Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Trojan Horses at Work

By

Dan Azumi Kofarmata

danazumikofarmata@yahoo.com

Saturday, 10 February 2007

As Nigeria awaits the start of the 2007 general elections that would usher in new set of political leaders for the country, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has continued to deploy assortments of political weaponry against its political opponents within and without the party. The main reason for this desperation by the ruling PDP to win the 2007 Presidential election is simple. President Olusegun Obasanjo has sworn before some selected Nigerian elder statesmen and his foreign associates, that, he will NEVER hand over the Presidency of Nigeria to any one of the following three individuals angling for the coveted office. These are: 1) Vice President Atiku Abubakar, 2) Former President General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) and 3) Former Head of State General Muhammadu Buhari, in that order. So far, he and his ruling PDP apparatchiks have successfully eliminated IBB from the race via use of simple, unsophisticated and ordinary surprise ambush technique. General Aliyu Muhammed Gusau (former National Security Adviser to President Obasanjo as well as a very close friend of General IBB for over 40 years) and Governor Umaru Musa Yar Adua of Katsina were used as the baits. 

They are now battling the remaining two candidates in the race. To be able to dislodge these two remaining formidable gladiators, the PDP and the Presidency in collaboration with the State establishment will have to go more sophisticated and apply superior strategies to achieve the set objective.  One of such superior strategies is the use of Trojan horses. For example, in my last article published on Thursday, 01 February 2007, I addressed the issue of how the Presidency, the ruling PDP and the Nigerian state establishment succeeded in creating and implanting a number of Trojan horses within the polity in order to ensure that the ruling PDP is returned to power in the 2007 general elections and in perpetuity. For example, these Trojan horses are to ensure that some selected political enemies of the President and selected members of opposition political parties are denied the rights and chances to participate and contest in the elections.

Furthermore, I highlighted other well-knit web of intrigues and political-cum-garrison strategies devised and targeted by the Presidency, the ruling PDP and the State establishment against some selected political opponents of the President and the PDP. These include the use of the courts, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), other state security agencies and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) among others, to wear them out, waste their time and energy and funds, and thereby weakening their resolve. I also mentioned that more than 50 percent of the 50 registered political parties existing today, were formed, kitted, and provided for by the Presidency, the ruling PDP and the State establishment.

To buttress some of these assertions, one can cite the latest dramatic and shameless political rascality that took place in the country some days ago. This was the compilation and release of the so-called Nuhu Ribadu’s hit list of 130 corrupt Nigerians. These politicians are, in the eyes of Ribadu’s EFCC and his paymasters, unfit to contest for any political office during the 2007 general elections. One of the objectives of this sinister tactic is to ease-out and disenfranchise the political rivals and enemies of President Obasanjo and his cohorts within and outside of the ruling PDP from the democratic political processes.  We shall see more and more of these sinister plots against democracy, rule of law and human rights as the countdown to the 2007 general elections progresses.

The focus of this write-up as it’s title indicates, is on the emergence of the PDP created Trojan horses; created and unleashed to achieve the objective of clearing all the obstacles standing along the road to the overall landslide electoral victory for the PDP in the general elections slated for April 2007. In my previous write-up of Thursday, 01 February 2007, I outlined some categories of Trojan horses created by the Presidency in collaboration with the ruling PDP, INEC and the State establishment. I mentioned that some of these Trojan horses are to be found located within the top senior leadership hierarchy and ranks of the main “opposition” political parties. For example, I mentioned that all the ANPP State Governors (with the possible exception of Zamfara State Governor, Ahmed Sani) are Trojan horses working against the interests of their own political party for and on behalf of the Presidency and the ruling PDP – all in their desperation to scuttle the political ambitions of certain political gladiators that are posing great threat and danger to the realisation of the inordinate and selfish political ambitions and interests of the President and the rampaging ruling PDP.  

I was vindicated by the defection of ANPP Governor Adamu Aliero of Kebbi State on Wednesday, 07 February 2007, to the ruling PDP barely some couple of weeks to the start of the general elections. Least we forget, Governor Adamu Aliero was the only ranking member of the “opposition” political parties that was invited to Aso Rock Presidential Villa by President Obasanjo and the PDP apparatchiks to join the “victorious” ruling PDP in cutting its 2003 landslide Victory Cake.  

