Food for thought.

Following the Supreme Court decision which ruled finaly once and for all in favour of the Senator Makarafi group, many be­lieved that it would restore relative peace and tranquility to the party. At the national level, the acting national Chairman Ahmed Makarafi’s leadership has been doing a lot to ensure that those who left the main stream party fold to follow or support Sheriff were brought back to the party.

Reconciliation and disciplinary committees have been established to at­tract back to the party those attractive, whilst also admonishing those ad­moinshable, but moreso, to discipline those whose roles were glaringly obvious, those who blatantly worked against the party to ensure that the party disinte­grated in favour of the ruling party, the APC.

However, while these ef­forts were being made at the highest level by National Ex­ecutive Committee of the par­ty, similar efforts were being made also at the State levels. Apparently, there have been successful reports of efforts at different State levels. But un­fortunately, things don’t seem to be working smoothly well in IMO State. Why? ONE MAY ASK. There may be so many reasons for this.

With­out fear of contradictions or appearing to be intellectually naive, it must be pointed out that the principal reason why PDP appears to be irreconcil­able in Imo state is due to that of misguided leadership. This must be explained. Misguid­ed leadership is a product of political obduracy anchored on self imposed arrogance of power by certain leaders in the group that are in allegiance to Senator Hope Uzodinma. This is the group that is opposing the legitimate leadership of Barrister Ezekwe. This group unfortu­nately believes without doubt in the leadership of Sheriff with their mind, might and pride. They are so attached to their leader Senator Hope Uzodinma for obvious reasons.

Unfortunately, given the level and in depth of loyalty to Senator Uzodinma, they were shocked and caught up in cognitive dissonance at the Supreme Court’s judgement. But were they supposed to be that way? The problem was that they were not circumspect or even rational in their be­lief that Sheriff would carry the day given the facts and the realities.

Because their loyalty to Senator Hope Uzodinma was com­prehensively based on the ordinary benefits derivable from such an undiluted loy­alty.

Because, they strongly believe that Senator Hope Uzodinma is a universal giver, liberally disposed to those following him, with some heavily imvested in him. With such attrac­tion, members of his group dont think of par­ty loyalty based on ideology or principles.

This is why the ruling of the highest court in the land is not enough to remove the scales from their eyes.

This is not sur­prising because many people particularly at the middle, upper levels are in political parties because of their belief in “the ideology of stomach infrastructure politics.

The loyalty of such people could be predicted on the fact that they are just like a school of Fish swimming in those part of river where food and sources of livelihood are plentiful and available.

In this general characteri­zation, there may be one or two exceptions. Nobody can look at Barrister Nnamdi Anyaehie, the former state chairman of the party and describe him as one attracted to Senator Hope Uzodinma on the basis of what booties he would be getting. Its rather the other way round.

But ac­cording to Fisher Cambridge, a British political Scientist, “party loyalty sometimes could be determined by other circumstances which may include the attributes of the leader or by remote and hid­den considerations.”

Frankly, the strong attachment of Barr. An­yaeihe to Senator Uzodinma has other explainable reasons which must include his ultra heavy investment in the senator and his probable belief in qn Orlu agenda project to see to it that Orlu dictates the pace of politics in Imo state, using such loyalty to Senator Hope as a spring board for Orlu dominance and hegem­ony in Imo state.

Credence to this could be given by the position of the Senator’s demand that the “only way he could support an Owerri governorship can­didate is on the condition that Nnamdi Anyaehie re­mains the party Chairman in the state, even against the congresses of the party.”

If this statement is right and correct it amounts to outright political arro­gance which does not have any recognition to rubrics of party loyalty and discipline based on the success of the party but on “the outlawed posture of “it is me and us first and others later.”

Nobody can arrogate to him­self such a transfixed position in any democratic party. Such posture could be maintained in a Fascist politics configura­tion of which PDP is not.

One thing is certain; Sena­tor Hope’s loyalists are highly knitted together for many reasons which include “the regular wind fall patronages,”and hope for those who have invested heavily in him and are financially ruined.

There is one thing the dis­tinguished Senator must be­gin now to learn with the political realities of today in PDP. No loser can ever dictate terms of reconciliation. There is no doubt, the Senator is not the type that can be persuaded to toe-lines of today’s party demands. He has to be talked into falling in line or get expelled.

He has no choice except to form his own party because his political ego and chem­istry might never allow him to join APC and he knows that because his being in one party with Rochas and Ararume will become akin to three elephants with char­acter incompatibilities in a boxing ring for a title bout.

Senator Hope if his ego allows him, knows how to maneuver the complexities of party con­flicts but more so knows how “to fix it”if its not too late. Therefore, if he does not eschew this posture and to embrace the realities of the emerging redirection of the oarty from the days of impunity, he and his group would find it dif­ficult to be reconciled with the current Barr Ezekwem leadership thrust in the state. But above all, he must remember that others in the party also have egos too. Af­ter all nobody is a dominate possessor of wisdom and wit.

According to Pitts Johnson, “in polices, stubbornness does not fair well far enough. It is humility that goes further afar to knit people together in a party because political par­ty is a configuration of men and women with ego and principles.