APC convention, chairmanship aspirations & the contest within
By Dr. Aliyu Ibrahim
The All Progressives Congress (APC), is a marriage of convenience or if you like an assemblage of very strange bad fellows, housing very diverse people from different political parties, with ideological standpoints and world views.
However, the APC membership profile which came from the defunct All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) some factions of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) as well as defunct ‘New People’s Democratic Party (NPDP), emerged as a result of deep perceived considerations for far reaching political interests’ aggregations, horse-trading, permutations and sundry alliances, that capacity for and were designed to wrestle political power from the then People’s Democratic Party and eventually access political and development administration or the Federal, State and Local Government tiers of governance.
One central factor that held them together was the quest to further advance the development administrative leadership and economic progress of Nigeria.
In other words, one common denominator that bound the APC members together at the emergence of the party prior to the 2015 Presidential and general polls, was the progress of Nigeria.
The major challenge the APC had prior to the 2015 Presidential polls was being able to functionally assimilate and metamorphose all the diverse components into one formidable one party platform without rancor in line with its manifestoes.
Having at its apex leadership structure an urbane man of all seasons, experienced political leadership figure in the person of Chief Bisi Akande.
Chief Bisi Akande, a well tested, skilled, experienced and vibrantly intelligent political leadership figure from the South-West region, had the difficult task of midwifing the foundational emergence of the party at national leadership.
As the mantle of party national leadership moved over to Chief John Odigie Oyegun, the former Executive Governor of Edo State, from the South-South geographical zone, the former Edo State Governor showed promise in the diligent handling of the affairs of the party but not without some distractive influences that tended to frustrate his efforts at steering the affairs of the All Progressives Congress to relevance, credibility, discipline and cohesion.
Forces from almost all fronts, the Chief John Odigie Oyegun led National Chairmanship knew no peace due to the vested interests of some party members who wanted to have their ways in the affairs of the party.
Chief Adams Aliyu Oshiomole, the erstwhile Executive Governor of Edo State became an easy replacement for the exit of Chief John Odigie Oyegun, who the entire party membership, all elected representatives, top notch executives and appointees of the APC led Federal Government, never knew was a time bomb, waiting to explode.
Instead of correcting the perceived wrong doings, mistakes and allied behavior discrepancies that were considered to be the shortcomings of his predecessor, Chief John Odigie Oyegun, the Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomole led national executive, became a thorn in the flesh of the party, almost brought the functionality of the national party leadership of the APC to disrepute.
Chief Oshiomole as the National Chairman of the APC saw several party members and chieftains, leaving the party enmasse, due to his uniquely uncommon approach to the handling of issues, values, norms and secondary socialization-processes to national party leadership concepts that tended to be at variance with the general expectations of members.
Right now, the list of aspiring candidates seeking the position of the National Chairmanship seat, are swelling by the day.
The list of aspiring candidates include Rt. Hon. Abdulazeez Yari, a former member of the House of Representatives and the immediate Executive Governor of Zamfara State, Dist. Senator Danjuma Goje, former Executive Governor of Gombe State, who is the current Senate Committee Chairman on Appropriation, Dist. Senator Tanko Almakura, current Senate Committee Chairman on Solid Minerals and former Executive Governor of Nassarawa State, Alhaji Mustapha Salihu, former Deputy National Chairman of the defunct CPC and the former Executive Governor of Benue State and current Hon. Minister of Special Duties and Inter Governmental Affairs, Dist. Senator George Akume, amongst others. Risen rapidly to exalted positions of political authority above his peers, who may have crossed the hurdles he had climbed so far in the domain of partisan politics.
- HON. ABDULAZEEZ YARI
His Weaknesses: Presently has attracted to himself a wave of dwindling political visibility. He’s easily been identified by his kinsmen and women in the circles of state, national politics, having adopted in a going type of way a somewhat totalitarian approach to democratic governance, through the use and adoption of ZAROTA anti-people governance tool that allegedly terrorized the people-loving people of Zamfara State.
He is also easily perceived as a political leadership figure who had difficulties, managing the micro and macro economic conditions of existence of the people of Zamfara State while he ruled as Executive Governor, who had formally forwarded petitions to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission; over alleged funds belonging to the Zamfara State Government, that are yet to be accounted for.
HIS EXCELLENCY, DISTINGUISHED SENATOR DANJUMA GOJE, THE SARKIN YAKI GOMBE, KAKA WALIDA
His Strengths: Very vocal political leadership figure. Vibrant politician. Good grassroots mobilizer. Fearless in expressing his views or opinion on issues of urgent national importance. Perceives political office-holding as instrument for bettering the lots of his kinsmen and women at the grassroots.
His Weaknesses: The major weakness that watchers of the political growth and development of this strongman of Gombe State politics, say is that he is not only short-fused but in most instances, lacks the instinctual fact or capacity to manage anger under group dynamics.
They all allege that his capacity for anger management is beyond the power of description to picture, which is a minus for him in terms of aspiring to lead a national party like APC.
HIS EXCELLENCY SENATOR TANKO ALMAKURA
His Strengths: Middle-level business man and contractor, who inherited the commercial tradition of merchandise from his late father and midway into his early adulthood opted for partisan politics. Exemplary trasition from the economics of trading to partisan politics. He used the advantage of his trade to gain access to political leadership culminating into the governorship of his home state, Nassarawa and ruled for 8 years, like his Zamfara and Gombe State counterparts.
He was later to win a seat into the national assembly where he sits as a Dist. Senator representing the Nassarawa Senatorial District.
Not much can be listed as his measure of achievements in terms of good management of material and human resources.