Therefore, Governor Aliero’s latest antic is to be expected and should not be a surprise to anyone correctly watching Nigeria’s contemporary political dynamics. Moreover, even before this expected but laughable tragic-comedy event and political misbehaviour, the former ANPP Jigawa State Governor, Saminu Turaki was the first ANPP Governor to succumb to pressures from the Presidency and the EFCC to ditch his party for the ruling PDP in return for political accommodation and presidential largesse; flavoured with immunity from further criminal investigations and prosecution by the Nuhu Ribadu’s rabid EFCC.   

In the next coming weeks we shall witness more of such defections from the remaining ANPP State Governors and other so-called opposition political parties to the ruling PDP. Though some will not defect but will remain in-situ within their respective political parties, but working for the interest of the ruling PDP. Remember, Chief Odumegu Ojukwu, the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) party’s Presidential flag bearer recently informed the nation that, the embattled former PDP Abia State Governor, Chief Orji Kalu, who is also the Presidential flag bearer of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) is being sponsored by President Olusegun Obasanjo!! More of such public disclosures will unfold with the countdown to the general elections. 

Furthermore, going down the memory lane, we should also remember that, another ANPP stalwart, Governor Attahiru Bafarawa of Sokoto State joined the fry soon after Governor Saminu Turaki of Jigawa State took the shameful political Catwalk to the PDP’s dragons den. In his case, rather than jumping and plunging directly into the PDP train using the front door as it were with his other political soul mates, he entered the PDP train from the backdoor for some strategic reasons. This he did soon as he realised that he had lost out in the political power game in his electoral constituency - the once very powerful and respected Sokoto Caliphate. Therefore, he decided that the best thing to do was to abandon ship if he is to survive the rough and tough and tested political terrain of the Sokoto Caliphate that is over two-century old. Ironically, his seven years of gross miss-governance had bastardised the enviable political empire to the shock of all concerned members of the polity.  

Governor Bafarawa’s newly formed and registered Democratic Peoples Party (DPP); a name he strategically derived essentially from the ruling PDP, is one of the grand Trojan horses at the disposal of the Presidency, the ruling PDP and the State establishment for the purposes of archiving PDP’s strategic game plan of landslide electoral victory during the 2007 general elections. For example, Bafarawa’s paymasters are already assisting him in the current political war being waged against him by what is left of the Sokoto State branch of the ANPP in the State House of Assembly. For instance, the Attorney-General of the federation and Minster of Justice, Chief Bayo Ojo (SAN) and the Inspector-General of Police (IG), Mr. Sunday Ehindero have respectively been instructed by the Presidency to render legal backing and police protection to the embattled make-believe “2007 Presidential contender” and his bunch of unrecognised DPP members of the Sokoto State House of Assembly.  

The truths of the matter are that, this presidential pretender is in it only to serve the purposes of his newfound political godfathers and paymasters and also, to bolster his ever-widening political ego, particularly in the now desert-like political terrain of the north. He is programmed and paid to play the role of the spoiler against the ANPP Presidential flag bearer, General Muhammadu Buhari, amongst his other assignments and briefs in the next coming weeks to the general elections. Also, another dividend he received recently from the Presidency and the State establishment is the removal of his name and those of his co-treasury looters from the infamous and laughable Ribadu’s dossier of corrupt Nigerian politicians alleged to be unfit to contest for any public office during the forthcoming 2007 general elections and beyond! More juicy dividends are on the way for him and other collaborators. 

Another brand or breed of the PDP Trojan horses is that of political parties formed and registered by the Presidency, the ruling PDP and the State establishment; aided and abated by the INEC. These political parties do exist in Nigeria today and they comprise about 50 percent of the existing 50 registered political parties in Nigeria today. The African Renaissance Party (ARP) and the ACCORD Party are a few examples, for the sake of brevity. One of their tasks is to infiltrate the real, true and well-organised opposition political parties in the name of fake alliances and partnerships. Under this sinister disguise and arrangement, the leaders of these surrogate political parties will gather intelligence and other strategic information and feed their paymasters. Already, the ARP is in political and strategic alliance with Professor Wole Soyinka’s yet to be registered political association. Good Luck, ARP.  

