It is often said that success breeds ambition, especially the one that involves a remarkable achievement. The deft political move by two seemingly incompatible political parties to fuse in 2014 was unprecedented and had really achieved the impressive feat of forming a formidable alliance which some political groupings are currently attempting to replicate. The alliance involved the Congress for Progressive Change APC, a behemoth from the North, and the Action Congress of Nigeria ACN, a leviathan from the Southwest. The ruling All Progressive Congress, APC was therefore a product of carefully thought-out plan intended to float a platform for contesting elections expressly to capture power in most states and at the center
That development had greatly jolted and belied the political bigots who believed that a union between northern elements and southwestern components of the two parties was impracticable and out of the question. Many doubtful Nigerians where startled out of disbelief and came face-to-face with stark reality with the eventual success of the merger. As a result, other politicians became obsessed with that feat and wanted to encore it in their own different ways. That explains why presently there are so many clandestine and subterranean moves to realign political forces with the ultimate aim of forming another mega party, perhaps out of a merger between dissenting factions of some political parties.
Nevertheless, the euphoria that initially greeted the coming to power of two merged groups was soon to wither away as people who had solidly supported it started to become disgruntled, feeling unfulfilled and totally dissatisfied with the way things were going; and soon things began to fall apart within the ruling party as its leading and most influential members began to manifest a breakaway tendency. Three of its governors in a most populous geo-political zone: Abdul-Aziz Yari of Zamfara and Chairman Nigerian Governors Forum; Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto and Abubakar Bagudu of Kebbi State, were brazenly hobnobbing with key and hostile governors of Rivers and Akwa Ibom states, both members of a powerful opposition party. They have exchanged visits at auspicious moments and festive occasions, stirring anxiety and shock within the highest hierarchy of their party.
Although the three APC governors denied embarking on skilful and subtle moves aimed at floating an alternative political outfit of like-minded people working closely together to precipitate a new order, their colleagues were gravely concerned with that development, insisting that the first visit to Rivers State made some leaders of the party suspicious, viewing it as a solidarity visit to a political opponent to ginger support for him ahead of crucial rerun elections in his state. That gave room for doubts and apprehension that the three northern governors might be the arrowhead of an impending political re-alignment in the country.
Accordingly, some APC stalwarts have openly displayed their displeasure over the whole affair, saying they were fully aware of the ludicrously eccentric actions which did not go down well with them. The governors’ unilateral actions were severely condemned by displeased party members in the opposition states who bitterly complained of going through hell due to the host governors’ indifference to the their plight, occasioned by economic hardship and maladministration.
Still, other members of the APC are of the opinion that there is nothing wrong in exchanging visits or comparing notes between state governors, but they see such trips as blunders at a time when they seek redress or justice for their oppressed members in the affected states. In as much as individual members of the APC are free to express their opinions about the exchange visits in a favourable or displeasing manner, the party did not see anything wrong with, or infer any motive to it since the governors, on their own, can decide to visit each other and socialize. Nevertheless, if the party has a reason to suspect foul play about the governors’ visits it certainly may not hesitate to take appropriate actions.
The reaction of APC may also be informed by the response of its members who may either endorse or condemn the governors’ moves. In fact majority of northerners are disenchanted with the antics of some of their elected leaders who from all indications are poised to return to their old habit by secretly extending support to the arch rivals of the north through active connivance to frustrate their efforts to utilize their numerical supremacy in actualizing their grand ambition of capturing and solidifying political power.
In the past, some northern politicians, to the chagrin of their compatriots, actively promoted the proliferation of mushrooming political groups that sought to further balkanise the region and make it vulnerable to the detrimental influence of the South. They all profess to defend and promote the interest of the north but are forcefully held back by their manifested inability to forge an ordinary platform on which the motley collections of northern tribes and religious interests could strengthen their fraternity. The three governors are now under watch by their doubtful and distrustful followers while their moves will be carefully scrutinized to determine their ultimate intentions.
