated for obvious reasons is in itself a stumbling block. He has even been accused of corruption by his former boss, the former President of Nigeria, Chf. Olusegun Obasanjo.
His refusal to honor and appear in presidential debates. The obvious rejection of politicians of the old order, to the point were Nigerians in the diaspora refused to come welcome him at the airport when he arrived in the USA for diaspora consultations. It is rumored that he offered to pay one person as much as $5,000 for a sham welcoming to be used for photo props but to his chagrin, it was turned down. It is also rumored that there was a plot by these same diaspora Nigerians to disgrace him in his proposed town hall meeting in the USA. He got wind of it and never held the meetings. He rather went round with the clique of people he went to the USA with and just kept taking pictures of themselves like a group of tourists for the few days that they remained there.
The rejection of Mr. Abubakar and the PDP by Nigerians is so loud that his campaigns have just refused to pick up traction and tailwind as turnout and support is always poor wherever he goes. Even the rented crowds which they always use, have become so difficult to get. It is so bad that at the flag off of his campaign in Akwa-Ibom state, a song which is used by one of his opponent's supporters in honor of this said opponent was sung. 🤦🏽‍♂️
It goes without saying that Mr. Atiku Abubakar and the PDP are no longer in this race as any direction they turn to is ridden with trouble. Their journey to Aso Rock seems to be quite an uphill task and with the lack of traction, they might have failed before they have even started. It is quite obvious, they are only in this election race on paper.
IS THE PDP STILL IN THE RACE?
By
Tari Ogbowei