Abuja (Sundiata Post) – Immediate past President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, has been commended for rising up to the festering crisis in the PDP by coming out from his political hibernation to lead the latest and hopefully, the spell breaking peace initiative that could restore momentum to Nigeria’s main opposition party.
Making this commendation is a good governance advocacy group, Centre
for Democratic Renaissance, (CDR) who in a statement by its Executive Director, Dr Mustapha Idris, was emphatic that “Nigerians will certainly not forgive the PDP and their members, if it abandons its history and surrender them by default to a dominant one party dictatorship.”
He noted that as the de-facto National leader of the PDP, “ a party stretched and worn so soon, by its virgin opposition status, his gumption to step in and check the whirlwind, is a fact of statesmanship and a test of tact.”
The group also advised PDP chairman Senator Ali Modu Sheriff to suppress his big ego “to avoid further hurting his political career.
The statement said: “We are worried as a group, and Nigerians are apprehensive if not irritated, that a party that gave us our core democratic laurels so far, especially our best global testimonial, by superintending the most scientific and transparent elections yet, loosing in that election, and conceding defeat to midwife a seamless transfer of power, should lapse suddenly and remain unwell this long”
“This is why we underscore the urgency of this redemptive assignment by the former president, because his culture and temperament should resonate with all dedicated faithfuls, to clinically deworm the PDP of her infestations, restore the assurances of the big umbrella and givevthe nation a functional opposition pedestal to advance the growth of our democracy.
“This is indeed the moment for every bruised heart, tired or betrayed, to stand up and prevail upon the ‘exultant combatants’ to eschew their egos for broader party cohesion and better leadership discipline.”
In a veiled warning to Senator Sheriff, the statement further said: “As for Senator Ali Modu Sheriff it is not in our place to tell him how to run his party as the court recognized chairman of the PDP. But we are concerned with the way he is thoughtlessly standing up against the person of ex-President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. The former President has become an international brand, an icon of our democracy and a symbol of pride for all Nigerians across the political divide.
“Any attempt to rubbish him in order to score cheap political points is strongly condemned by all patriotic Nigerians. Any body towing that path is only doing it at his own peril because he will be irredeemably destroyed politically at the end of the day.
It said further: “To whom much is given much is certainly expected, because Nigerians who gave PDP four unbroken presidential tenures, should not appear to be scourged maybe for PDP’s unrealised sixty years in power illusion.
“As we maintain a sensitive watch on the unfolding scenarios that this initiative will trigger, we are circumspect to note that the burden of this task is not as simple as we heard the former president make out, hence we insist, there must be no drama of tearing any party card publicly in anger, nor hurried retirement until results are delivered, because the challenges are not insurmountable.
“The simple fact of political party growth is that respect for internal rules are key, flexibility is a norm and discipline the ladder. PDP, whether in breach or by compliance should be richer on the scale of political experience in Nigeria. The wisdom to use that experience is now, beginning with total collective support to the Jonathan peace drive.”