Bamanga Tukur
Octogenarian immediate past chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is a veteran , whose politics dates back to the Second Republic when he became the governor of the old Gongola State on the platform of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN). His forceful exit from the helm of affairs in the PDP last year has occasioned some revulsion from his political adversaries who have forcefully put in measures for his consignment to irrelevance, especially in the politics of Adamawa State. As part of his preparations for retirement, the old war horses’ plans to draft his son into the centre stage of politics as Adamawa Governor met with stiff resistance. Now in the evening of his life, and with no subsisting strong political leadership strings, Jonathan’s defeat may have finally sealed his strides. In a terrain infested by sharks the long wait to rediscover his political path may not be easy. Unwittingly, Tukur may have bid the turf bye for now.
Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu
Iconic business mogul and publisher of Champions Newspapers has since the Second Republic played an influential role in the politics of his home state of Imo. As a member of the Board of Trustees, BOT of the PDP, he has ascended the nadir of national politics, and remains an issue in Imo politics in the last 16 years. In the last four years, his prominence in the political calculations of the state took a back seat, due to the slipping of the governorship of his state into the hands of the All Progressives Congress (APC). His efforts to retrieve the baton has not fully paid off. To add salt to the injury, Jonathan lost in the presidential election, and that may have dealt a crushing blow to his political movement. Now in his 70s, the revered chief may just decide to watch from the sidelines as he attends to his failing health.
Alex Ekwueme
Dr Alex Ekwueme counts among the leading political elite of Nigeria today. He was Vice President of the nation in the Second Republic, a founding father of the PDP, and twice presidential aspirant on the platform of the party in 1999 and 2003. Recently, he has been consigned to the sidelines by the Jonathan administration, a situation that forced him to launch an uncharacteristic tirade against the regime in the months leading to the last elections. Ekwueme, who is in his 70s, has not played any major political role in the last decade, and with his famed discipline and stability, he is unlikely to jump ship or rock the boat. His nunc dimities in politics may have long been sung. The defeat of Jonathan may have only given it tacit effect, as he has since relocated to his Oko, Anambra State home town. Will there be resurgence? The answer is flying in the wind.
Alhaji Mohammed Goni
The former governor of old Gongola State has been variously described as ‘cat with nine lives’. After a long stay in retirement, he washed up recently to seek to fly the banner of the PDP in the governorship race of Adamawa State. With a dwindling political tentacle, the old breed politician may have passed the golden age of his career. The matrix of Adamawa politics will also not help his cause. He may have inadvertently been consigned to the role of “siddon look.”
Ahmadu Ali
Ali was the Director-General, PDP 58- member National Campaign Council for the just concluded 2015 general election. He has been an active player in the Nigerian politics from pre-independence era. His involvement in politics dates back to the mid 50s when he was National Secretary of the Nigerian Union of Students (NUNS). He came into national limelight when he was appointed as the Federal Commissioner of Education. His tenure is still remembered in history for the infamous ‘Ali Must Go’ protests which led to the tragic death of many students. The protest was against the introduction of fees in the nation’s tertiary institutions, leading to the call for his removal as the minister.
After his retirement as the Chief Consulting Officer at the Military Hospital, Kaduna in 1979, he contested and won a seat to the Nigerian Senate where he was chairman of the Senate committee on petroleum and energy.
Since 1999, he has been a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In 2002, he was a campaign coordinator, North Central for the Obasanjo/Atiku re-election campaign. In 2005, he emerged the National Chairman of the party as a replacement of Audu Ogbeh. While in office as Chairman, Ali earned himself an appellation of Garrison Commander because of his no-nonsense disposition.
As Director-General of the Jonathan Campaign Organisation, he described Buhari, the Presidential candidate of the APC, as an old plane parked for too long. He predicted that Jonathan would stay in power till 2019. His words: “We will be here in 2019 to celebrate the successes of President Jonathan when he must have completed his work. With the course I did on Aviation, we were told that a 10-year plane which has been working is far better than a brand new one you buy today. Buhari is an old plane that has been parked for long; we have a plane that has been flying. If you have a plane that has been flying for 10 years, it is better and trusted than a new one.”
By the turn of the next general election, Ali will be 83. With the defeat of the PDP as well as the renewed attempt by the National Working Committee (NWC) to reposition the party, Ali may no longer be relevant in the scheme of things in the years ahead.
Chief Tony Anenih, Mr. Fix it
Anenih, BOT Chairman of the PDP, is one shrewd political strategist Nigerian can never forget in a hurry. As a young officer, Anenih had served as a police orderly to the first Governor-General of Nigeria, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe.
Similarly, as the National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (PDP), Anenih was a central figure in the HOPE ’93 project of MKO Abiola, the party’s presidential candidate and the presumed winner of the 1993 presidential election.
However, at the height of the struggle for the revalidation of the annulled the June 12 Presidential election, he joined forces with the military government of Gen Sani Abacha. Until 2002, when he transferred to the PDP, Anenih was a member of the PDM. He became the deputy national coordinator of Olusegun Obasanjo‘s Campaign Organisation in the 1999 and 2003 elections.
Mr Fix it was appointed minister of works and housing in 1999. He later became Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP after the exit of ex-president Obasanjo. Having been demystified at his Edo home state by APC’s Governor Adam Oshiomhole, and with the PDP’s loss of power at the centre, 82-year-old Anenih is already on his way out of political relevance.
