Let a thousand flowers bloom

[Mirror]

Let a thousand flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend"- Mao.

When the late Chairman Mao Zedong of China uttered those immortal words, the political climate in his country was in total ferment. It was also during the Cultural Revolution which led to the disgrace, imprisonment and deaths of millions of Chinese, accused of counter revolutionary activities. As they say, politics is war by other means. In executing this war, the gladiators are minded by the fact that the end justifies the means. Today, Nigerians are witnessing something akin to such type of high wire politics, where all combatants are deploying their big guns to dislodge and inflict maximum casualties on the opposing sides. In the heat of these intrigues, nothing is sacrosanct or off limits, including subterfuge, backstabbing, open rebellion, defections and even betrayal.

Given that the country is currently locked in a low intensity war with the murderous Boko Haram sect, their politician counterparts are doing everything possible to keep roiling the already muddy political waters, by openly antagonising their parties or striking out with new outfits in the quest for raw power. In the past weeks, we have been witnessing a lot of these political buccaneering which have now climaxed with the registration of the All Progressive Congress (APC), an amalgam of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress of Progressive Change (CPC) and All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). Not to be outdone in this registration game, acolytes of the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar have hurriedly registered a party to be known as the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), even when it maintains that it is still a pressure group within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Though, Atiku strenuously denies having any hand in its registration, we all know that given the antecedents of the 'Turaki of Adamawa', it won't be long before he appears in full glare to use the gambit as a tool for political negotiations. As if that is not enough to engage our curiosity, another quango by the name, Voice of the People (VOP), applied to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for registration as a political party. Those behind it are believed to be Governors Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano) Murtala Nyako (Adamawa),Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto) and Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers).

Increasingly, political observers are coming to associate the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal with this new party, even when he is openly keeping a safe distance from it. For those who have been following political developments in recent times, it will come as no surprise that Tambuwal has become a political Nicodemus, who wants to be publicly seen fraternising with the PDP and then having a liaison in the dark of night with the VOP. Even when the political motive behind all the shuffling is the same; which is the deposition of the PDP from power in 2015, it is pertinent to see them as mutually exclusive in their eventual outcomes.

On paper, the APC has a more organised political machine to mount bruising challenge to the PDP, but that is dependent on producing a presidential candidate that would be a veritable game changer, and imbued with an indomitable political sagacity to rally Nigerians into seeing him as alternative to President Goodluck Jonathan. Fortunately, the voters know the history and antecedents of those now on display as potential flag bearers. And whether they will be swayed by all the noises and promises of yet to be unveiled economic programmes remain to be seen. It is such dilemmas that have kept the likes of Tambuwal in suspended animation. He is constantly being touted as the last minute knight in shining armour of the APC, if perchance Gen. Muhammadu Buhari fails to sail through.

Interestingly, he is also dancing to the drum beats of the VOP in pursuit of the same goal. Maybe, the fear of not having any formidable presidential candidate may have informed the present advertisement blitz in some national dailies praising the political ingenuity and administrative wizardry of Rabiu Kwankwaso. Probably, in the event of Tambuwal declining the offer, the Kano State helmsman would be drafted to fill the void. On face value, all these permutations are meant serve the ultimate purpose of those who have not hidden their contempt towards the Goodluck Jonathan's presidency.

Any political observer would at a glance see the single thread running through all these plots, that of fielding a presidential candidate from the core north for the purpose of sweeping the northern votes. One question to ask is whether these parties will survive beyond 2015 or have been hurriedly contrived to unseat President Jonathan? While the APC is making efforts to expand its political base beyond the Southwest and North central geopolitical zones, it would remain a Sisyphean task for the PDM and VOP to metamorphose beyond it present narrow remit. This brings us to ask whether the promoters are serious of capturing power in 2015, or merely jockeying for a future political settlement with the PDP. We all know that INEC recently deregistered some parties for not meeting the statutory requirements for their continued existence. Maybe, some of these new parties will eventually join this league after the 2015 poll. For now, let them contend, for the more the merrier.

National Mirror