By Elempe Dele
*”I am the leader of this Party and, I will not accept going forward any disregard for my leadership”*
*Gov. Godwin OBASEKI*
As a matter of fact, most true Party members were ecstatic and happy about the sudden turn of events when the news broke out that the governor, who once claimed he is battle ready or not battle weary, called for reconciliation as we go into elections so we can win. No one knows the armpit smell of the river goddess, no one can say for sure if this is genuine or not because the details of the Ortom led reconciliation committee were never made public and why it failed, as it were. We are only hoping this succeeds against all odds.
As a matter of fact, most members are tired of the protracted face-off between the Legacy PDP and the new PDP members. Friendships have been destroyed, truth have been distorted, propaganda have become increasingly popular, safety of members a thing of concern, political dissidents now common, election centers and courts have been attacked and all manner of the untoward within the same Party.
However, I wouldn’t want to go back to what transpired, a housewife that is bent on being kept for the children’s sake must not be judged by her deeds, the children are the focus. For the sake of the Party, let’s allow the sad past be so that we can open a new page where newly written friendly texts would be read going forward.
But for the reason of not repeating the mistakes of the past, I have noticed some obvious missteps during the reconciliation committee meeting. First, constitutionally, the Party Chairman, Dr. Anthony Aziegbemi, was the one who was supposed to announce that committee because he is the only individual within the Party charged with such responsibility to do so. One of the problems we have been faced with in the Party is that most of us don’t even try to read the constitution of the Party we claim we are members, including the governor. He cannot constitute a Party reconciliation committee except the Party Chairman.
Secondly, the governor is not the leader of the Party under the constitution of the Party, the Chairman is. Yes, like other individuals, he is being accorded an honourary leadership role because he is the highest elective office holder in the state, that does not translate to constitutional role as ‘the leader,’ which he alluded to during the meeting. There is no single section in the PDP Constitution that accords him the ‘leader of the Party.’
Thirdly, his choice of words, “I am the leader of this party and, I will not accept going forward any disregard for my leadership”, have never ever been used in any diplomatic contrivances to settle disputes. Leadership is derived from followership. A leader must be able to carry every single of his followers along, accept or tolerate when his leadership is being challenged and make amends if and where necessary. The governor’s use of words are not only unnecessary, but have all the trappings of tyranny. He is not supposed to be feared, he is supposed to be loved, admired, appreciated, cherished…
And lastly, among the numerous missteps of the whole reconciliatory effort is making Chief Lucky Igbinedion the chairman: the former governor has not been neutral so cannot be a fair judge. He took side, which is well known to all and sundry. In international relations, countries that are neutrals are the only ones used for dispute resolutions, not those that have taken sides. America cannot be seen to head negotiations in the Ukraine/Russia war because it has taken side with Ukraine by supplying them arms to defend their territorial integrity from the warmonging Russia.
These are my candid observations, they can be disputed; even geniuses make mistakes and even ask questions.