Another way the PDP will benefit strategically from sponsoring the formation and registration of multiple surrogate political parties under its direct control is finance. Least we forget, in the next couple of days, INEC will be dishing out about N8 million to each of the 50 registered political parties to assist them in the preparation for the forthcoming 2007 general elections. You can make the mental arithmetic and see how much money the ruling PDP will garner. Assuming the PDP covertly controls about 20 of the registered surrogate political parties, it will pocket additional N160 million over and above its legal share of the largesse.  

Therefore the best way to check these criminal political, financial and economic frauds is for INEC NOT to distribute money to any registered political party that is not contesting in at least two-third or more of the declared electoral political offices nationwide. For example, there are only about 27 political parties out of the 50 registered parties that have produced Presidential contenders. We are yet to know exactly how many of the 50 registered political parties have produced their respective gubernatorial, National and Statehouses of Assembly candidates. Therefore there is no need to reward political parties that are perpetually dormant and /or only formed and registered to either politically, financially and economically defraud the Nigerian public. The nation is waiting anxiously for those entrusted to do the right things to do so and salvage us from the existing nightmares. God Bless Nigeria, Amen. 

Robot  # 1 | 10.02.2007 22:59

Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Trojan Horses at Work ...Read the full article.

ocnus  # 2 | 11.02.2007 08:26

There is this wonderful thing about Nigerians. They think that everybody is prejudiced against them and that this is because no one understands what is really happening in their country. Well, with all this wahala about EFCC and INEC the government of the US, the UK and the European Community have all sent letters to the Nigerian Government asking for proof of all or any of these allegations. The plain fact is that no one believes a word that is uttered by Obasanjo, Ribadu or their colleagues. As a sign of their displeasure the US is issuing seven-day visas to Nigerian ministers and less for others. George Obiozor, the ambassador in Washington, has raised a protest and was told that the US government was surprised that he was still in seat after his run-in with the FBI over the Jefferson case. Well, the Nigerian opinion is now correct. Nobody believes a word that is uttered by official Nigeria and, yes, everybody is prejudiced against them. However, this not due to a lack of knowledge, but by a surfeit.

DaBishop  # 3 | 11.02.2007 12:03

The writer has a right to his postulations whether made on his own or even sponsored. However, the truth must not be stood on its head. Who are these super-candidates and how did they get there? 1. IBB, a common treasonable coup plotter who knows nothing about civil governance, economy, law or proper international relations. 2. Atiku, an ex-customs officer who was in charge of the PDP machinery of 1999 and 2003... need I say more? 3. Buhari, another coup plotter who had good intentions but deployed wrong methods... we are in 2007, not 1850s.. When the writer writes: _________________________________ To buttress some of these assertions, one can cite the latest dramatic and shameless political rascality that took place in the country some days ago. This was the compilation and release of the so-called Nuhu Ribadu’s hit list of 130 corrupt Nigerians. These politicians are, in the eyes of Ribadu’s EFCC and his paymasters, unfit to contest for any political office during the 2007 general elections. One of the objectives of this sinister tactic is to ease-out and disenfranchise the political rivals and enemies of President Obasanjo and his cohorts within and outside of the ruling PDP from the democratic political processes. We shall see more and more of these sinister plots against democracy, rule of law and human rights as the countdown to the 2007 general elections progresses. ________________________________ The whole of the International community and those educated enough to discern all know that Nigeria has always taken the corrupt path. The surprise is that not many more persons are on that list. Ribadu, was indeed appointed by OBJ government, he is doing his job. Which of the IBB Boys would stand reputation to reputation with Ribadu and do better? Remember that IBB banned two sets of politicians from even contesting elections. Name one Atiku person that has better credentials to substitute Ribadu. Even Buhari had his taint of 53 suitcases. The US should not be dictating to Nigeria what goes on there as much as we welcome any cooperation. In the heat of Zaki-Biam happenings, the US was receiving OBJ without rebuke because it was on the heels of 9/11. Every person knows of the corruption index and Nigeria's ranking, who showed them proof of corruption? Sokoto Caliphate? When they begin to take care of their almajiri, we shall know they have influence; they have pretended too long because Nigeria did not call their bluff. They can ban all of the looters from ruling and the heavens will not fall! The Caliphate captured only those who refused to fight their pretentions to power. If the Caliphate is so brilliant, how come Nigeria is in such a mess under their old influence? So who qualifies to fight corruption and when can we start? Abegi, :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

