PDP Vs APC By Valentine Obienyem

Many years ago, Cicero wrote an electioneering campaign manual for Quintus. He talked of inventing and imposing crimes on one's opponent; he advocated ascribing inhumanity and insensibility to him. Cicero also talked about heaping charges of imagined crimes, lethargy and anything that would diminish one's opponent in lashing periodic sentences. In rendering his sketch for electioneering of his distant time, Cicero seemed to have equally pried into events of our time in Nigeria where campaigners leave objective issues and fall for attacks on personalities.

On Tuesday, the 5th of January, 2015, members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) flagged-off their campaign in Port-Harcourt, while the members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) flagged-off theirs on the 7th of January, 2015, at the Tafawa Belewa Square in Lagos. The wonder about APC's choice of Rivers State was explained by a member of the party who said it was simply to honour the River State Governor for standing out as the most defiant governor in APC whose disrespect for President Jonathan knows no bounds. I shuddered at the height of glory that waywardness could attract; and I wondered more the rationale behind such celebration of vain.

Beyond rhetoric, the People’s Democratic Party's and the All Progressives Congress Party's flag-offs are instructive to countries desirous of responsibly deepening the tenets of democracy. Unless in a place where civilisation is most remote and where the rational mind of man is in captivity, no one would interpret abuses as expression of freedom of speech, and the abuser as a promoter of democracy. Is democracy and relationships among persons and groups not built on mutual understanding and respect?

During the flag-off by the APC, all we could see and hear was the blanket condemnation of the PDP. In a typical manner of thinking that one's light will glow brighter if one puts off one's neighbour's, the APC while presenting a sacrosanct image of self, reeled out the sins of PDP. But beyond the long rhetorics on flowery promises built on shallow perception of the peculiarities of Nigeria's need in the 21st century, they sounded hollow to discerning minds. Hardly did the APC advance any solution to their catalogue of the country's challenges; it merely blamed it all on the PDP. The APC said it would stop today's insurgency the way their flag-bearer, General Buhari, stopped the Maitasine problem in the 20th century. They cared little to locate the issues within the milieu each existed. They did not, for instance, tell us whether they will stop it by their leaders assuming active command of the forces against the insurgents or something dangerously close to that.

On the contrary, President Jonathan told us how one of the problems of the army was lack of modern ammunition and equipment. In fact, he said that even under General Mohammad Buhari as a maximum ruler in the 80s, ammunition was ill provided to the Nigerian Army. President Jonathan informed the audience that it is only the present Government that started equipping the Army effectively.

The APC told us that they would reduce corruption by jailing those that would be found guilty of the crime. Such platitudes can easily be mouthed by any person. However, if we probe further, we shall demand the socio-economic realities that encourage corruption and make it fester. No nation is immune from corruption. In book 2 of Plato’s Republic,  Where Socrtaes  engaged Thrasymachus  on Justice,crimes and related vices, he said that if humans have the gift of invisibility such as the Ring of Gyges , they will most probably commit crimes because they would not be dictated. Nations reduce corruption because of institutional checks. Most American do not beat traffics because they are aware that if they do, cameras will catch them. If you listened to President Goodluck Jonathan during the flag-off of the PDP campaign, he was concerned about building institutions that will reduce corruption among us, in spite of ourselves. On the contrary, the APC candidate only submitted that he will jail those that are corrupt as if the Executive is institutionally fashioned for such roles.

 President Jonathan went on to enumerate all the things his Government has done to reduce corruption, especially by way of providing employment through agriculture, Sure-p , YouWin and other programmes. Meanwhile APC told us the usual platitudinous statement of their readiness to stop corruption, without one word on modalities to achieve that. If you express  the desire to travel to Daura, you should tell us if you plan to do so by road, air , donkey or even by supernaturally wafting yourself  to Duara.

One leitmotif in APC campaign is the accusation of the PDP of running a government without plans. They failed to tell Nigerians the fruits of that planlessness.  In his elements and by marshaling facts, President Goodluck Jonathan was able to reel out what his Governemnt has done and the results that show that it has remained focused and is going by well-laid out plans. For instance, he said that Nigeria could not have become the biggest economy in Africa without planning. Thus, it is more of the APC raising issues they were not interested in substantiating, while the President took those issues one after the other. By so doing, Mr. President elevated the quality of debate for the forthcoming election and is indirectly urging others to do likewise to enrich our democracy.

APC talked about improving the quality of education without telling Nigerians how. The PDP, through President Jonathan, told us what his Government has done in education, such as setting up Federal Universities in the 12 States in Nigeria that had none. He told us how his Government tackled drop-outs from schools through the establishment of schools for the Al majiris and migrants.  Such policies are factual proofs that the man there has an idea of where he is taking the country to. This is different from the APC that said that if elected, they will hire technocrats that will craft solution to Nigeria’s many problems. The President of Nigeria should be a man with ideas who can drive the wheels of government towards achieving his targets. This is why it calls for a man who will merely have a Cabinet to help him midwife those ideas and not set up a body or bodies that will think for him. If, as APC said, they would depend on technocrats, what will they achieve if those driving the Government differ from the President's perception? The man will simply end up losing direction and getting enslaved by his own shortcoming.

One other area where Jonathan spoke admiringly was the area of transportation. He did not say what he will do, but he showed us what he has done which ended up re-awakening our people’s hope that the country is on track and should not be derailed. The President spoke strongly about the trains coming on tracks again more than 30 years after being moribund. He talked about the revolution in our sea ports that now operate 24 hours instead of 9 hours when he came on board.   It was a mark of good leadership for him to accept that we are not yet there, for he talked about the on-going building of more sea ports, the rehabilitation of the old narrow rail tracks and the building of more standard ones. He also told Nigerians the many federal roads either completed or being rehabilitated.

Our campaigns have largely remained rancorous and banal. While the APC strives to make it remain so, the PDP through its flag-bearer, President Goodluck Jonathan, has taken it many nudges ahead of all the other parties. The Presidents disposition serves as a clarion call on other parties to raise the electioneering discourse to higher planes that would attract respect for our citizens and Nigeria even beyond the shores of the country.  As Jonathan does this, let us all note that it mirrors his disposition in life, It is a statement about his qualification to continue leading our country.

Obienyem, Awka