PDP: Can This Dry Bone Live Again?

OBINNA CHIMA

In one of the Holy Bible’s most arresting verses, Prophet Ezekiel is taken to a valley full of dry bones. There, God asks him: “Son of man, can these bones live?” The question was rhetorical, even impossible — yet the bones did live again, transformed by prophecy, vision, and divine breath.
Today, that question echoes disturbingly through Nigeria’s political landscape. It applies fittingly to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which was once a dominant force in Nigerian politics, but now grappling with crisis, credibility loss, and near collapse.

This question becomes even more compelling following President Bola Tinubu’s advice to the main opposition party, on Thursday, while addressing the joint sitting of the National Assembly on the occasion of June 12 Democracy Day, to put their house in order instead of accusing him of turning Nigeria into a one-party state.

“Political parties fearful of members leaving may be better served by examining their internal processes and affairs rather than fearfully conjuring up demons that do not exist. For me, I would say try your best to put your house in order. I will not help you do so.

“It is, indeed, a pleasure to witness you in such disarray. We must welcome and accept the diversity and number of political parties just as we welcome and embrace the diversity of our population.

“Our efforts must never be to eliminate political competition but to make that competition salutary to the national well-being by working across the political aisle whenever possible,” the President said.

The President’s remark struck a painful truth: the PDP’s decline has been largely self-inflicted. Years of internal wrangling, unresolved zoning disputes, leadership tussles, and failure to present a cohesive national vision have weakened the party’s influence. Once boasting a nationwide structure and formidable electoral machinery, the PDP, just like the Labour Party, which is also gradually sliding into irrelevance, now finds itself fragmented, demoralised, and increasingly irrelevant in key national conversations. This is a party that once boasted that it would rule Nigeria for 60 uninterrupted years.

Clearly, the inability of the party to reconcile its leading figures after the 2023 general elections indeed worsened its public image. The pre-election fallout between key governors, presidential aspirants, and party executives not only damaged the PDP’s chances at the polls but also showcased a house deeply divided. With parallel campaigns, conflicting messages, and open defiance of the party’s decisions, the PDP went into the elections already fractured, and unsurprisingly, it came out defeated. Rather than emerging from the loss with a sober resolve to rebuild, the party has remained stuck in blame games and leadership disputes.
The media is replete with different factions in the PDP.  From that of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to that of the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, who is currently the leader of the party. But this thesis will not in any way apportion blame to anyone, as each of the warring groups claims to be on the right path.
Today, the former Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, who heads a seven-member reconciliation committee, is on a mission. His mission is to address the crisis in the party. Saraki strongly believes that the PDP would bounce back in 2027 and remains the only viable opposition party.

“The only viable opposition party is PDP, and yes, there are challenges, and I have taken it upon myself to do my best. I am seeing responses from our colleagues who are also ready to settle our differences.

“Luckily for us, we started early, and we have two more years. We have time to know those that will stay and rebuild the party. Some might still go, and some might still join us. Once there is stability at the top, I’m sure we will begin to see a better future for PDP. And I thank Nigerians for being patient with the leaders of the party.

“I want to use this opportunity to reassure our members across the country that we are doing our best to rescue the party’s situation. We are confident that we will tackle the situation. We are committed to it,” he said.

So I ask: Can this dry bone (PDP) live? Indeed, all stakeholders of the party must ensure that the party continues to live. The survival of the PDP is not merely about preserving a political brand; it is about safeguarding Nigeria’s democratic integrity.  This persistent fragmentation has weakened the PDP’s ability to serve as an effective opposition. In a country where checks and balances are already fragile, a divided opposition further endangers democratic accountability.
As the country’s oldest and once most dominant political party, the PDP has been instrumental in shaping modern Nigeria’s democratic journey. Its collapse would further entrench a dangerous political monopoly, weakening opposition voices and eroding the checks and balances essential in a healthy democracy.
The role of opposition parties is critical in determining the level of accountability from governing parties and governments, the effectiveness of public service delivery, and the overall quality of a country’s democracy.

Opposition parties offer alternative visions, policies, and leaders to those of the governing party. Therefore, the PDP must be reformed so that it can live to defend the interests of Nigerians as an opposition party. A democratic system is significantly undermined if the opposition does not offer any credible alternatives to the governing party.

In the corporate world, rebuilding a dying or dead brand requires a combination of honest self-assessment, strategic reinvention, and disciplined execution. The process is challenging, but with the right approach, it’s also an opportunity to craft a stronger, more resilient identity. This, in my view, is the approach major stakeholders in the PDP must adopt—beyond the efforts of the Saraki-led committee.

If the PDP is to regain relevance, it must begin with a sober internal reckoning. This means resolving long-standing leadership crises and reconnecting with the Nigerian people — particularly the youth and middle class. Leaders of the party must look beyond personalities and factions, and focus on rebuilding public trust and political relevance and confront the hard truths about its decline.

More importantly, for it to become competitive once more, stakeholders of the main opposition party must rebuild from the grassroots, where we have millions of Nigerians who are not politically aligned but are deeply affected by national policies and yearn for meaningful representation. This set of citizens who are mostly traders, farmers, artisans, young professionals, and the unemployed, form the real electoral base, and their trust can only be regained through consistent engagement, visible impact, and authentic leadership at the community level.

Finally, the PDP must also embrace transparency in its primaries, cultivate new voices untainted by past excesses, and offer a compelling vision that speaks to the nation’s current challenges.

Without taking these steps, President Tinubu’s warning may prove prophetic: not because democracy is being dismantled from above, but because the opposition failed to stand firm from within.