APC: THIS TIME TOMORROW

Monday Philips Ekpe writes that APC delegates should act in ways that they are prepared to recreate their party beyond one man

Tomorrow, Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will hold its first post national electoral victory convention in Abuja. The occasion is both symbolic and historic. The party is about to test the quality of its muscles and hopefully showcase its capacity for internal cohesion. With just about eight months to the next general election, APC is now face to face with a golden opportunity to convince Nigerians that it possesses the structure that can produce credible and competent political leaders at the various levels of government across the country.

Expectations are high, understandably. The party is young, compared with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) that had been in power for 16 years since 1999. A refrain of this APC era is a constant lamentation of how PDP handed over a damaged country to it in 2015. That posture has unwittingly put it in the shadows of PDP which is now in the opposition. As the members gather in Eagle Square, they ought to know that the tasks before them are not light even when some of their leaders sing that all is well. The greatest optimists among them must concede that the unprecedented goodwill and euphoria that ushered in this administration three years ago have virtually disappeared. They have been replaced largely by disillusionment, frustration, anger and also hatred, in some cases. The Change slogan that created hope for a citizenry that needed it badly is despised at the moment. Unfortunately, efforts to communicate the situation to the people are either inadequate or misplaced.

 One of the problems many Nigerians have with the leading party and the government it has produced is not only about perception. It has a lot to do with the real issue of dwindling standard of living. Yes, no rational person would heap all the blame for the numerous obstacles faced in the country today on the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. Truth is, many of them are traceable to the actions and inactions of the preceding PDP governments in the present republic. But then, what now looks like a tragedy is that Buhari and his team find it difficult to persuade the public that they came prepared to turn the tide. Doing that would require visible zeal, selflessness and capability.

 I believe that the president is the most distinctive personality and rallying -point in APC. And there is nothing strange about the phenomenon. Susan Scarrow, Professor of Political Science at the University of Houston, USA, made that point in a paper titled, “Implementing Intra-party Democracy” in 2005: “Parties dominated by a single leader generally construct their appeal around the popularity, perceived integrity, and sometimes financial resources, of that individual. This leader articulates and embodies the party’s programmatic aspirations… Many successful parties in contemporary democracies fit this description, either originating as or becoming the vehicle for a single dominant leader (for example, Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia in Italy). In such parties, the leader may be self-selected, may be anointed by an outgoing leader, or may come to the fore as a result of demonstrated electoral appeal. He or she may gain the position with the formal endorsement of a party conference, but in practice the leader can dominate party decisions while holding a variety of formal positions within the organization—or even while holding none at all. Such parties may use local branches and party assemblies to mobilise support, but their main characteristic is that the power to shape the party’s political direction is tightly held at the centre.

“In leader-dominated parties, party organisation is often weakly institutionalised, and there may be little concern about promoting intra-party democracy. In the short term, this may not be a concern, because having a charismatic leader gives a party a memorable ‘brand’ that is easy to promote, and such a leader can define the direction of the party. In the long term, however, the lack of formal decision-structures often leads to problems with leadership succession and policy definition. Conflicts among would-be successors may become acute when rules for settling such disputes are absent or little-used. Moreover, the lack of clear paths for advancement may discourage talented individuals from pursuing political careers within the party. Where dissent is discouraged in the name of supporting the party’s leaders, and where there are few formal channels for containing disagreements, disputes are more likely to lead to party splits than to organised factionalism.”

But now, APC delegates need to act in ways that show they are prepared to recreate their party beyond one man. This is not just about winning next year’s polls. It has to do more with establishing an organisation that can oppose any government constructively if it finds itself on the other side of the table. Some key inside and external opinion leaders who stood by the party in the last general race for power have not only distanced themselves from it but now attack it actively. Just waving such persons aside will not help its image, cause or fortunes. Electing the principal officers of APC is critical for its survival and strength and also for achieving enduring democratic cultures and profiles. Taking it to a higher level should, therefore, be the concern of true lovers of stability and prosperity.

Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, a candidate for the party’s National Publicity Secretary, put the challenge thus: “It is apparent that as at today we do not have a party with a distinct identity. APC does not currently have a personality that is defined. So we can excuse those who do not see any difference between our party and the opposition. We are different, even if we have not defined and projected who we are. This we need to do. We are a progressive party, with the right attributes. People must clearly see this. We must evolve an identity based on (the) ideology that we subscribe to. We must use communication to set us apart from other political parties.”