EDITORIAL: The PDP’s South-West Congress

A former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, sounded like Galileo trying to save himself from the wrath of the Pope, as he “begged for mercy” in the account of one newspaper at the end of the convention of the Peoples Democratic Party, South-West Zone, held in Osogbo on Monday, 12 April, 2021.

The PDP in the South-West hardly edified itself, let alone increased its standing after a rancorous congress marred with underlying threats of violence. What is disturbing is that the party is hardly positioning itself as an alternative, let alone a government-in-waiting. This is not good for a democracy which ought to be posited on the rotation of power as well as the availability of a convincing alternative.

Throughout the Congress, there was no singular thought-out policy or programme that could uplift the living standards of the people or preparing policy-wise for post-COVID-19 sustainability. The fixation was on personalities and the division of the spoils.

This is a feature of rentier political economies, fixated on ephemeral consumption as opposed to production and productivity. The PDP has taken this unfortunate depiction of “politics” to its illogical conclusion. The party cannot, in any sensible way, be seen as an alternative, at least nowhere in the South-West.

Rather than appearing to justify the six and half-a-dozen indictment, APC must therefore wake up from its slumber and up the ante and provide real solutions to the outstanding issues of insecurity in all ramifications, tackle poverty and unemployment and make Nigeria great again for decent working and living for all.