One of the greatest and most challenging tasks before the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP is how to manage, expertly, the mental health of defectors who have returned to its fold after several months or years in “enemy” camps.
Some of the new coverts had sworn never to associate with the party, but the angst of political relevance, especially with the 2015 elections at hand, has seen them swallow their puke in a rather absurd manner.
In spite of all the campaign of calumny against the party, these defectors have since been accepted with open arms in the spirit of forgiveness, reconciliation and fairness; principles which typify the party’s bourgeoning reputation as an exemplar of ideological meliorism.
However, if we all agree with the universal principle of the constancy of change, then there should not be much ado about this spate of defections, bearing in mind the fact that there are neither permanent friends nor enemies in politics, wherein only permanent interests exist.
All those who have newly defected to the PDP from other parties as well the returnee defectors should undergo the same rehabilitation process.
This process becomes expedient in order to debrief them ideologically so that they can fit into the party’s new mindset. Any attempt to leave them un-quarantined from strange ideological infections, contracted from other parties, may lead to a malignant political pandemic that will be difficult to contain.
Some of the returnee defectors had left the party in fits of anger over their failure to assume juicy and strategic positions within the party’s structure under President Jonathan, who has never concealed his dislike for the type of political witchcraft hitherto practiced in the party. This set had seen themselves as sacred cows. But the passion of the party’s new leadership to get things right had undone their selfish political destinies.
They once had over-bloated egos and wallowed in illusions of grandeur, thinking that without them, the party would not survive. Their ill-fated romance with opposition parties ended on accounts of their failure to displace old-timers and grab juicy positions. And alas, the perambulation continues.
PDP must understand the psychiatry in Nigerian politics, in which people crisscross different ideological landscapes in pursuit of pecuniary rather than populist ends with careless abandon. All hell is let loose if they fail to get what they want. They resort to scathing tirades on the pages of newspapers in the most infantile of manners. The party must equip itself with the right psychotherapeutics to manage the hallucinatory outbursts of some its new converts, whose egos have been seriously bruised.
Accomplishing this task, the PDP must realise, is far more cumbersome than The Taming of the Shrew. There should be a methodical strategy to purge all new coverts of the minutest traces of bitterness and vindictiveness. This process will help in ensuring collective peace and stability, not only in the PDP but also in those parties from which the defectors have pulled out.
No nation or political party on the face of this earth has ever achieved meaningful progress with the politics of bitterness. Because peace is a natural tranquiliser, its proponents will always stand to benefit from it in the long run.
A thoughtful analysis of Nigerian politics reveals the stark realities of selfishness, insincerity, sadism and parochialism. Most politicians see themselves as gods and attract overreaching appellations. We have the Baba Alaiyes, the Oshas, the Garrison Commanders, the Odidigborigbos and the Onwas. These appendages negate team spirit and create pseudo followership.
Most of the people who celebrate such politicians are only after their money and nothing more. This is the only reason such overrated politicians go gaga when they lose elections or become irrelevant in the scheme of things. If they understand that to lead is to serve, perhaps all this self-preserving mentalities would stop. It is sad to see our politicians open cans of worms against themselves whenever their political romances end.
A typical example is the unsavoury roforofo fight between Tom Ikimi and his former party, the All Progressives Congress, APC. Men must leave up to their manhood, which is famed for the ideals of maturity, wisdom and temperance. Resorting to the media to rubbish themselves smacks of the highest level of pettiness and perforates their claims to political erudition.
For how long will they continue to portray themselves to the world as a bunch of un-teachable politicians? While they seem to be enjoying this Face Me I Face You drama, the international media is passionately promoting us as a tourist attraction for political inanity.
The greatest medicine for all political maladies is patience. The PDP should make rigorous efforts to school its members, especially new converts, on this medicinal principle. Politicians and leaders who are really driven by the sincere desire to serve the people are never in a hurry. Slow and steady is the name of the game.
Some very promising political parties with very articulate and robust manifestoes have lost the respect of some Nigerians only because they have refused to be patient; they have failed to be true ambassadors of the noble and illustrious philosophy of their party because they are in a hurry to teach the PDP a lesson.
This retrogressive mindset has led to frustration. The PDP is gradually transmuting into a pious institution with no room for “addicts of unknown addictions”. The era when the party populated itself with “Papas Deceiving Pikins” is giving way to a dispensation of serious minded politicians and this is why all new converts must be thoroughly detoxified to ensure great balance.
While we continue to hope for the very best in our political expectations as a nation, we must propagate the principles of tolerance and patience as cardinal ingredients of collective progress. We must detach ourselves from the naughtiest hooks of pettiness and promote truth. What Nigeria needs are leaders who can muster the fortitude to revive a nation tormented by a legion of self-afflicted demons.
Such leaders are within reach; they can be found in the APC, in the PDP, in APGA and in all political parties that are truly Nigerian. The only challenge lies with our politicians who have failed to unite, irrespective of partisan differences.
Patience remains the greatest panacea, because whether we like it or not, patience is a virtue that triggers good luck. It worked for Abraham Lincoln and still works in all of life’s endeavours.
Patrick, an advertising practitioner, wrote in from Lagos