I Love Nigeria  # 4 | 11.02.2007 12:50

Ula-Lisa Esq. wrote these words above... and I am giddily reproducing them in an excerpt below... because... his comments represents what too many persons frequently miss in the ongoing debate about Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and the war/crusade against corruption So who qualifies to fight corruption and when can we start? Ribadu, was indeed appointed by OBJ government, he is doing his job. Which of the IBB Boys would stand reputation to reputation with Ribadu and do better? Remember that IBB banned two sets of politicians from even contesting elections. Name one Atiku person that has better credentials to substitute Ribadu. Even Buhari had his taint of 53 suitcases. The US should not be dictating to Nigeria what goes on there as much as we welcome any cooperation. In the heat of Zaki-Biam happenings, the US was receiving OBJ without rebuke because it was on the heels of 9/11. Every person knows of the corruption index and Nigeria's ranking, who showed them proof of corruption? Sokoto Caliphate? When they begin to take care of their almajiri, we shall know they have influence; they have pretended too long because Nigeria did not call their bluff. They can ban all of the looters from ruling and the heavens will not fall! The Caliphate captured only those who refused to fight their pretentions to power. If the Caliphate is so brilliant, how come Nigeria is in such a mess under their old influence? So who qualifies to fight corruption and when can we start? Abegi,

MrOneNaija  # 5 | 11.02.2007 15:03

They can ban all of the looters from ruling and the heavens will not fall! The above statement by Ula-Lisa is quite scary indeed. It implies support for the illegal and obviously criminal antics that have so far been deployed by Obasanjo and his tout extraordinaire in order to constrict our democratic spaces. That otherwise sane people appear to be supporting the desperation for political self-perpetuation that is behind the lawlessness of that orgre at Aso Rock speaks volumes. That Ula-Lisa and ILN have no qualms rejoicing about that grotesque list by the thug called Ribadu and his paymaster is simply befuddling. Please watch out for my forthcoming commentary on what the Nigerian people will do in reaction to the desperate and lawless schemes of the Nigerian Caligula and his goons in the likes of Ribadu aimed at thwarting the will of the electorate in the 2007 elections. It is tentatively entitled "The Sad and Pathetic End of Obasanjo (2)".

Auspicious  # 6 | 11.02.2007 15:08

=MrOneNaija;154759>Please watch out for my forthcoming commentary on the desperate and lawless schemes of the Nigerian Caligula and his goons in the likes of Ribadu ahead of the 2007 elections. It is tentatively entitled "The Sad and Pathetic End of Obasanjo (2)". Aonduna Tondu!!! LOL! You are too much! I am waiting..I am waiting to read your next commentary! Auspicious.

DaBishop  # 7 | 11.02.2007 15:24

=MrOneNaija;154759>The above statement by Ula-Lisa is quite scary indeed. It implies support for the illegal and obviously criminal antics that have so far been deployed by Obasanjo and his tout extraordinaire in order to constrict our democratic spaces. That otherwise sane people appear to be supporting the desperation for political self-perpetuation that is behind the lawlessness of that orgre at Aso Rock speaks volumes. That Ula-Lisa and ILN have no qualms rejoicing about that grotesque list by the thug called Ribadu and his paymaster is simply befuddling. Aondona: Which part of the Ban the looters do you not like??? First off, Ribadu is not a thug. He is a lawyer and a Police Commisioner. He is doing a very difficult job coming against entrenched looting systems - some of whom are friends with his boss. Secondly, a thief is a thief is a thief. My name is not mentioned because I am not one of them. Yours is not, either. When I go to contest, then he will do a check on me. If I am suspicious, he shall warn the nation. Thirdly, if the real list is released, no less than 500 will be added to it. I also await with bated breath for your advertized blockbuster article Bruzzz! For now, make we :rolleyes: :rolleyes: