AL-MAKURA AND THE APC PROJECT

Umaru Al-Makura is well placed to reposition the party for a sustained electoral victory, writes Missang Oyama

The All Progressives Congress (APC) is a novel project in Nigeria’s political history. The party was birthed on the heels of the compelling need for a change in the management of the country’s affairs after 16 years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) holding sway. The PDP as a ruling party at the time was widely regarded as inefficient in the administration of the country. To every intent, therefore, APC can rightly be considered as a child of circumstance whose birth heralded a renewed faith and rejuvenated spirit in our fledgling democracy.

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·         It is common knowledge that the formation of the APC was hinged on the bargain struck by some major political parties in the country. The merger was indeed a masterstroke in the successful wrestle of power from the PDP. The principal parties in the merger were the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). Splinter factions of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) also partook in the merger. A corollary was that Nigeria deserved better and the newly formed APC became the beacon of hope for the people. That hope was the harbinger for the party’s victory at the 2015 polls.  

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·         Pundits believe that the 2015 presidential election was a significant milestone in deepening the country’s democracy. The outcome of the election altered the long-held notion that in Africa, an incumbent’s victory is sacrosanct by hook or crook. That jinx was broken and the event has gone down on the continent as a watershed. Furthermore, the choice of General Muhammadu Buhari as the presidential standard bearer of the party was seen as the glue that sealed off that historic electoral contest in favor of the APC.