It is therefore imperative for APC to work on these internal threats, deliberate sabotage and blackmail to keep its house in order, and to escape the ides of March.
The Soothsayer in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar warned Caesar the Roman leader to be cautious of the 15th of March in the Roman calendar, warning that it is a day of betrayal and treachery.
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On the said date, while on his way to the Senate, Julius Caesar teased the Soothsayer saying, “The Ides of March are come,” but the soothsayer replied “Ay, Caesar, but not gone.”
Eventually, Ceaser was betrayed by his close associates and assassinated on the ide of March.
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Coincidentally, the All Progressives Congress, Nigeria’s ruling political party, had its National Convention in the month of March, amidst the celebration of its political fortune in the cross carpeting of several governors and their supporters, with a control of 34 out of the 36 states, and a huge majority in the two chambers of the National Assembly.
This has no doubt increased the numerical strength of the party. The conduct of the congresses at the ward, local government, state and zonal levels, and their conclusion with the National convention, without any noticeable rancour, despite the membership explosion, is a plus for the party as the nation marches towards the 2027 election.
The party is lucky to have carefully selected celebrated political stalwarts into the convention committee, under the Chairmanship of Honourable Aminu Bello Masari, with Anyim Pius Anyim as co-chairman and Mai Mala Buni, the Yobe State governor, former national secretary and former chairman of the party, as the secretary of the convention committee, along with other key national political figures as members. The convention went on smoothly, with a widely generally accepted outcome. However, it was not without grudges and complaints of exclusion from some old and new political giants.
Two days after the APC convention, one of the opposition parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had its convention, with an objective to rebrand itself to surprise the Nigerian political space. At the convention, it insisted that the party must be on the 2027 ballot papers.
Similarly, three days after the APC convention, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) is registering the arrival of the Kano political maverick, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and his loyalists into its fold. For the party, this is a huge catch that will send shivers down the spine of other parties because there is no serious political party that would write off Kwankwaso’s political influence, especially in Kano, Nigeria’s most populous state and the political fortune therein.
The opposition parties patiently waited for APC to conduct its convention first, strategically in order to pick the crumbs of APC members who might have lost out in the distribution of party offices, or who do not envisage any gain coming their way from the 2027 election, and have no faith in their future in APC. Such disgruntled members may be most willing to jump at opportunities and invitations from the opposition.
Another dangerous dimension is the in-house imbroglio in which some old members and newly defected members, who believed that their governors, party leaders, senators and House of Representatives members worked against their interests to clinch party offices, are drawing dangerous battle lines to fight from within.
Others may walk away to fight APC from outside, some may choose to remain in the party to sabotage its chances in the forthcoming national election.
A classical example of the fight from within is the fabrication made against Nasarawa State Governor, Engineer Abdullahi Sule, who was alleged to have had a meeting with Atiku Abubakar in Saudi Arabia. Reports had it that he was deliberately set up and accused of double standards and disloyalty to APC and President Tinubu. This is to cause distrust and question his loyalty to the party and the president.
Similarly, there are reports to blackmail, intimidate and set up party leaders and state governors across the six geo-political zones who are perceived to be against the governorship ambition of some aspirants. This is to cause confusion in the party structure and support from the electorates, so as to sabotage APC’s chances in the 2027 general election.
Some of these elements have vowed to work against senatorial ambition of any governor who does not support their governorship ambitions. Such threats no doubt portray a very dangerous omen that calls for a proactive approach as the party prepares for the next general election.
It is therefore imperative for APC to work on these internal threats, deliberate sabotage and blackmail to keep its house in order, and to escape the ides of March.
Abubakar Sadiq can be reached at [email protected]
