Four years after sweeping into
office, President Muhammadu Buhari, has lifted the lid on the efforts that went
into building the All Progressives Congress (APC) into a winning party.
Four parties – Congress for
Progressive Change (CPC), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Action Congress of
Nigeria (ACN) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) – dissolved into what
became APC ahead of the 2015 elections.
Buhari says all the four parties
came to the “painful realisation” that none of them could defeat PDP as
separate entities hence the need for them to merge.
The significance of the merger,
according to him, was underscored by the fact that the future of Nigeria was
tied to it.
Buhari shares his view in a July
2019 foreword to a book, “Power of Possibility and Politics of Change in
Nigeria” by the Director-General of Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), Comrade
Salihu Mohammed Lukman.
The President said he spoke with
the National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Chief Bisi Akande at the
commencement of the merger negotiations about the need to have a broad-based
national political party
He said if the opposition parties
had failed, it would be difficult to imagine what would have happened to them.
He said as at the time the merger
talks got underway, only the Southwest was a secured constituency.
The book, which is yet to be
launched, has been made available to all APC leaders at all levels, governors
and other stakeholders.
Going into the details of the
emergence of the APC, the president said: “At one point, we in the four former
opposition parties, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), All Nigeria
Peoples Party (ANPP), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and All Progressives
Grand Alliance (APGA), came to the painful realisation that there was no way we
could defeat the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as separate
entities without coming together as a united force.
“So, having agreed to come together, we
decided to set up committees to look into how we can best merge to form a
formidable opposition party. After that each of the four parties developed the
terms of reference for the committees on the modalities of the negotiations for
the merger.
“We, however, made it clear that
none of the committees has the power to take any final decision on the merger.
Their work was mainly to discuss with their party members and report the
outcome of the discussion to the leadership of their parties.
“The understanding was that the
final decision regarding how to go about the merger would be made by the
executives of each of the parties. We wanted to make the process as democratic
as possible.”
The President said the merger was
significant in the nation’s history and ought to be a major research question.
He disclosed the merger template
he discussed with the National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and the
Interim (pioneer) National Chairman of the new party, Chief Bisi Akande.
He said if the merger had failed,
Nigeria would have been worse for it.
“The decision to come together
and agree to merge to become a strong opposition party that will face PDP was
historic. In my reckoning, it was one of the most significant political
development in contemporary Nigerian political history. I hope historians will
record the events correctly,” he stressed.
“I would recall speaking to
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Chief Bisi Akande at the commencement of the merger
negotiations about the need to have a broad-based national political party,
because at that point the South-West geopolitical zone of the country was the
only secured constituency, while there were sharp divisions in the other
geopolitical zones (North West, North East, North Central, the South East and
the South South).
“We eventually succeeded in
coming together. It was a major sacrifice made by the leadership of the
respective political parties. And the significance of this event was
underscored by the fact that the future of Nigeria was tied to it. Which is why
for historians and political scientists, it becomes a major research question.
“I always wonder what would have
been the political, economic and security consequences to the country without
the merger of the old opposition parties and seizing political power from the
ruling PDP democratically.
“I wonder how many people have
taken the time to reflect on this development and make projections as to what
could have happened if the opposition had failed to come together to take away
power from PDP.”
Despite criticisms on his
performance in office, Buhari said: “Anyway, as a result of this historic
decision we are changing Nigeria for good.”
He said his administration has
succeeded in averting the nation’s downward slide under PDP government.
He said: “I have been constrained
to go public several times to remind Nigerians where this country was
economically and socially and the deplorable conditions of the nation’s
infrastructure, despite the unprecedented huge earnings from oil exports
between I999-20l4, and how the then ruling PDP squandered nation’s resources
and opportunities.
“Fortunately, we have been able
to reverse this downward slide in such a short period of time, even under more
challenging circumstances from 20I5 to date.
“I feel that without coming
together, we would not have been able to achieve this feat. And Nigeria will be
the worse for it. We remain the only hope of the country in terms of charting a
politically stable and economically prosperous future for our people.
“I will, therefore, encourage us
to continue leading this country effectively, now that Nigerians have entrusted
us with a mandate once again to chart the course for the future of our beloved
nation.
“There is no doubt that we have
the popular support of Nigerians. l have seen this myself when I went around
the 36 states and FCT during the electioneering campaigns. The turnout of
people and messages of goodwill across the country was what no individual,
party or government could organize or buy. It was purely a demonstration of
confidence in our Administration and its political platform, the All
Progressives’ Congress (APC), the product of the merger.
“The multitudes that trooped out
to see me and hear me out was reassuring that Nigeria, despite its cultural
diversities, are united on the imperative of change.
“Our duty as leaders is to ensure
that we keep this nation united, build a better future for the citizens and the
coming generation.”
Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti
State, in a separate contribution on the merger, described it as a
demonstration of the fact that in life nothing is impossible.
According to him, “With clear
convictions, we have demonstrated that in life nothing is impossible. Having
succeeded in merging our legacy parties in June 2013, the same cynical mind set
of many conservative Nigerians hardly expected the electoral defeat of PDP in
2015.
“This has not only come to pass
but was replicated in 2019. Today, the cynical commentary is to dismiss the
APC, its leadership and all its governance initiatives as hopeless.
“We will remain resolute and
continue to drive political processes and governance to intensify delivery of
public good for improved citizens’ welfare.
“At all times, our politics under
APC will be about negotiating towards producing all the good outcomes that will
make our country and our people great.”
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com