Richard Akinjide (SAN)
Akinjide is one of the privileged few who have dominated the political space since independence and still remain relevant. He entered the parliament on December 12, 1959 at the age of 27. In the First Republic, he served as Education Minister in the government of Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa. He was made the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice in the Second Republic by the administration of President Shehu Shagari. He is one of the ardent supporters of President Goodluck Jonathan. Akinjide was at the 2005 National Political Reform Conference (NPRC) where he served in the Committee on Models and Structure of Government. He was also a member of the judicial system sub-committee of the Constitutional Drafting Committee of 1975-1977. He joined the National Party of Nigeria in 1978. Many Yoruba hold it against him that he worked against the presidential ambition of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo with his mathematical-cum-legal theory of twelve two-third of 19 states in the Second Republic. Based on the theory, the Supreme Court dismissed Awolowo’s suit against the victory of President Shehu Shagari.
In his recent interview with Sunday Sun in the run up to this election, Akinjide had dismissed the merger alliance that culminated in the formation of APC as a waste of time, describing the party as mere paper tiger. “If you know the history of this country, we used to have the NCNC, the NPC, the AG, which are very powerful political parties. None of the present political parties is as powerful as those political parties of those years which were in the opposition too. I can assure you that the coming election is going to be free and fair and PDP is going to win overwhelmingly. I have reason to believe that PDP will win not less than 24 or 25 states total.” he said.
With the crushing defeat of the PDP, it goes without saying that political relevance of the octogenarian politician has run its full circle.
Bode George
George emerged in the political space when he served as military governor of Ondo State. At the inception of the present political dispensation, he became the first national vice chairman, South-West PDP, and then deputy national chairman South, and later deputy national chairman for the whole country. He was the Chairman, Nigerian Ports Authority. One of the low points of his political career was his 30-month jail sentence for contracts splitting and inflation.
As a leader of the PDP in Lagos State, George remains a rallying point. And he alone has been calling the shots. But many stakeholders hold reservation for his style of leadership, linking the persistent failure of the party to make appreciable showing in the previous governorship elections to his poor organizational capacity.
In the run up to the last general election, he declared that he would go on self exile, if the opposition APC won the presidential race. He said: “If Bola Tinubu finds his way into national government, I will go on exile. He hasn't the temerity and the calmness of mind. They don’t even know what to do in power. Because the vice-president is his boy, he will just order that Bode George should be picked up.” People are looking forward to seeing him make good his words.
With Jonathan’s defeat and the declining fortune of the PDP at national and state level, George may soon fade into political oblivion. His relevance in the next political dispensation is very much in doubt, especially considering the age factor. A new crop of leaders is likely to emerge from the renewed effort of the National Working Committee (NWC), seeking to reposition the party as a formidable opposition.
Edwin Clark
Eighty-six-year-old Edwin Kiagbodo Clark is a prominent player in the Niger Delta politics. He had served in many capacities as Minister for Information 1975; Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1979-83; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
Clark has no parallel in the South-south region. As Chairman, Delta State Elders’ Forum, he has consistently campaigned for the rights of Ijaw in the ethnically volatile Niger Delta. In the present administration of the outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan, he enjoyed tremendous attention and influence. To ensure the success of the President’s re-election bid, Clark literally relocated to Abuja taking on every opposition from different quarters.
He was so confident of Jonathan’s victory in the presidential election to the point of saying: “There is no alternative among other contestants that is as genuine as Jonathan. If winning an election is to depend upon performance, he is already there.”
Now that he has completed his assignment at the centre, he will have to contend with the power broker in his Delta home state where outgoing Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan is calling the shots. At 86, it is certain that Clark is not going to be an active political player in the next dispensation.
Tanko Yakasai
Yakasai is a prominent leader of thought in the North. The Kano-born politician was the National Publicity Secretary of the Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU) in the First Republic and later as a presidential assistant during the Second Republic.
He deliberately formed Northern Elders Council (NEC) to support re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan. The group broke away from the Northern Elders Forum based on political differences.
In an apparent effort to counter the leadership of Arewa Consultative Forum and Northern Elders Forum, Yakasai stated in a communiqué issued to defend his group’s position: “Northern Elders Council commends and fully supports the visionary and transformational policies of President Jonathan and acknowledges the socio-economic strides of the administration in all sectors. The Council pledges its full support and commitment to work for the success of President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice President Namadi Sambo.” Other than his activities as NEC leader, Yakasai has no political structure to sustain his relevance in the politics of Kano State. The rest is for the younger generation.
Ebenezer Babatope
Babatope came to national limelight as Director of Organisation of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) in the Second Republic. He remains an unrepentant Awosit till date. However, his role as Minister of Transport in the military administration of Gen Sani Abacha still remains an issue among some Yoruba.
As a member of BOT of the PDP, Babatope stood as one of the foot soldiers of President Jonathan during his campaign for re-election. Uncomfortable with open criticism of the present administration, Babatope threatened to take on former president Obasanjo, saying “open your mouth again and I will take you on.”
He also predicted victory for PDP and its presidential candidate. He said: “Let me be firm in telling you that there is no way APC and Buhari will defeat Jonathan and the PDP in the Southwest. When the results come out, it will surprise everyone the votes that Jonathan will score in the South-west. We beat them the last time; we are going to beat them this time again.”
While Jonathan’s campaign lasted, Babatope demonstrated his disdain for Buhari, saying he would not live to see his victory. With the emerging scenario, he has no option than to leave the stage to be a sideline spectator.
Source: New Telegraph
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