His Weaknesses: Keen observers of the Nigerian political leadership domain, do not see him as a leadership figure who has the capacity of showing promise in the task of national party leadership. He is rather seen as a man seeking mere political visibility.
HIS EXCELLENCY, DIST. ALHAJI MODU SHERIFF
His Strengths: Well established and very successful business man. Shrewd merchant and top-notch national and region contractor of class.
His knack for societal philanthropy is unprecedented amongst his Borno State kinsmen and women as well as beyond the shores of his home state, where he ruled as a two-time Executive Governor.
A one-time distinguished senator in the National assembly, not much of his presence was felt in terms of contributions at the plenary in the Red Chambers of the National Assembly except for his capacity for shrewd political interests aggregation amongst fellow lawmakers.
His Weaknesses: Keen observers of the All Progressives Congress Party, have their individual and collective person perceptions of him as a potentially authoritarian political leadership figure, who hardly accommodates alternative views or rationale thinking other than his dominant opinion on issues, values and norms of governance and leadership.
His brief intellectual under-achievement profile, these sources explain, has far limiting influences on his animated quest for the political leadership pursuit in the APC National Chairmanship position. He’s amongst the political visibility seekers.
ALHAJI MUSTAPHA SALIHU
His Strengths: His only known credential, include that he has the Former Deputy National Chairman.
His Weaknesses: A political leadership figure who brandishes opportunistic party assignments as parameters for seeking exalted positions without having the needed personality development infrastructure to match the challenges expected of the aspirants to such positions of tasking leadership.
HIS EXCELLENCY, DIST. SENATOR GEORGE AKUME
His Strengths: Dist. Senator George Akume, aptly described in the Nigerian political circles, as an amiable, systematic interventionist political leadership figure with a high affinity for accommodation in group dynamics, is a cerebrally gifted scholar-turned political administrator that understands the balance of power, power game and power play.
A two-time Executive Governor of Benue State and former Federal Lawmaker within the Red Chamber of the National Assembly, Dist. Senator George Akume, is currently the Honourable Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Relations.
Political observers in the Nigerian political landscape describe him as a brilliantly intelligent academician, seasoned bureaucrat, technocrat grassroots mobilize and balanced personality who has a heart for change.
The University of Ibadan trained sociologist, for his first and second degrees, majoring labour relations, analyst argue enjoys the mechanical solidarity all categories of leadership groups across the length and spread of the All Progressive Congress party, in view of his leadership humility qualities and ability to mix with both the high and the low without discrimination.
His Weaknesses: The major lines of weaknesses that watchers of the political career of Dist. Senator George Akume, point out amongst others, is that he is extremely soft-hearted, kind and humane in offering to help people. They argue that a political leader should for the most part be stern in offering assistance everybody that comes across his way.
The arguments by these pundits is that, if as a political leader he goes out of his way to always please everybody who is somebody.
Given the array of political leadership figures who have shown interests in contesting the National Chairman position of the APC, it will be safe to say that the best leadership personality to be supported, should be the most competent, intelligent, proactive, disciplined and focused.
Speech is both free and fundamental; however, the ability to generate positive ideas, ideals and concepts that will transform the economic conditions of voting electorate, in a developing economy, such as ours, is not given every individual who is a product of the larger society, but the best.
In the same vein, it is one thing for an aspiring political leadership figure to express his or her intentions to seek for a given political position within the circles of polity, yet it is another for such a personage to possess the required personality infrastructure to face up to the inherent challenges that such an elective position requires.
These conceptual experiences and lasting impressions, had since the return of the democratic rule in Nigeria, been the major challenges facing the capacity of elected representatives to successfully manage the games of their electoral investments as well as offer positive returns on electoral investments as social contracts with the voting electorate, who for the most part had been disadvantaged and impoverished.
Though in few selective instances of measured good governance experience, in terms of how elected representatives can manage the gains of their electoral successes, there are very cogent and verifiable case studies recorded at the three tiers of government from 1999 to date, even with the cumulative years ploughed in by the People’s Democratic Party in the 16 years and the All Progressives Congress in 6 years.
However, for the All Progressives Congress Party to further convince the Nigerian voting electorate that it means well for the good of the Nigerian citizenry, it has to focus on the urgent need to offer corresponding democratic returns on the electoral investments, it received between 2015 and 2019 Presidential and general elections from Nigeria.
Again, the APC has to successfully rebuild itself by instilling confidence in the electorate, in spite of the series of political behavior discrepancies that appeared to have characterized the national polity in the last six years of being in control of the federal governance.
All these can only be achieved by putting in place a very credible, responsive, accommodating and responsible national party leadership that has an equally credible, responsive, responsible, disciplined, accommodating, deeply consummate, competent, skilled and experienced political leadership figure as its next National Chairman.
These are amongst the basic traits that the next APC National Chairman must possess, in a modern day political administrative environments as Nigeria.
Such a prospective National Chairman for the APC, besides being well educated, versatile, humble and tolerant in his relationship linkages within the party hierarchy cadre and under membership units, must be seen to bring creative and reasonable value-addition to the table of development administration.
The next chairman of the APC must be seen to also possess high degrees of emotional, cognitive, investigative and social intelligence in his primary assignment schedule of rebuilding the party.
From the long list of persons so far listed as having the ambition to lead the party, Dist. Senator George Akume comes out as the most suited for the position. He has all it takes to bring the party to its glory.
Sources within the presidency, who favor anonymity, say that the presidency is quite favorably disposed to endorsing the Hon. Minister of Special Duties & Inter-Governmental Relations as the most suitable candidate to lead the party to victory, coming from the North-Central geo-political zone of the country.
