APC And The Devil You Know!

And so they were two! In a country where vested interests is a seamless and viral disease, few anticipated that the dream of a merger party will be a mere figment of the imagination. Even Presidential Aide, Doyin Okupe, was so certain that such a party will never emerge that he asked us to call him a "bastard", if it does. But, after months of permutations, consultations, politicking, registration brouhaha and lobbying, the All Progressive Congress has emerged. The brainchild behind this new party are familiar names. Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Muhammadu Buhari are the names that first comes to mind. For many, APC is a congregation of strange bed fellows. The lingering fear is that the bed-sheet and the bed itself might soon be inadequate and a bone of contention for them all. Thus, many pundits believe that the APC by virtue of it's foundation and premise, is dead upon arrival. In sum, they are the "angel" we don't quite know enough of. But, say what you choose, the APC has finally crossed the Rubicon, and their trouble days have officially begun.

Make no mistakes about it, uprooting a party like the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), will be the most daunting of political feat. Not only has the PDP been the only ruling party we have known since a return to democracy in 1999, their malpractices is legendary. The PDP's structure of rigging has been perfected a long time ago, and it will naive to assume that the APC will wrestle power without a stern fight. PDP remains the incumbent party, and still have many renowned cronies behind it. They are the devil we know and have lived with for over 14 years. There is no need to rehash on the scorecard of the PDP over the past years. We can all draw our own conclusions.

However, though they will have us believe the contrary, the truth remains that the PDP must be feeling uneasy about the emergence of the APC. A true rival has arrived, and the days of political mismatch between the PDP and the rest is very much over. For Nigerians, the choice between the PDP and the APC is an intriguing one. Do we go with the familiar evil? Or the new rascals in town? 2015 will be the judge. The APC will face a tough time choosing it's leaders and deciding who gets what, and by what yardstick. Conclusively, it should be stated that surviving beyond 2015 will a big task for the APC. And a crucial point to their chances of success will be hitched upon who they present as their presidential candidate for 2015!